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Rose-Hulman Celebrating 20-Year Partnership with Japan’s Kanazawa Institute of Technology
October 21, 2012
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Plans for the commemorative Cherry
Grove.
Upcoming: Check back for slide show of live grove. |
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Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology celebrated its 20-year
exchange partnership with Japan's Kanazawa Institute of Technology
with a series of events on Friday, October 19 and Saturday, October
20. The theme of events: reflect, educate, and entertain.
A 19-member delegation of KIT administrators and
educators, led by Kanazawa Institute's president, Ken-ichi
Ishikawa, visited campus, Terre Haute, and Indianapolis during the
two-day trip.
Events included the dedication of a cherry tree grove, several
educational workshops, a dinner in Indianapolis with members of the
Japan-America Society of Indiana, and a special musical concert in
Rose-Hulman's Hatfield Hall Theater.
One of Japan's leading educational institutions, Kanazawa
Institute of Technology (KIT) specializes in developing engineers
that contribute to engineering innovation while remaining flexible
to the future advancement of science and technology. It was started
as Hokuriku Dempa School in 1957, became Kanazawa Technical College
in 1962 and was established as KIT in 1965.
Rose-Hulman is among 14 international universities in which KIT
has engaged in student exchange programs. Students expand their
global horizons by learning Japanese on campus, and then taking a
semester of language and culture courses in Japan. Rose-Hulman
faculty members have also spent sabbaticals to teach at KIT, and
the exchange has even extended to athletics as Rose-Hulman's
basketball and baseball teams have travelled for exhibition games
against KIT and other Japanese teams.
The visiting KIT delegation will continued learning about
Rose-Hulman by visiting Rose-Hulman Ventures and participating in a
workshop led by Rose-Hulman faculty members on inverted classroom
techniques. In return, the KIT educators will host a session on its
state-of-the-art Yumekoho Laboratory, the "Factory of Dreams,"
which several Rose-Hulman officials visited earlier this year.
"In our 20-year relationship with KIT, we have sent more than
300 faculty, staff, students, and family members to visit, and in
the future we hope to send even more," stated Rose-Hulman President
Robert A. Coons.
The cherry tree grove will be a permanent landmark to showcase
the Rose-Hulman-KIT partnership, according to Coons. It is located
near the White Chapel on the west side of campus and contains 40
trees--symbolic of each year in the partnership for both
colleges.
The cherry tree is an exalted flowering plant in Japan, and the
cherry blossom is a potent symbol equated with the evanescence of
human life and epitomizes the transformation of Japanese culture
throughout the ages.
"Cherry trees are a wonderful symbol of our friendship with
Kanazawa Institute of Technology," stated Coons. "I hope the
relationship between our leading institutions will continue to
blossom and bear fruit, and that we'll develop ever stronger roots
of friendship in the future."
The weekend's festivities concluded on Saturday with a special
concert by internationally acclaimed performer, Shunsuke Kimura, in
Rose-Hulman's Hatfield Hall Theater, and were free for Rose-Hulman
students, faculty, and staff members. Shunsuke performs on the
flute and Tsugaru Shamisen, a Japanese three-string banjo-like
instrument with a distinctive sound that was originally played by
wandering blind artists. in his show, titled "Insho," he
was joined by musicians performing the koto, the 13-string
national instrument of Japan, along with violins and percussion
instruments. With these and some western musical instruments
Shunsuke used delicate nuance of color and sound to tell a
variety of nostalgic stories that express the poetic image in
nature, scenery and seasons.