2020/08/27 published
On July 29, 2020, the University of Miyazaki hosted an online seminar by Garvey McIntosh, NASA Asia Representative). The lecture is part of a series of seminars on American society and culture associated with the "American Information Desk" established in the University of Miyazaki Library through a grant from the US Consulate in Fukuoka.
This latest online seminar, which is the third in the series, was attended by over 200 persons, including high-school and university students within Miyazaki Prefecture as well as high school students and members of the board of education outside the prefecture.
Mr. McIntosh's lecture, titled "Launch America: The Challenges of a New Era for NASA," looked back on the history of manned space exploration and related policies to date, while also introducing Japan-US cooperation with regard to space exploration, the role of JAXA, and Japanese astronauts over the years, while also looking at the activities of Japanese companies that have been involved in this sector.
A Q&A session was held at the end of the seminar, with frank questions from the online audience on such subjects as how a person can become an astronaut and information about the Apollo program. One point emphasized by the speaker in answering the questions was the importance of acquiring communication skills, based on an understanding of other cultures.
In addition to such seminars, the American Information Desk aims to actively promote international exchange, even during this COVID-19 crisis through activities that include supporting Japanese students with an interest in studying abroad and promoting exchanges between Japanese and international students at UoM.
