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On September 18, 2024, eight students from South Africa, Botswana, and Mozambique paid a courtesy visit to the President of Akita University, prior to the start of the “Collaborative Research Project” of the Smart Mining Special Program.

The courtesy visit began with words of welcome by President Minamiya, then Professor. Adachi, Program Coordinator of Smart Mining Special Program explained about the Collaborative Research Project. On behalf of the students, Debbie Mfa from Botswana International University of Science and Technology, said, “I am glad to have the opportunity to study at Akita University. I hope to deepen my study so that it will be useful for cooperation and development between Africa and Japan in the field of natural resources.” After that, all the students introduced themselves, and the atmosphere was friendly from the beginning to end.

In the Collaborative Research Project, five students from Akita University, four from Kyushu University, and two each from the University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa), University of Botswana, Botswana International University of Science and Technology, The Polytechnic Institute of Tete (Mozambique), and University of Zambia gathered at Akita University. Divided into mixed teams from Japan and Africa, they will work on research projects including elemental technologies of machine learning and image processing.

Around the midpoint of their stay, there will be a visit to an oil storage base in Oga City and a presentation by the participating students about their research areas. On the last day of the program, the students will present their research results by applying the knowledge they have learned in this training program.