Twelve Japanese students completed a four-week summer school, sponsored by Japan’s Nippon Foundation Ocean Innovation Consortium, at Robert Gordon University last week.
A number of local organisations attended a graduation ceremony on Friday, to celebrate the achievements of the students.
The subsea industry in Japan is rapidly developing and the country is increasingly looking to Aberdeen as a centre for subsea excellence.
This is the seventh annual summer school that RGU has hosted on behalf of the Nippon Foundation. The School is for top engineering students from Japan and every year the University and the Nippon Foundation are blown away by the achievement of the students during their time in Scotland.
As well as developing their knowledge of the offshore energy sector, the students spent time with Aberdeen companies; in teams developed a response to a Japan energy challenge over the four weeks; spent four days in Orkney visiting renewable energy projects there; and enjoyed a taste of the North-east’s culture and environment.
RGU is grateful to everyone who supported the students during their time here, noting that the young people will most likely soon be working in energy companies, carrying with them a positive impression of Aberdeen City and Shire.
The Nippon Foundation, a social innovation philanthropic organisation, is leading the effort to enhance capacity building in offshore engineering in Japan and RGU faced a competitive selection to be involved in the initiative when the scheme began in 2016.
Head of the office of marine development capacity building at the Nippon Foundation, Masanori Yoshida, said: “I would like to express sincere thanks to Robert Gordon University for the excellent arrangement of the summer school.
"I strongly believe the students obtained knowledge, experiences, relationships, and friendship through the summer school will be the most valuable assets in their life and utilize them for their future work in offshore energy production and decarbonization. I also strongly hope all of the students keep the precious relationship with RGU and Scotland.”
"Scotland has taken the initiative in the offshore oil and gas and marine renewable energy sectors, while RGU has collaborated with industry for many decades and developed its advantage in these sectors. I hope we can further strengthen our relationship in the future."