A workshop on the ILC (candidate site in the Kitakami mountains of Iwate and Miyagi prefectures) was held at the Tohoku University Katahira campus in Aoba-ku, Sendai City on November 18-19. In attendance were 18 students from Tohoku University and Sendai high schools.

The workshop was held in order to encourage students to become the scientists of tomorrow, and was organized by the Tohoku Forum for Creativity (a science-supporting organization within Tohoku Uni.) and the Tohoku University Graduate School of Science. President Atsuto Suzuki of Iwate Prefectural University gave a seminar on the workings of the ILC and status of the project in Japan. After, students discussed what effects the ILC would have on the surrounding area.

Some comments from the students included, “I bet that all this new exchange with people from around the world will lead to new business chances,” and “Internationalization (of the region) is progressing, so we need programs to help foreign people integrate into Tohoku society.”

First-year science major Dan Kondo said, “I already had an interest in this field, so meeting and talking with scientists on the front line (of the ILC) was quite a stimulating experience for me. I’d like to participate again if I get the chance.”