The 3rd International Alumni Online Seminar on Disaster Prevention and Environment was held online on March 23rd, 2024 (Organizer: Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Group (DPMG), Research Center for Local Resilience, Yamaguchi University, Co-organizers: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Yamaguchi University, and Glocal Environmental and Disaster Prevention Research Group, Yamaguchi University), and was attended by 50 people from 8 countries: Bangladesh, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam. The seminar aims to share the recent activities of alumni, and to provide a place for interaction among alumni from various countries and students at Yamaguchi University. It also focuses on sharing local disasters and environmental problems and creating opportunities for international research cooperation.

The seminar consisted of three parts: an invited lecture, a special session on recovery status after the heavy rain disaster in Timor-Leste in April 2021, and an oral presentation session by Yamaguchi University students and graduates. In the invited lecture, Prof. Masahiko Sekine, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Yamaguchi University, gave a lecture on the support project of the National University of Timor-Leste, which the faculty members of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Yamaguchi University have been involved in for many years, and the challenges facing the establishment of a master’s degree program.

At the special session on recovery status after the heavy rain disaster in Timor-Leste in April 2021,(chaired by Prof. Masahiko Sekine), following an introduction by Prof. Koichi Yamamoto (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Yamaguchi University) on Yamaguchi University’s response to the Timor-Leste flood disaster, Mr. Kesuke Ujike and Ms. Fonseca Patricia from JICA Timor-Leste Office spoke about the damage caused by the Timor-Leste flood disaster and efforts undertaken by JICA for the recovery from the damage. Next, Dr. Benjamim Hopffer Martins and Mr. Hugo Ximenes, Lecturers, the Nacional University of Timor-Leste, made presentations via pre-recorded videos. Dr. Benjamim Hopffer Martins introduced the serious situation where river channels are blocked due to mass movement and proposed improvements, while Mr. Hugo Ximenes talked about the poor state of road construction and maintenance in Timor-Leste due to lack of funds, leading to slope failure, etc. Finally, Mr. Leandro Madeira Blanco, currently a doctoral student at the Graduate School of Sciences and Technology for Innovation, Yamaguchi University, and a lecturer at the National University of Timor-Leste, presented on the challenge of reusing sediment deposits generated by floods as local construction materials. After the presentations, a lively question-and-answer session was held with questions from participants from Timor-Leste, Indonesia, and Bangladesh, moderated by Professor Masahiko Sekine.

In the oral presentation session by Yamaguchi University students and graduates (chaired by Assoc. Prof. Shinichiro Nakashima, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Yamaguchi University, and Prof. Takahiro Osawa, Organization for Research Initiatives, Yamaguchi University), five international students, two graduates who are active in their own country, and two students of Politeknik Negeri Bengkalis, Indonesia, who came to Yamaguchi University and received training under the JST Sakura Science Program from February 26th to March 6th, 2024, made presentations related to disaster prevention and the environment, and there was a lively question-and-answer session with the participants.

It was a meaningful seminar where graduates, current students, faculty members, and other participants who are active in the fields of disaster prevention and the environment in each country could share their problems with each other.

See below the program of the seminar.

https://ds0n.cc.yamaguchi-u.ac.jp/~cldpm/pdf/20240323program.pdf

Website of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Group (DPMG), Research Center for Local Resilience, Yamaguchi University

https://ds0n.cc.yamaguchi-u.ac.jp/~cldpm/index_eng.html