Practice school
1. History
The origin of practice school (PS) dates back to the summer of 1999. An internship was conducted at a domestic chemical manufacturer in cooperation with MIT as the predecessor to PS, and we achieved great results. Thus, the University of Tokyo Practice School was born in 2001 with the aim of fostering human resources capable of more advanced research and development. Today, about 10 students and 5 faculty members participate, and a fulfilling program is currently offered. Even now, PS is a unique program and curriculum provided only by MIT and our department.
2. Overview
A major feature of PS is that teachers work together with students to solve problems. As faculty members participate, companies will be able to set up a challenging theme directly linked to their business. By solving problems with teachers and corporate researchers, students can learn how knowledge and skills acquired at undergraduate and graduate schools will be utilized at a cutting-edge R&D site at a company.
3. Contents
Various technical issues related to so-called functional material manufacturing process, functional design, function improvement, and new function development are explored. They require integrating knowledge of academic disciplines based on reaction theory and diffusion, phase change process, and mobility theory analysis such as fluid flow and heat transport learned during undergraduate studies or during the first-year summer semester of the master's program.
4. Schedule
| April | PS launch |
|---|---|
| April - June | Foundation Before practical training at companies, we conduct basic exercises once a week to impart the skills necessary to solve future problems, such as investigating literature and patents, mathematical modeling, creating computer programs, and other skills. We also use textbooks edited based on past case studies to grasp the content required for PS. In textbooks, cases involving transport generated by photoreaction, flow of nanocomposites, impurity control in crystallization, and optimization of processes including multiple-element reactions are exemplified. Functional optimization by chemical-statistical analysis or reaction chemistry calculations are also studied as necessary. |
| Early June | Information meeting |
| Late July | Practice starts |
| Mid July - September | Problem solving In mid-July, students will intern at a company. During this period, they will conduct experiments, simulations, repeated research on specific topics alongside resident university faculty members and corporate employees, and will propose solutions. Kick-off meetings, interim presentation meetings, and final presentation meetings will be held. Students must submit a final report. In many cases, the report is comparable to a master thesis. Substantial quality and quantity are expected. |
5. Units awarded and daily allowance
Participants in PS will be engaged in corporate research for 6 months. Participants are awarded 9 units, which is a larger number of credits than other internship programs (1-4 credits). In addition, participants will receive a daily allowance.
6. Number of participating students and industries
| FY | Participating students | Indusries | Themes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 8 | 2 | 4 |
| 2016 | 10（2） | 2 | 5 |
| 2015 | 13（2） | 2 | 7 |
| 2014 | 16 | 2 | 7 |
| 2013 | 13 | 2 | 6 |