Japan Super Science Fair

Instead of taking the tedious and serious year 10 and year 11 exams at the start of November, we packed our suitcases and headed for Kyoto, Japan to take on the immersive science program for aspiring students from across the globe. 

The journey, destination, and people met were amazing and we think that this would have been a highlight for our year. We were greeted with such warmth from all the participants across the world, and met with overwhelmingly impressive science endeavours of those individuals. 

We arrived a day early and our buddies took us around to explore the Ritsumeikan University Campus, then on Day 1 we attended the incredible Opening Ceremony. We were warmly welcomed by their amazing musical performances as well as speeches and videos to showcase the worldwide participation of schools across the globe. 

The second and third days were the oral presentations and poster exhibitions, which the three of us unanimously agreed on as the best part of the trip.

(and here are some personal favourites!)

The immersive atmosphere filled with passionate students talking about their projects made us realise that science is so much more than research. JSSF was also an amazing exchange of cultures, with the culture booths and performances as well as the chance to wear Ritsumeikan’s very own yukata clothing. 

Outside of the science program, students were able to visit the Inari shrine and had multiple opportunities throughout the week to go explore nearby stores and shopping malls. 

The entire week was filled with amazing science lectures, presentations, team building with people around the world, and exposure to Japanese culture. We were sad to bid our farewells to our newfound friends and buddies, but it was time to go and share our wonderful time with our fellow JMSS students! However, this mean that we had to tackle the exams :c

Luckily, we had a long 5 hour layover at Hong Kong international dedicated to exam cramming to wrap up the amazing trip!

The theme for this year: Beyond the Horizon

~ Leah Vuong, Alison Hurst and Radha Buyya