Building Trust and Skills in Global Engineering Contexts
Lisa Nabei (Tokai University)
Chen Feng (Shibaura Institute of Technology)
Namiko Tanaka(YOKOWO CO., LTD.)
This education session features three interactive talks designed for international students from across Asia. Collectively, the talks explore how engineering education and cross-cultural collaboration can be combined, and how both technical expertise and intercultural understanding are essential in preparing globally minded professionals.
The first talk, delivered by Dr. Feng Chen (Shibaura Institute of Technology), introduces an international project-based learning programme jointly organised with the University of Washington. In an intensive two-week course, Japanese and American students investigated human–robot interaction, applying design thinking, ROS2, and SLAM in a hackathon-style setting. The session shows how participants enhanced their engineering practice while also developing skills in intercultural communication and teamwork.
The second talk, given by Ms Namiko Tanaka (YOKOWO CO., LTD.), highlights the APRIS Robot Challenge 2024, where Japanese and Thai students collaborated on drone development projects. By promoting psychological safety and structured facilitation, the programme encouraged growth in global competencies such as linguistic adaptability, active listening, and rapport building, providing strong evidence of the educational value of gPBL.
The third talk, presented by Assoc. Prof. Lisa Nabei (Tokai University), reflects on the realities of using English in international companies. Drawing on professional experience in Singapore, it emphasises compassion, the use of English as a practical shared language, and the importance of building trustful human relationships—skills that remain more vital than perfect fluency, even in the age of AI support.