Tohoku University
Graduate School of Dentistry

On February 3 – February 14, 2025, the Tohoku University Graduate School of Dentistry held the Feb 2025 CA+inD Winter Short-term Exchange Program: Multimodal Global Leaders Development through Asian-Model Dentistry Consortium. This program is part of the CAMPUS Asia Plus Program, which is part of the Inter-University Exchange Project established by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT).

The aim of this program is to nurture multimodal global leaders, that is, individuals who are capable of selecting and applying knowledge and skills acquired from a multitude of perspectives. They shall do so in a manner appropriate to the needs of education, research, health care, industry, and government, while also understanding how these different contexts interact.

A total of 45 students from 11 universities in 6 countries/regions participated in this program: From CA+inD partner universities, students from Peking University (5) and Sichuan University (9) in China, Seoul National University (5) and Yonsei University (5) in Korea, Chulalongkorn University (5) in Thailand, and University of Indonesia (2) in Indonesia; From Tohoku University Graduate School of Dentistry partner universities, students from Universitas Airlangga (5) in Indonesia, Fujian Medical University (2) in China, Kaohsiung Medical University (2) and National Taiwan University (2) participated in the program, making this program more international. Students from Al-Salam University (3) in Egypt also participated in this program for the first time, deepening the student-to-student exchange.

During the two-week program, students participated in lectures delivered by faculty from the Graduate School of Dentistry, engaged in hands-on dental workshops, and took part in in-person hospital and classroom visits.

As part of the cultural exchange activities, we organized a Wagashi (Japanese sweets) Cooking workshop conducted by Sendai Kasho-an Kashin Moriya and co-hosted by TUIDSO, and a Japanese drum workshop by Kamotsunamura Daiko Group. Additionally, students joined a one-day bus Field Trip to Minamisanrikucho and Toyoma Meiji village.

During the Minamisanrikucho and Toyoma Meiji village field trip, participants took part in a storytelling bus tour, where Mr. Goto, a survivor of the Great East Japan Earthquake, shared insights about the tsunami’s devastation and the recovery efforts. At Toyoma Meiji Village, which preserves many historically significant buildings, students learned about the town’s history and the preservation efforts of Toyoma Town, gaining valuable insights into Japanese history from over a century ago.

Additionally, 11 students participated in a homestay program, experiencing authentic Japanese daily life with the support of their host families. This year, 13 student supporters from Tohoku University played an active role in supporting the program. Despite being in the middle of the exam period, many Tohoku University students volunteered to participate, helping to make the program even more enriching and fulfilling. Overall, this program was an important step in building a network of future dentists.