Attendance at The Nippon Foundation Ocean Innovation Consortium summer school graduation ceremony
2026/9/4
On Friday 4th September, Cultural Consul Masataka Abe attended the graduation ceremony of The Nippon Foundation Ocean Innovation Consortium summer school held at Robert Gordon University (RGU) in Aberdeen.
The summer school is organised by The Nippon Foundation Ocean Innovation Consortium, which brings undergraduate and postgraduate students studying marine development from Japan to Scotland for around a month. During their time in Scotland, students learn about marine development through related site visits and activities, with this year being the ninth time students have come to RGU for this experience.
This year, 12 students from Japan took part, with the first two weeks centred mainly on shipbuilding, marine engineering, decarbonisation, AI, and autonomous ships at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. For the last three weeks, they studied energy transition and sustainability at RGU in Aberdeen, and participated in field trips. They also had the chance to experience Scottish history and culture.
The graduation ceremony was commenced by Donella Beaton, Vice-Principal for Partnerships, and David Cameron, Lord Provost of Aberdeen gave a celebratory speech. Cultural Consul Abe expressed his wish for the students to lead Japan's marine development field, play active roles in the world as engineers and researchers, and serve as a bridge between Japan and Scotland in the future.
Continuing on, there was a video message from Masako Matsuo, The Nippon Foundation and a response from Shuto Watanabe, Student Representative, after which John Isaacs, Dean, School of Computing, Engineering & Technology at the university read out the names of the graduates and presented them with their certificates of completion.
The summer school is organised by The Nippon Foundation Ocean Innovation Consortium, which brings undergraduate and postgraduate students studying marine development from Japan to Scotland for around a month. During their time in Scotland, students learn about marine development through related site visits and activities, with this year being the ninth time students have come to RGU for this experience.
This year, 12 students from Japan took part, with the first two weeks centred mainly on shipbuilding, marine engineering, decarbonisation, AI, and autonomous ships at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. For the last three weeks, they studied energy transition and sustainability at RGU in Aberdeen, and participated in field trips. They also had the chance to experience Scottish history and culture.
The graduation ceremony was commenced by Donella Beaton, Vice-Principal for Partnerships, and David Cameron, Lord Provost of Aberdeen gave a celebratory speech. Cultural Consul Abe expressed his wish for the students to lead Japan's marine development field, play active roles in the world as engineers and researchers, and serve as a bridge between Japan and Scotland in the future.
Continuing on, there was a video message from Masako Matsuo, The Nippon Foundation and a response from Shuto Watanabe, Student Representative, after which John Isaacs, Dean, School of Computing, Engineering & Technology at the university read out the names of the graduates and presented them with their certificates of completion.