今年の夏合宿は異例の２部構成となりました。第一部は７月25日の奥多摩への遠足です。非日常な体験をして一生の思い出を残そう！ということで意見を出し合い、SUPも候補にあがっていたものの、ここはゼミのチーム力を最大限に活かせるという期待からラフティングにチャレンジしました。みんなで力を合わせて漕いだというよりは、互いに水をかけあったり、なすすべもなく荒波に流されるだけだったりした時間の方が長かったかも知れませんが、一生の思い出作りという点では当初の目的を達成できたかと思います。午後からは恒例のBBQ大会。根気よく丁寧にお肉を焼き続ける学生、飲み物や食べ物がいきわたっているか気配りのできる学生、面白い話題で場を盛り上げてくれる学生、各自の個性がよく出ていたと思います。第二部は秋学期の初日に実施した研究発表会です。ゼミの卒業生にも参加いただきました。こちらは厳粛な雰囲気の中、３年生は春学期から夏休み期間にかけて練り上げた研究計画を発表し、４年生は実験や調査データの一部を分析し、暫定的な結果の発表をしました。厳しいコメントや質問も多かったと思いますが、これらをバネに秋学期、ますます良い研究に仕上げていってほしいという教授の熱い思いが伝わっていれば良いなと思います。
This year’s summer camp took an unusual two-part format. The first was a day trip to Okutama on July 25. We wanted to do something out of the ordinary and make memories that would last a lifetime. SUP came up as an option, but we decided on rafting, as it seemed to be a better activity to show off the team spirit of our seminar. In fact, we ended up spending more time splashing water at each other and being helplessly carried away by the rough waves than actually rowing in unison, but I think we successfully achieved our original goal of creating unforgettable memories. In the afternoon, we had our usual BBQ party. Some students were dedicated grill masters, others made sure food and drinks got around to everyone, and some kept the mood lively with fun stories. Everyone’s strengths and personality really shone through. The second part was the research presentation meeting held on the first day of the semester, with a seminar alumni also joining us. The atmosphere was a lot more serious here. The third-year students presented their research plans, refined from the spring semester through the summer break, while the fourth-year students shared preliminary results from their experiments and survey. There were many challenging comments and questions, but hopefully the students took them as encouragement to push their research even further in the fall semester—and felt the professor’s strong wish for them to grow through the process.