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ISS-PBL final session held simultaneously online at UT/OSU!
On February 21, 2025, the ISS-PBL course held its final session. Started at 9:00 a.m. in Tsukuba and 7:00 p.m. in Columbus, the presentation session by the student groups ended on time without any major accidents. Professor Matsushima, the ISS program leader, must have felt a weight lifted off his shoulders for the time being.
In this final session, groups of students with similar entrepreneurial ideas present their business proposals one after the other. Judging the presentations will be faculty members with business experience. After the presentation finished, a Q&A session is held, followed by scoring.
All of this is done live, so it is hard work for the students presenting, but it is also hard work for the faculty members judging them.
First, checking the students’ English language skills.
Naturally, the OSU side was perfect, but on the UT side, the international students also presented fluent English. How about the Japanese students? Contrary to my expectations, they also presented their presentations with excellent pronunciation. It was a surprising moment for me to see how good the UT students are. (a little concerned about the fact that many are looking at their smartphones.)
Next, the content of the presentation. To check this, let’s take a peek at the scoring sheet and comments from the judges.
Some judges are friendly, others are rather strict. Also, some astute remarks. Harsh comments even with high scores, encouraging comments even with low scores …
As one would expect from professors, they neither flatter nor belittle, and they know the importance of balance in everything.
In any case, judging a live performance is a test of spontaneity. This is what university professors are capable of, and here I was again in awe of their abilities.
Some issues. Not enough students showed up onsite. With two cameras set up by professional creators and the size of 100 capacity also backfired, the classroom felt more than empty.
The audio is also not very good. Hard to hear live voices at the venue online and online live voices at the venue. Needs improvement next year.
Now, which group will win the travel rights to the partner country?
Let’s wait for the announcement.