Young visitors from Japan

The foyer was buzzing with activity when the group of 37 people arrived at our institute. The 28 students were accompanied by 4 teachers and a number of organisers, translators and even a photographer. They were greeted by our Japanese cooperation partner Manabu Fukui, who is currently on a research visit to Bremen. He was actively supported by colleagues from the workshops and administration, amongst others.
The visitors first immersed themselves in one of our research topics: Scientist Anke Meyerdierks introduced them to the institute and talked about her work on hydrothermal vents in the deep sea. The group then went on a tour of the building. They visited our electronics workshop and the so-called Seatech hall, where equipment is developed and built for use on research vessels and expeditions.
Afterwards, there was ample time for questions and to take a group photo.

The pupils were very interested. They themselves also had to make quite an effort for their visit to Bremen: In the Öta district, which is part of Tokyo prefecture, there are a total of 28 junior high schools. Only one pupil from each of these was selected through an application process to take part in the trip to Bremen. The selection process consisted of a personal application and took into account previous academic and extracurricular achievements.

The visit was great fun and we hope to have given the young visitors an enjoyable afternoon and perhaps see some of them again one day in our Marmic programme!