Participant
21 answers well distributed among students/postdocs/faculties.
The coffee time
- Conclusions
– Better to continue.
– Still needed to be upgraded regarding the types of coffees/teas/snacks
– Are investments in a coffee machine possible?
– It is important for staff to bring group members to participate.
- The original objective
Enhancing internal communications has been broadly achieved.
- Continuation
The majority of the members agreed to continue the coffee time.
- Scheduling Coffee Times
1 per week with 30 min. for each is satisfactory.
- Drinks
The majority think instant coffee is fine, while many request hot water.
- Snacks
The current balance of snacks is fine.
- Opinions
– Maybe more often?
– I would like you to continue with as little effort as possible.
– Considering the effort of preparing coffee and the burden on students, instant coffee may be unavoidable. However, brewing coffee can increase participation motivation, and it feels inadequate to offer only instant coffee when hosting international guests. It would be appreciated if facilities for easily preparing coffee could be arranged when the budget allows.
– Participation was limited and relatively fixed, so only partial promotion was achieved. It’s worth considering the differences with IPMU, where gatherings are held daily and attract a reasonable number of participants. It would be good to make changes within the realm of possibility, but it’s important not to push too hard to avoid sustainability issues, so attention should be paid to what is “feasible.”
– The low participation of staff is a problem. We would like staff to actively participate by bringing along students and postdocs.
The balance of speakers
- Conclusions
– It may be better to increase presentations of external speakers including short-time visitors, while including short-time visitors in the list will complicate the system.
– Current balance in the field is appropriate.
– Defining a policy statement would be beneficial.
– Other issues:
– ‘Large seminar room or Lecture room?
– remote participation?
– Spring break?
- Balance
The majority think the balance is acceptable.
- About external speakers
Some think there are too few external speakers.
- About short-time visitors
The majority appreciate presentations by short-time visitors, while possible additional complexities are concerned.
- Opinions
– It might be better to have the Science Colloquium focus on talks by external speakers, visitors, or newly appointed individuals, rather than including student presentations.
– DoS/CfCA encompass a wide range of fields, so it’s necessary to include the introduction. When offering to speakers, it’s important to provide guidance on this aspect. Additionally, welcoming off-topic amateur questions would be beneficial. It’s better to explicitly state this stance.
– The main seminar room is too large, which hampers lively discussions. The size of the lecture room would be more suitable.
– How about imposing a rule against remote participation from the Mitaka campus?
– We could consider scheduling a spring break period in February or March to avoid conflicts with workshops or spring schools.
Student presentations
- Conclusions
– This topic is related to credit certification and has implications for the overall educational policy of DoS/CfCA. Further discussion among the education committee and the entire staff members seems necessary.
– negative opinions;
= The number of non-student participants is low, with the majority of attendees being members of the same group.
= The student presentations often resemble those given at the SOKENDAI Colloquium or research workshops
→ Some may agree with the Science Colloquium presented only by external speakers/new postdocs.
– Possible improvements;
= It would be beneficial if presentations at the Science Colloquium served as an opportunity for effectively communicating with attendees outside the field.
= It serves as a good opportunity for members of DoS/CfCA to understand what I am working on.
→ Dividing functions at the DoS/CfCA retreat will be important.
- Presentations in English
– More than half appreciate presentations in English.
– English presentation for PhDs, Japanese presentation for Masters?
- Scheduling
– 30 min. time allocation is satisfactory for the majority.
– The schedule was largely appropriate.
– Some feel there are too many presentations but one feels too few.
- Feedback after the presentation
More than half appreciate feedback for their presentations.
- Opinions:
– It might be better to have the Science Colloquium focus on talks by external speakers, visitors, or newly appointed individuals, rather than including student presentations.
– (Response from students) I appreciate having presentation slots at the DoS Colloquium. However, the student presentation session lacks significance due to the low number of non-student attendees, with most participants being members of the same group. If the audience consists mainly of familiar faces, the purpose of presenting becomes less meaningful. Events like the DoS retreat might be more suitable for communication with individuals from other fields. Nevertheless, I recognize that the Colloquium provides a good opportunity to practice presenting to a multidisciplinary audience. Considering that the number of participants may increase in the coming years, it might be worth reconsidering the student presentation session if it leads to compressing other sessions.
– The student presentations often resemble those given at the SOKENDAI Colloquium or research workshops, sometimes using materials from previous presentations. If we want to give them meaning, we should completely redo the presentation materials to practice conveying information to non-specialist participants and ensure they serve as an exercise in communicating with individuals outside our field. We need to consider the issue of credits, but it’s advisable to discontinue the current practice as it is.
– The colloquium for the University of Tokyo students at the NAOJ covers a wide range of fields, making it valuable for presenting to individuals in related fields. Additionally, it serves as an opportunity for members of DoS to learn about each other’s work.
The questionnaire was compiled from 2023.03.11-03.31.