Double degree program
Itfs been a while, this is Tsurimaki.
I was in France for about two years for Double Degree Program (DDP) contracted between Tohoku University, Japan and INSA de Lyon, France. This program offers two degrees of engineering from two different institutions or universities. For this program I studied at INSA de Lyon, France during two academic years in the department of energy and environmental engineering. Here are some experiences I had there.
First of all, classes are more intense in France than in Japan. Each class is 2 hours long and there are maximum 4 classes in a day. There are exercise classes in which we solve exercises relative to what we have learnt. Also, we have experiment classes where we conduct an experiment in pairs or in a group.
Second, most students live in student dormitories. My roommates were Brazilian and Mexican in the first year, American and Polish in the second year. They are all so nice and it was so easy for me to live with them even though it was my first time to live on the campus.
Looking back on my days in France, sometimes I miss my friends and my favorite things in France such as the running route that I used to run every week-end with my friends, Carrefour, Week-end trip and so on.
But time goes on and now I am enjoying my time in Japan doing what I love to do. I appreciate professors in Japan and in France, people in Global Learning Center, Tohoku University, my friends in Japan and in France and my family for making this experience during the DDP.
Yoichiro Tsurimaki