Kobe Institute of Computing’s Graduate School of Information Technology held a Final Presentation for second year students in the ICT Innovator Course on Tuesday, August 18, to Wednesday, August 19, The Final Presentation is an event at which course participants present the culmination of two years of research work to research department faculty. This year, twenty two exchange students and three Japanese students made presentations in English.

Thabo Crosby Mbuthuma of the Republic of South Africa presented on the theme of “ICT-Based Energy Conservation Measures by Customers and Electricity Companies in the Republic of South Africa.” Mr. Mbuthuma’s research focused on electricity problems, which are an ongoing social issue in his home country, and proposed to use ICT technology such as Python and Django to raise awareness among South Africans about energy conservation.

Mr. Mbuthuma explaining the importance of energy conservation

Miki Yoshida presented on the theme of “The Efficacy of Art-Based ICT4D Projects for Rohingya Refugees.” Female Rohingya refugees inhabit a difficult world: it is hard for married women to obtain mobile phones; there are few opportunities for single mothers to find work, and it is culturally frowned upon for women to work outside the home. In order to change this, Rohingya women could use technologies such as the metaverse or NFTs to produce arts and crafts and sell them to earn an income. Yoshida suggested that such a business model would facilitate these women’s independence.

Miki Yoshida explaining a business model that can support refugee women

At the conclusion of the seminar, President Sumitani offered words of encouragement for the students:
“Everyone, thank you very much for your hard work today. Due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, we were forced to conduct classes online. Nevertheless, you were not deterred and focused your full efforts on survey and research activities for the sake of solving issues that your home countries face. The presentations of your research work were most excellent. With that said, I would now please ask that you take some time to relax with your classmates and enjoy yourselves. Let me offer my sincere congratulations for your work today.”