KIKAI college - KIKAI institute for Coral Reef Sciences

An intellectual quest in coral reefs

Coral reefs are vital fields that support coastal ecologies and attract researchers in diverse fields.

We aim to develop human resources with problem-solving abilities through research experience and to discover prominent researchers in future generations.

We provide a field-based education, connecting first-class researchers visiting Kikaijima with scientists-in-the-making in the future generations.

Sangojuku (Coral research experience program))

Sangojuku provides the opportunity for an intellectual quest, prompting children to tackle unsolved issues.

Our planet, our society – the environments surrounding us are complex and continually changing.

Sangojuku prompts children to understand this world through sciences and enhances their sensitivity, intelligence, and problem-solving abilities. It aims to develop leaders in the future generations who can produce ideas and carry them out to foresee the future and create a new intellectual field.

Scientists from coral-related fields and instructors with abundant international experience are waiting, ready to lead the children through our intellectual quest.

“Perceiving,” “discovering,” “communicating,” and “preserving”

From an internationally recognized mecca for researches on coral reefs, we present you experience-based training and scientific English lessons.

Through webinars and field-based trainings making the most of cutting-edge coral reef sciences, we enhance children’s abilities to “perceive,” “discover,” “communicate,” and “preserve.”

You can subscribe to our Sangojuku anywhere in the world. We will instruct and communicate with you using video call systems. Get connected with the whole world and study with us about coral reefs and our planet!

Syllabus

・Learning Science in English (4 times a month)

This course aims to get children to understand scientific articles and communicate their opinions in English. The children’s final goal would be to present the results of their researches conducted in Coral Reef Study Course in English.

・Coral Reef Study (twice a month)

This course aims to get children to learn cutting-edge sciences and research methodology through webinars and home-based assignments. It enhances children’s abilities to identify issues and solve them.

・Coral Reef Science Seminar (once a month)

This course is delivered by the instructor of Science Camps. This course is offered exclusively for the subscribers of Sangojuku.

・Field-based activities (twice a year)

Every August, we hold Summer Camps for Coral Reef Sciences. Click here for more detail. Additionally, in March, we hold an event of field work activities exclusively for the subscribers of Sangojuku, where they can delve into the fields of their respective interests.

Fees(tax included):

Coral Reef Study + Learning Science in English	JPY 25,000 per month
Coral Reef Study	JPY 19,000 per month
Learning Science in English	JPY 9,800 per month

Course detail

For 5^th~6^th graders in elementary school and junior and senior high school students.
Every Thursday 17:00~18:00 or 18:00~19:00 (Learning Science in English)
Twice a month (Friday) 18:00~20:00 (Coral Reef Study)
Once a month (Friday) (Coral Reef Science Seminar)

KIKAI College StudyAway program

Coral reefs x Science x StudyAway

Kikai Town, Kikai Junior High School, Kikai High School, and KIKAI Institute have been propelling junior and senior high school student program to immigrate to this island. The project aims to provide the opportunities to learn “what is a research?” through the coral reef science experience and social communication during the school life on Kikai-jima island. To scientists-in-the-making in the future generations: why not live and study with us, here in this island – the world’s rarest field of coral reef sciences?

KIKAI Institute provides the opportunity for an experience-based intellectual quest, here in this island with abundant coral reefs.

Coral reefs are vital fields that support coastal ecologies and attract researchers in diverse fields.

Coral reef research fields include but are not limited to chemistry, biology, physics, geology, engineering, humanities, fisheries science, environmental studies, and policies studies.

We aim to develop human resources with problem-solving abilities through research experience and to discover prominent researchers in the future generations.

We provide a field-based education, connecting first-class researchers visiting Kikaijima with scientists-in-the-making in the future generations.

Students will have opportunities for presenting the results of their own researches.

Our education strategy

to nurture the future generation’s scientists with leadership and understanding in diversity;
to discover human resources with prominent potentials in sciences; and
to open KIKAI College for carefully selected, motivated students (projected to start in 2021)

We will collaborate with around 70 first-class scientists inside and outside Japan to lead students all the way through our intellectual quest.

Kikaijima is an optimal field for the studies of coral reefs – one of the rarest in the world!

Kikaijima is a beautiful island with pristine nature and diverse ecology of coral reefs.

Miraculous island? An island made up of uplifted coral reefs

Kikaijima’s origin was coral reefs – colonies of corals on the seabed that had been uplifted by the Earth’s crustal movements. The upward movements continued and pushed those coral reefs above the surface of the water. The repeating cycles of uplifting and the formation of fringing reef went on, eventually shaping the island as what we see right now.

Since the 1950s: an internationally recognized mecca for the studies of coral reefs

As Kikaijima is one of the fastest uplifting islands in the world, its geologic strata include abundant coral fossils. For this reason, the island named as one of the top three meccas for the studies of coral reefs, along with Papua New Guinea in the Southern Pacific and Barbados in the Atlantic.

For its unique origin, this island has been recognized as a mecca for coral reef studies, attracting researchers from all over the world for more than 60 years. KIKAI Institute serves as the principal research institution on the island, vigorously conducting research with researchers and students from all over the world.

In Kikaijima, students will be enrolled in the local junior and senior high schools and learn in KIKAI Institute on weekends and after school.

Syllabus

・Learning Science in English (once a week, in the evening)

The key concept of this course is “learning English while using it.” Through this course, students can acquire practical English skills to communicate their research results with the rest of the world. After reading scientific articles (junior high school students) and theses (senior high school students) in English, they will prepare presentations and write thesis to communicate their opinions and research results in English. They will also have some opportunities to talk with researchers and college students from overseas.

・Coral Reef Study Training (every Saturday)

In this course, students will be expected to set their themes and conduct researches on them. By “conducting research and sharing their results” rather than “being taught,” they will learn to solve issues on their own and communicate their experiences to the other people.

Students conduct research, discuss them with their instructors, and prepare their presentations, on every Saturday and occasionally during weekdays.

・Coral Reef Science Seminar (once a month)

The professional coral reef researchers deliver this course. This course is offered exclusively for the subscribers of Sangojuku.

・Field-based activities (twice a year)

Fees(tax included):

Admission Fee	JPY 100,000
Coral Reef Study Training +Learning Science in English	JPY 35,000 per month
Coral Reef Study Training	JPY 30,000 per month
Learning Science in English	JPY 9,800 per month

Course detail

For junior and senior high school students.
Once a week (Learning Science in English)
Every Saturday afternoon (Coral Reef Study Training)
Once a month (Friday) (Coral Reef Science Seminar)

Trial package for study in Kikaijima

A peek into the world of coral reef sciences, during a few days stay in Kikaijima

Participants will set their own themes according to their interests and obtain and deepen their understanding of coral reefs through lectures and field-based activities. We also accept group participants, parents, and adults. This program is a perfect trial for those with interests in marine life and coral reefs. It is available for anyone above 3^rd graders in elementary school (adults are welcome too)!

Participation fees

JPY 35,000 for the three-day program / JPY 50,000 for the seven-day program (Group discount might be available.)