PARE Spring School 2021

Recalling of a lifetime experience

Year 2021 was one of the gloomiest year in the known history. It was a time which everything came a halt, everyone was disappointed and lived only with the uncertainty.

I am H.U.Erangi Imasha, a second-year masters student in Engineering Technology program in Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology (SIIT), Thammasat University. I was really disappointed since I was eagerly waiting to go for an international exchange opportunity during my masters. But all the international opportunities, spring schools, summer schools to scholarship opportunities have stopped. In a time like that, when all the environments set to quite everything, international affairs office of my university announced the PARE program which I saw as a silver line in a dark cloud. Though lot of my colleagues had a negative mind sets regarding attending online programs,  I myself thought that it is a great opportunity given the pandemic situation.

This was my first online spring school and had no idea in mind how this is going to happen. Even at that time I didn’t know who are the other selected participants from my university snice we were from different faculties. We were called to a zoom orientation where we were taught  about how the program is going to be happen and we were grouped to make country presentations. PARE team including lectures to coordination team was very patiently helped us in every step. All the lectures, presentations, videos, filed data were shared through the ELMS in a very well organized manner.

Then the PARE program officially began with our country presentations and we were realized that water resources in all the geographic regions are facing the same set of environmental problems. That moment I realized the importance of this program which we can get solutions, ideas from other countries who have dealt with the same problem. I must say that PARE team has put all the efforts by using all high techniques to deliver us the best experience through out the program which really makes me wonder since I did not expect such preparation for a spring school. The field work videos were prepared in a manner to give us every single detail of it covering from many angels using different camera techniques. Hence, I felt like I, myself engaging in the field work in beautiful snow-covered Hokkaido weather. Of course, no YouTube video will give the same experience! Lectures were well organized on different topics in very interactive manner and always leading us for critical thinking. Specially I really admired the opportunity given us to talk with Japanese government officers which we got the chance to ask any question from them. Group works were really unique since it gave me the opportunity to work with colleagues from different major fields which help me to enhance my thinking in a wider perspective for a problem not only limiting to environment but also into engineering and management aspects too.

I myself proud to call as a PARE alumni. Because PARE team itself set the great example of accepting the challenge and challenging to the challenge in a needy moment. I believe in the themes of the program “frontier sprits” and “problem solving capacities” since the PARE team show it to us by themselves. Also, I am so happy about the network I built through this program. Moreover, the field research knowledge and the knowledge I got through the lectures and interactive sessions are really valuable and I am sure it will be very helpful in future. I would like to encourage everyone to join this program and witness an opportunity of a lifetime by yourself. PARE program left a great aurora of happiness and joy in my heart and I will spread that to the world one day.