The Daikin-University of Tokyo Global Internship Program, which has been running since 2019, was held onsite for the first time in three years since the start of the pandemic due to the coronavirus infection. Ten students participated in programs in the US and reported on their outcomes at the debriefing session in the UTokyoNY Office on Friday 2 September, the final day of the program.

The program was for two weeks, and participants attended lectures and classes, and toured plants and facilities in Houston, Washington D.C., and New York.

At the debriefing session, the students presented their proposals on issues they addressed as the North American theme^(*) and the results of the program. A variety of opinions were exchanged in response. The session was attended by Chairman Jiro Tomita, CEO Satoru Akama and EVP Takayuki Inoue of Daikin Comfort Technologies North America, Daikin U.S. President Yoshiyuki Uemura, and other Daikin Industries, Ltd. officials, as well as Executive Vice President Aihara of the University of Tokyo and NY Icho-kai members.

^(*) North America Theme: Strategic Planning for Rulemaking in the Context of Climate Change and Environmental Issues

~Game-Changing Strategy for Carbon Neutrality in the North American Air Conditioning Sector

In closing, Executive Vice President Aihara commented that “both organizations are working on industry-academia collaboration under the theme of creating value of air, and I was reminded of the potential of that value. As an educational institution, we are very grateful to Daikin Industries, Ltd. for creating this wonderful program, and we are happy to see that the students learned a lot from it. We hope to further develop our collaborative relationship in the future.” The debriefing session ended on a high note with these words of thanks.