Overview
The “Student Branch Networking Workshop 2025 @ Hokkaido” was held over two days on December 18 (Thu) and 19 (Fri), 2025, with the following program.
- Organized by:
- IEEE Hokkaido University Student Branch
- IEEE Muroran Institute of Technology Student Branch
- IEEE Tohoku University Student Branch
- IEICE Tohoku University Student Branch
- IEEE Shin-etsu Section Student Branch
- IEEE Meiji University Student Branch
- IEEE Kansai University Student Branch
- IEEE Kansai Section YP
- Venue
- Large Conference Room 11-17, 11th Floor, Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Hokkaido University
- (Access: https://www.ist.hokudai.ac.jp/access/#info)
A total of 18 students and related members from Student Branches (hereafter, SBs) across Japan participated in the workshop.
Background and Preparation
This workshop was held with the aim of strengthening collaboration among SBs and promoting future activities.
The initial idea originated from the IEEE Student Branch Leadership Training Workshop (SBLTW) 2025, held on Sunday, September 28, 2025.
During discussions in the poster session, participants expressed the wish: “We don’t want the connections formed here to end with this event—let’s collaborate on future events together.”
From this conversation, the plan gradually developed into a concrete workshop proposal.
Subsequently, two online meetings (via Google Meet) were held on October 8 (Wed) and October 15 (Wed), 2025, to discuss in detail the objectives, contents, and structure of the event.
As a result, it was decided that this workshop would serve as “A place to discuss and materialize future collaborative events and sustainable cooperation frameworks among SBs.”
We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to all SB members and related parties who supported this event.
Day 1 — December 18, 2025 (Thu)
Program
- 10:00–12:00 IEICE Tohoku University SB Activity Report & Event Management Lecture
- 12:00–13:00 Lunch Break
- 13:00–13:15 Opening
- 13:15–13:45 Orientation
- 13:45–15:15 Activity Report Presentations
- 15:15–15:30 Break
- 15:30–16:45 Discussion 1
- 16:45–17:00 Closing
- 18:00–20:00 Social Gathering (Kirin Beer Garden Urban Branch)
In the morning, IEICE Tohoku University SB delivered an “Activity Report & Event Management Lecture.”
They shared practical and insightful knowledge, including specific event management strategies, promotional methods, and processes for shaping ideas into actionable projects. This session was highly meaningful for all participants.
After the lunch break, the “Student Branch Exchange Workshop 2025 @ Hokkaido” officially began at 13:00.
From this point onward, the event was moderated by Yuito ISHISAKI, Chair of IEEE Hokkaido University SB.
During the orientation session, participants were divided into three groups (A/B/C) to introduce themselves and interact.
Following this, the Activity Report Presentations were conducted.
Representatives from each SB gave 10–15 minute presentations to share their activities, features, and current situations. Despite the limited time, lively Q&A sessions followed each presentation, providing a valuable opportunity to deepen mutual understanding.
Discussion 1
Theme: “Let’s Design Sustainable SB Events!”
Since SBs are student organizations, frequent leadership transitions are inevitable, and maintaining operational continuity and knowledge transfer can become challenging. With this shared awareness, Discussion 1 focused on the question: “What makes an SB event sustainable — one that preserves connections and ensures organizational knowledge is
handed down?”
Each group summarized their discussion results into slides within the allocated time and presented them to all participants in approximately five minutes per group.
To ensure that the discussions would not end within the workshop, all presentation materials were shared via Google Drive so that participants could access them even after the event.
Day 2 — December 19, 2025 (Fri)
Program
- 09:30–09:45 Opening
- 09:45–10:15 Discussion 2 (Identifying Issues)
- 10:15–10:30 Break
- 10:30–11:30 Discussion 2 (Exploring Solutions)
- 11:30–11:45 Presentations
- 11:45–12:00 Closing & Group Photo
On the second day, participants were rearranged into new groups (D/E/F), different from Day 1.
Discussion 2
Theme: “Let’s Solve the Challenges in SB Collaboration!”
While Discussion 1 had focused primarily on SB events, Discussion 2 took a broader perspective and addressed general challenges related to SB collaboration.
First, each group identified major challenges and shared them with the entire group.
Key issues discussed included:
- Lack of knowledge transfer regarding inter-SB collaboration, resulting in poor continuity
- Excessive workload concentrated on specific leadership roles
- Strong collaboration existing only within specific student cohorts, without being inherited by younger members
- Difficulty organizing joint events with distant SBs due to travel and financial constraints
Based on these points, each group then examined solutions to the challenges raised by other groups.
As in Day 1, they compiled their proposed solutions into slides and presented them to the entire audience.
Thanks to the stronger relationships built on the first day, participants were able to engage in deeper and more constructive discussions.
Conclusion
Throughout the two-day workshop, we successfully achieved our major goals:
- Creating new inter-SB connections
- Strengthening existing relationships
- Sharing concrete ideas for future collaboration
We hope that the discussions and relationships fostered through this workshop will continue to influence future SB activities and contribute to more active and sustainable Student Branch operations.
We would like to once again express our sincere gratitude to all participants and supporters.
This document is an English translation of the original Japanese article, generated using ChatGPT-5.2 and manually revised for accuracy.
