Gifu University student teams took part in the "Intermold 2015 Die & Mold Asia 2015 Japan Metal Stamping Technology Exhibition 2015" which was held in Tokyo on Thursday, April 16th, 2015. In this Exhibition, Gifu University student teams participated in, and one team won the Gold Prize at "the 7th Die & Mold Student Grand Prix" in press mold category. The other team won the Silver Prize in plastic mold category.

On Friday, April 24th, the students and their mentors for this competition, Professor Zhigang Wang, Vice President for Industry-Government-Academia Collaboration and Professor Minoru Yamashita, Director of the Center for Advanced Die Engineering and Technology, visited the President Office. The students reported their prize-winning to President Hisataka Moriwaki and they shared the joy of great victory.

At the "Die & Mold Student Grand Prix," students compete with one another. First, they display dies, molds and molded samples of their own making, and explain the details from designing, modifications to formation of dies and molds to the examiners. Then, the examiners who are made up of experts and working professionals evaluate the level of achievement for a given assignment and its creation process.

This competition has been gaining more recognition in recent years from the perspectives of "securing workforce" and "a relay of technology from one generation to the next" in manufacturing businesses in Japan. As company employees are free to visit the exhibition booths of students, they can directly communicate with the students. These opportunities for exchanges are expected to address lack of workforce and succession of skills in the future.

"We tackled a tough assignment together by gathering the wisdoms of our team members. Such a strong teamwork steered us a victory this time. Many positive evaluations from the companies are also encouraging for us." said one of the students in the meeting with the President. The President wholeheartedly praised their hard-won victories and said, "The Gold Prize for the second consecutive years and the Silver Prize of the Gifu University teams are truly remarkable achievements. I believe that your team-building experiences and the great victories will no doubt equip you all for the future."