The Center for Collaborative Study with Community, Gifu University held a closing ceremony for "Space Engineering Seminar 2020," on Saturday, December 19, 2020.

The seminar is held every year as part of "Senior High School & University Partnership Program" of COC+,* which offers senior high school students an opportunity to experience educational and research activities at Gifu University firsthand. The major objectives of the seminar are: convey the real strengths and advantages of Gifu Prefecture's aerospace industry, and motivate students to find an employment in aeronautical and space engineering-related businesses in the future. Around 90 people attended at the closing ceremony on December 19 when the "Cansat** Competition Gifu" was concurrently held at the athletic field within campus.

First, the competition began in the morning. Launching of each Cansat was thoroughly examined and evaluated. The closing ceremony held in the afternoon began with a speech by the President of Gifu University, Hisataka Moriwaki, and it was followed by an evaluation of presentations made by the competition participants.

Next, Dr. Yasuyoshi Hisamoto from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA, Tokyo) gave his speech online. He spoke about the JAXA's activities and gave some advice on how to build business careers in space industry by mentioning his own unique experiences. Dr. Hayashi from the Nobeyama Radio Observatory (NRO, Nagano Prefecture) also introduced the activities of the observatory. In addition, students enjoyed watching a video footage about the black hole exclusively created by Dr. Hayashi for the seminar.

At the end of the ceremony, the participants were handed out their certificates of completion. The "Moriwaki Award" were also presented to the students whose outstanding achievements were acknowledged. Lastly, the awarding ceremony for the Cansat Competition Gifu was conducted. The ceremony ended with a closing address from Professor Toshiaki Murai, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering.

*COC+: Center of Community Program for Local Revitalization of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)

**Cansat: a type of sounding rocket used to teach space technology, similar to miniaturized sattelites