Abstract
This article reports about the agriculture internship implemented in Muroran Institute of Technology and the marked educational effects. In this program, students stay 10 days with host family farmers and experience farm works. The works in the vegetable farms, dairy farms and race horse farms include harvest vegetables, sorting and cleaning crops, caring cows and horses, feeding and milking, cleaning cowsheds and stables, etc. All these works are from early morning till night and need both muscles and skills, quite different from classroom studies. Students’ reports show that they enjoy and get strong impression and satisfaction by the new experiences surrounded by lots of nature, farm products and animals. They also learn meaning of working, relation of their daily life and society, importance of communication and many others. Questionnaire survey to past students revealed that they learned the importance of autonomy and positiveness, cooperativeness, sense of responsibility and broad mindedness from the agriculture internship, and these characters are very significant in the course studies after that, as well as in the vocational life in the industries after the graduation. The farmers also enjoy accepting students with broadening understanding on their jobs, and also absorbing young energy of the students.
