High School Students from Thailand and Okinawa Visited OIST for an International Ant Research Program
On July 30, 2026, 25 students from Kyuyo High School in Japan and Srinakharinwirot University Ongkharak Demonstration School and Demonstration School Ramkhamhaeng University in Thailand visited OIST.
Since 2024, Kyuyo High School has led an international ant research program. The Marine and Terrestrial Sciences (MTS) Section at OIST also assists the students in their research activities. Through this program, students visit each other's countries, collect ants in the field, and deepen international collaboration through a shared interest in ant research. The MTS Section supports these activities by providing opportunities to interact with researchers from OIST and other institutions, as well as by hosting visits to the OIST campus.
During this visit, students from the two Thai schools traveled to Okinawa and carried out field surveys together with students from Kyuyo High School. They then brought their collected samples to OIST, where they joined a campus tour, attended a talk on ant research, and gained hands-on experience sorting and classifying the ants they had collected, with support from members of the MTS Section. MTS members utilized the classification techniques and insights gained through the OKEON to support the high school students’ research activities.
We hope this exchange will foster new connections with the research community and inspire the students to make new discoveries about the ants of Okinawa and Thailand.
