Efforts to Cultivate the Next Generatio

Minato Science Festa is an annual science festival centered on science in daily life, bringing together people of all ages and backgrounds to gather and interact. It features contributions from various companies, organizations, research institutions, and public entities active in the Minato area, offering a wide range of content for attendees.
Our Company organized quizzes on the properties of copper and a thermal conductivity experiment where participants could learn about copper's high thermal conductivity through hands-on experience. Through these activities, we showed how copper's unique properties are used to support our daily lives. A total of two experimental classes were held, allowing many participants to explore the fascinating world of metals.

On August 28, 2023, we collaborated with the Summer Vacation Company Bus Tour, a program organized by Ibaraki University's College of Engineering to support female junior and senior high school students in pursuing science-related careers. We welcomed girls from the northern and central regions of the prefecture for a tour at our Hitachi Works. This program is an initiative of Ibaraki University's College of Engineering. It provides opportunities for female engineers to enhance interest and awareness in science and engineering among female students by offering them chances to visit companies and interact with female engineers.
The day included tours of the treated rolled copper foil manufacturing process and the silver recycling process, as well as job presentations and roundtable discussions lead by female engineers at each plant. In a friendly atmosphere, the participating students listened attentively to the presenters shared the excitement of working in the fields of science and technology and their reasons for pursuing these careers.

On December 21, 2023, we conducted a tour and workshop at our head office for students from the Department of Systems Innovation, Faculty of Engineering, the University of Tokyo. The department aims to develop individuals equipped with not only analytical skills related to fundamental engineering but also logical and systematic thinking, integration abilities, leadership, and coordination skills. One of our outside directors, Tokoro Chiharu, has been appointed as a professor in this department.
On the day of the event, 10 students and Associate Professor Yutaro Takaya visited the head office, toured the SQUARE LAB (showroom), and took a simulated virtual reality (VR) tour of the Saganoseki Smelter & Refinery to learn about the development of nonferrous metal materials. Additionally, we held a workshop themed around resource recycling, where we engaged in lively discussions on constructing resource recycling business models.
Students who participated in the workshop commented, "While conceptualizing a business model for achieving copper resource recycling, I was able to gain a bird's eye view of the copper lifecycle and the entire supply chain, which was very informative," and "I hope this kind of workshop is held in various locations." It was a valuable experience for us as well, as we learned a lot from the earnest dedication of the students and their innovative thinking, which was not bound by existing ideas.

We donated a ball coaster themed around Copper Resource Recycling to the Hitachi Civic Center Science Museum, Sakurie, located in Hitachi City, Ibaraki Prefecture. It illustrates the process of mining copper ore from copper mines, producing electrolytic copper at smelters, processing it into electronic materials used in semiconductors and smartphones, and finally recycling it from the end products.
On April 27, 2024, the Science Museum held an event to celebrate the opening of the new exhibit. At the event, we conducted a shiny 10-yen coin experiment using seasonings and a held quiz on copper so that local children could experience the properties of copper firsthand.