​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​From Virtual Worlds to Real Connections

​Summer School 2026

​Ten days, 24 students from HSD and Japan, and five ambitious group projects exploring the possibilities of virtual and augmented reality: that was the HSD Summer School 2026 from 14 to 23 September on “Mixed Media and Human Data Interaction” in a nutshell. But behind those numbers lay an intensive week and a half of experimentation, collaboration and intercultural exchange. Learning new skills, mastering complex technological equipment and developing innovative ideas is challenging enough. Doing all of that while navigating language barriers, different academic backgrounds and cultural perspectives added an entirely new dimension.

​Fortunately, the students did not have to explore these challenges in the abstract. With the generous support of VfL Bochum 1848, they were given a real-world setting in which to test their ideas. Ahead of the Summer School, a team of HSD students led by Prof. Dr. Jens Herder had been granted access to the club’s home stadium, including behind-the-scenes areas such as the locker rooms, to scan the premises and create a digital twin using the new technology of Gaussian Splats. The collaboration also opened the door to a very different kind of encounter: an exclusive conversation with VfL Bochum 1848’s Japanese player Kōji Miyoshi. On September 21, Kōji Miyoshi visited Prof. Herder’s virtual studio on the HSD campus to talk with the students about his experiences of living and playing football in Germany in a virtual production. His message resonated well beyond the world of sport. Reflecting on the hesitation many people feel when considering a move abroad, he encouraged the students not to let uncertainty stop them from taking the first step. “Many people worry a lot about various ‘what ifs’ and are reluctant to take the plunge,” he observed. “However, sometimes it is important to just take the first step anyway. I came to Germany without speaking any German and somehow it all still worked out. There will always be people who are willing to support you, no matter what.”

​In many ways, that willingness to venture into unfamiliar territory also captured the spirit of the Summer School itself. Using the digital twin of the VfL Bochum 1848 stadium and locker rooms as their virtual playground, the students began exploring what happens when emerging technologies, creative ideas and human interaction come together. Their projects approached this question from very different angles. One group experimented with relighting techniques, investigating how matching the lighting of an actor to that of a virtual environment can make virtual productions appear more convincing. Another explored spatial virtual sound, translating the movements of players and the ball into an auditory experience and combining it with personalized commentary for individual viewers. A further team developed a virtual community space for VfL Bochum 1848 fans, offering the possibility to explore normally inaccessible areas such as the locker room while connecting with other supporters. And then there was the opportunity to step onto the virtual pitch oneself: another project resulted in a VR football game prototype, including an AR view of the stadium.​​

​Japan Day 2026​​

Fo​r ten days, these ideas evolved through lectures, laboratory sessions, experimentation and intensive group work. What began as concepts and technological challenges gradually turned into prototypes that the students could actually demonstrate. And after a week and a half of development, it was time to take them out of the lab. The stage for this was the first HSD Japan Day on 23 September, where the participants presented the results of their work to the public. The response showed that interest reached well beyond the Summer School itself: almost 100 HSD students, staff members and external guests had registered online in advance, with visitors joining the program throughout the day. But the student presentations were only one part of the HSD Japan Day. While the Summer School offered a glimpse of what international collaboration can look like in practice, the rest of the program widened the perspective, creating opportunities for intercultural exchange, new connections and conversations about the many ties between Germany and Japan.

The daytime program was designed primarily with students in mind, while the evening opened the event to a broader audience of HSD professors, partners and members of the public. Together, the two parts shared a common goal: to bring HSD and the local German-Japanese community closer together and to introduce the HSD Japan Gateway as a new platform for exchange and cooperation. The day began by taking a closer look at the city in which that exchange is taking place. In his keynote, Prof. Dr. Christian Tagsold, Professor of Japanese Studies at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU), examined the familiar image of Düsseldorf as “Little Tokyo on the Rhine.” Looking beyond the promotional narrative associated with the term, he traced how Düsseldorf developed into a major center of Japanese life in Europe and invited the audience to consider the history and realities behind the city’s German-Japanese identity.

From there, the focus shifted from the history of the community to the people and organizations shaping it today. Throughout the afternoon, visitors had the opportunity to meet representatives working at the intersection of Germany and Japan and to learn more about the opportunities this connection can offer. For students in particular, this became very practical during a conversation with Anne Pomsel, Managing Director of the German-Japanese Business Association (DJW), and Benjamin Leonhardt from the Japan Desk at the Office of Economic Development of the City of Düsseldorf, a one-stop agency supporting Japanese companies in the city. What does the application process for a Japanese company actually look like? Where can graduates find opportunities in Germany and Japan? And how can students prepare themselves for a career that might take them between the two countries? The session gave them the chance to ask those questions directly and gain first-hand insights into the German-Japanese working world.

As afternoon turned into evening, the focus broadened once again. Following welcoming addresses, including remarks by Yoshitaka Tsunoda, Consul General of Japan, and Josef Hinkel, First Deputy Mayor of Düsseldorf, the program moved from academic and professional exchange to another dimension of the relationship between Germany and Japan: the ways in which culture travels, takes root and develops in a new environment. A particularly energetic example came from Bujin Taiko Düsseldorf. The ensemble brought the sound and physical intensity of Japanese taiko drumming to the HSD campus. Based in Düsseldorf and made up predominantly of non-Japanese performers, the group offered a vivid example of cultural exchange not simply as something to observe, but as something that can be learned, practiced and made part of a local community.

The final part of the evening approached this idea from a quieter and more personal perspective. The program culminated in the opening of “Seeds of Infinity,” an exhibition by Japanese artist Yumi Watanabe at the library. Born and raised in Japan, Yumi Watanabe moved to Germany after completing university in the mid-2000s. Her own experience of living between cultural contexts has become one of the influences on her artistic practice. In her work, she explores the spaces between apparent opposites: between the natural and the unnatural, the visible and the invisible, the living and the dying. She describes this exploration as a search for the “emergence of our timeless memory and constantly changing nature.” Against the backdrop of a day devoted to encounters between Germany and Japan, between different disciplines, generations and perspectives, her work added another layer to the conversation.
​Perhaps that was the common thread running through both the Summer School and the HSD Japan Day. Across ten days of experiments, conversations, performances and encounters, international cooperation became something tangible and personal. Institutions can open doors and create opportunities, but it is the people who walk through those doors, share their knowledge, take an interest in one another and build relationships across borders who give those opportunities meaning. And sometimes, as Kōji Miyoshi reminded the students earlier in the week, it all begins with simply taking that first step.​

We would like to extend our sincere thanks to everyone who contributed to the success of the Summer School and HSD Japan Day 2026.
 
Our special thanks go to our partner universities – the University of Aizu, the University of Tsukuba, Meisei University, Tokyo Metropolitan University, and Doshisha Women's College of Liberal Arts – as well as to our Summer School faculty: Prof. Michael Cohen (Higashi Nippon International University), Prof. Jens Herder (HSD), Prof. Yoshihiro Kanamori (University of Tsukuba), Prof. Philipp Krieter (HSD), and Prof. Alaeddin Nassani (University of Aizu).
 
We are equally grateful to our guest speakers – Benjamin Leonhardt (Japan Desk, Office of Economic Development Düsseldorf), Anne Pomsel (DJW), Prof. Christian Tagsold (HHU), and Yumi Watanabe – and to our distinguished guests, Yoshitaka Tsunoda (Consul General of Japan in Düsseldorf) and Josef Hinkel (First Deputy Mayor of Düsseldorf).

We would also like to thank Bujin Taiko Düsseldorf, VfL Bochum 1848, and everyone who worked behind the scenes to make these events possible.
 
Your dedication, expertise, and support helped create an inspiring experience, foster international exchange, and make both events a success. Thank you for being part of it!​

​​​​In cooperation with:​ ​​​​​ ​​

​
​