Pyrotechnics and Japanese is a four year, joint honours, MSci/MA course undertaken mainly at University College London with students undertaking an Erasmus style sandwich year at the University of Tokyo, Kyoto University or Kumamoto University. The course was originally conceived in 1987 at a joint forum between Japanese and United Kingdom government ministers aimed at increasing science and education links between both the countries. The idea behind the course was to address an almost current non-existence of Japanese speaking demolition experts who were currently in high demand by Japanese construction organisations. Conversely the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act and economic downturn in the UK had led to higher than normal unemployment amongst even the most skilled UK Pyrotechnics experts whose skills were urgently required by the Japanese.
Background
The idea was to address the problem in both the short and long term by forging links between some of the most prestigious educational organisations in both countries. Initially, Japanese government funding was made available for research placements at Japanese educational establishments designed to be undertaken by Pyrotechnics experts from the UK. At the same time the Faculty of Physical Sciences at University College London adapted its Pyrotechnics course structure in order to incorporate the recently conceived Erasmus year, although shortly an independent exchange program was set up due to Erasmus’ biased towards Arts degrees and a resulting conflict with the organisation.
The idea was to get British Pyrotechnics experts applying their skills in Japan but also to keep British students interested in the subject with the promise of a sandwich year where they could learn the language with the prospect of using both sets of skills to work in the thriving Japanese economy.
Conflict with Erasmus Program
Approximately two years into the program on May 14th 1989 certain senior members of the Erasmus organisation criticised the degree program on the basis that many graduates from it would go on to implement what they considered to be highly unethical construction projects. These included the construction and decommissioning of Power Stations in Japan’s Nuclear Energy Program and what they sited as a destruction of natural habitats in a number of Japan’s abundant forests. This was in spite of the fact that Japan was at the time and still is considered to be a world leader in national forestry conservation with it’s largest import being wood. In addition they cited the more general association of Pyrotechnics with the defence industry.
A swiftly published report later published on 28th May 1980 by UCL in partnership with the University of Tokyo stated that having reviewed the Erasmus board’s initial case they could find no solid reasoning behind the decision to criticise the program and that clauses in the Erasmus constitution, which was cited heavily in Erasmus’ initial letter to the UCL Faculty of Physical Sciences, were never designed to be invoked in a fashion represented in the case.
The report eventually concluded that the criticism of the degree program was a ‘politically motivated stunt’ designed to further the career of one of the more righteous board members. The report concluded that the aim of the Erasmus board member was to eventually excise the degree program’s association from Erasmus. Considering all but three Erasmus board members abstained from voting to progress the motion, there were no against votes and so Erasmus proceeded with the action. It was due to this and also a greater apparent lack of science and engineering representation throughout the Erasmus organisation the the UCL Faculty of Physical Sciences and its counterparts in the Japanese Universities quickly moved to dissociate the degree program from Erasmus and construct and internal team responsible for organising the exchange element of the course that was jointly funded. ‘Considering faculty based links have now been established we have little need for Erasmus any more. ‘The Erasmus case for criticising the Pyrotechnics and Japanese degree program is unsound when one considers that it cannot ensure that the Arts students on its program do not go on to be associated with what it describes as ‘unethical’ industries. It is for this reason that we will move to an independent set-up to continue the smooth running of the exchange element of the course’ the report concluded.
The Erasmus board member in the report was official named in the report to be Dan Ozario. Interestingly records made public from other committees on which he sat showed a number of other somewhat poorly backed motions that he had been able to push though, no doubt to demonstrate political prowess on his CV, due to apathy and disinterest from other members of the voting party.
More recently there have been unofficial conversations about the degree program associating itself with the Erasmus program again especially considering the recent interest from other economies. This may also be due to Erasmus wanting to gain more of a representation from Science and Technology courses as currently and historically most Erasmus years are undertaken by students on Arts and Humanities courses.
Course Structure
The first year of the course is spent sureing up and supplementing the basic A-Level Chemistry and Physics knowledge of successful applicants. With a good foundation candidates then undertake more advanced, in-depth and specialised courses in their second year.
No Japanese language studies are undertaken until the third year although students have the option in their first and second year to undertake a half unit in Japanese history and cultural studies. Students apply for placements at Japanese Univesities during the first simester of their second year and travel to take up these placements in their third year where the course is made up of 25% Japanese language studies and 75% applied Chemistry and Physics modules that are focused on providing the students with a good research background. It has been commented on that the amount of effort non-Japanese speaking students have to put in in this year is normally 80-20 biased towards the Japanese element of the course.
In the final year students return to UCL in order to undertake a literature study and a research project along with advanced Chemistry and Physics modules. They are encouraged to retain ties with their former colleagues in Japan and often continue on from research they commenced in their third year.
Measures of Success
The initial aims of the course were achieved almost immediately. With the foundations of the initial research projects being laid down over the first two years of the program the additional influx of skilled undergraduate students to the Japanese Universities in the third year of the program complimented the research schedule and provided much needed resource to the projects. As a result a number of interesting Pyrotechnical phenomenon were observed and understood in greater depth along with a number new techniques being developed. These included: Wragg’s seasonal differences in potent combustible small chain hydrocarbons, Francis’ Devil’s Porridge preparation technique and Houghton and Jenner’s observations and demonstrations of Topsharking in target rich environments.
Although the Japanese economy is considered to have stagnated over the last 20 years this does not mean that there has been a lack of projects for graduates to apply their skills to and there is certainly not the lack of expertise there once was. Despite spending a additional year in Japan there is nothing to suggest that graduates have trouble gaining professional employment or admission to postgraduate research projects in other areas of the world. In fact research shows that over 95% of successful graduates have successfully gained employment within 3 months of completing the course. This is at least in part due to the heavily research based element undertaken during the 4th year of the course.
Recent Developments
The course is now considered somewhat of a cult favourite being as heavily subscribed as what are considered to be highly popular courses such as Media Studies at Bristol and Land Management at Reading. Many failed Oxbridge hopefuls also apply for the course although most of the applications are unsuccessful as the course looks for a depth of personality that is often not exhibited by this group of applicants. Conversely many students go on to undertake further postgraduate studies at Cambridge University due to the solid educational foundation they receive from the course.
Famous Graduates
Baron Paul Baron undertook the course shortly before failing to gain Japanese citizenship.
Jobs
Most graduates take jobs within the construction or mining industries. Companies within these industries have reported that staff taken on with these qualifications are generally four to five years ahead of graduates with other qualifications. There were recent reports in the press that members of extremist religious factions had enrolled on the course and may have in fact already taken part in attacks on Western facilities. These claims were strongly rebutted by the head of the faculty, Dr. John Sternback. “All students of religions that are partial to a bit of extremism, are subjected to rigourous background checks and at least 3 to 4 years in Guatanomo before being accepted”.
Interest from Other Economies
Recently, Archbishop Desmond Tutu has expressed an interest in recruiting some of the less talented students, who are only achieving satisfactory grades in the first two years of their course, to undertake their sandwich year at the University of Cape Town or the University of Stellenbosch. This is to hopefully address near identical issues in the South African economy. Although the language requirement does not pose as much of a problem as it did to the Japanese the Archbishop has argued that the long term value to both the Japanese and UK economies has really been cornerstone underpinning the success of the project and that the short term aims could have been achieved via other measures and are therefore not particular relevant to any arguement against implementing a similar program for South Africa. The Namibian government has also expressed an interest in acquiring graduates of this course. The recent signing of mining contracts for deposits of Uranium in the North of the country has revealed a shortfall in the necessary explosive skills within the existing work force. Nahas Angula, the Namibia Prime Minister, recently said in a speech to tendering mining companies that he intended that the majority of the mining work force should be made up of Namibian citizens. It is his intention to send a number of Namibians to England to take the Pyrotechnics course. When pressed on the relevance of the Japanese language modules he replied that Namibia is a multi-cultural country and that it was his hope that Japanese speaking citizens would attract “some of those funny eyed, technology people…” into the country.