[Toba National College of Maritime Technology] New Fishing Model for the SDGs Era: 'Shirasu-ru' Whitebait Fishing Support System Wins 2nd Place at International Competition
Students from Toba National College of Maritime Technology won 2nd place in an international programming contest for their whitebait fishing support system.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: March 28, 2026 at 23:45
Four students from the Department of Information, Mechanical and Systems Engineering at Toba National College of Maritime Technology (Toba City, Mie Prefecture; Principal: Yuichi Furuyama; hereinafter "Toba Shosen") participated in the 17th NAPROCK International Programming Contest held in Hanoi, Vietnam, from March 8 (Sun) to 9 (Mon), 2026, and won 2nd place in the task category.
This contest is an international event for students from technical colleges and engineering universities, where participants compete in creativity and technical skills by aiming to solve regional and social issues using ICT-based systems. The student team 'ezaki-lab,' which won the top prize in the task category at the 36th National Institute of Technology Programming Contest (Kosen Procon), represented Japan and presented "Shirasu-ru: A Sustainable and Environmentally Friendly Whitebait Fishing Support System." As a result of the judging, they secured 2nd place in the task category. The participating students commented, "Although we narrowly missed 1st place, participating in an international competition was a very valuable experience."
After receiving a report on the students' achievements following the contest, Principal Yuichi Furuyama offered words of encouragement: "Congratulations. It is very gratifying to see our students succeed. I believe you have all gained valuable experience abroad. Please continue your efforts in the future."
Toba Shosen remains committed to fostering engineers capable of succeeding on the international stage and will continue to actively support the challenges taken on by its students.
Overview: 17th NAPROCK International Programming Contest
◆ Dates
March 8 (Sun) – 9 (Mon), 2026
◆ Venue
VNU University of Engineering and Technology (Hanoi, Vietnam)
◆ Participating Countries
Vietnam, Mongolia, Thailand, Japan
◆ Entry from Toba Shosen
Department of Information, Mechanical and Systems Engineering: ezaki-lab
"Shirasu-ru: A Sustainable and Environmentally Friendly Whitebait Fishing Support System"
Faculty Advisor: Professor Nobuo Ezaki