From 15th to 18th March, Prof. Waka and Prof. Jun visited several institutes in Taiwan to discuss preparations for the next SPICE and I-WIT 2027. On the 16th morning, they visited Mingdao High School in Taichung, then, in the afternoon of the same day, they had a meeting with Prof. Stano Kong of Tunghai University….
On 18th February, Prof. Jun Iio provided his lecture on developing and operating the Dialogbook system at Chiang Mai University. He gave his talk to sophomore students studying software engineering at the university’s Courage of Art, Media, and Technology (CAMT). He gave an overview of the SMILE project, how the dialogbook supported it, and its…
On 21st March 2026, WILL will hold an online briefing session on the SMILE project for Japanese schools interested in participating in Academic Year 2026. If you would like to join the event, do not hesitate to fill in the form. WILL will send an invitation message to the registered user. The briefing session will…
The SPICE 2026 international conference and I-WIT 2026 international workshop were held on 6th and 7th February 2026, in Nakhon Pathom and Bangkok, Thailand. We were honored to have distinguished speakers and participants from around the world, and we hope this was a meaningful and inspiring experience for all of you. In particular, this year’s…
I asked ChatGPT what the academic years are like in the countries participating in the SMILE project. Apparently, it’s something like this. It could be useful for matching. Country / Region Academic Year Term System Major Exams / Test Periods Notes Japan Early Apr – Mid Mar Three terms End of terms: Jul / Dec…
At the Kagoshima Prefecture Private School Education Training Seminar held on Thursday, 20th November, 2025, Miwako Yoshida, a teacher at Kagoshima Ikueikan Junior and Senior High School, introduced the online collaborative class with Taiwan supported by WILL, under the theme of “Practical Research on English Education through AI and International Exchange for Glocal Human Resource…
On 13th December 2025, WILL will provide an online briefing session on the SMILE project for Japanese schools that want to participate in the future. If you would like to join the event, do not hesitate to fill in the form. WILL will send an invitation message to the registered user. The briefing session will…
At the International Education Showcase hosted by the Taichung International Education Center, Mingdao High School presented its achievements from three years of participation in the SMILE Project. As Taiwan’s key partner promoting the SMILE Project, Mingdao highlighted English as a lingua franca and its role in creating authentic language-use situations for students. Coordinator Lee, Tsung-Che…
19th November 2025, Jun Iio, a board member of WILL, and two guys from Kirihara Shoten Co., Ltd, visited Churaronkon University located at Bangkok and Silpakorn University at Nakhon Pathom. Prof. Nattama at Churaronkon University, and Ajarn Toey and his colleagues at Demonstration School of Silpakorn University were kindly welcomed us; there were good discussions…
We received the PM Encouragement Award and gave a speech at the award ceremony. Using photos, I, Wakabayashi, explained that the SMILE Project is run primarily by school teachers, and that since 2020, more than 3,000 elementary, junior high, high school, and university students have participated in this international online collaborative program for small group…
