Voice From Alumni
Dr. Md. Manir Hossain Mollah
- From
- Dhaka
- Degree
- PhD from the Graduate School of Agriculture and Life Sciences,
Laboratory of Biometry and Bioinformatics, The University of Tokyo
Message
Please give a short introduction about yourself including your hometown in Bangladesh and the degree you are seeking (or for alumni, the degree you obtained and your current job).
My name is Dr. Md. Manir Hossain Mollah from Dhaka, Bangladesh. I have been working as an Assistant Professor, department of Bio-statistics and Bioinformatics at Asian University for Women (AUW), Chittagong, Bangladesh since 2019. AUW has been established to educate and empower women leaders through the transformative power of liberal arts and sciences education. I also worked at the same position for 3 years at Bangladesh University of Health Science, Dhaka, Bangladesh. I have been awarded a PhD degree since 2012 in Bioinformatics from the Graduate School of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Laboratory of Biometry and Bioinformatics, University of Tokyo, Japan. I have B.Sc (Hons., 2004) and M.Sc (thesis-based, 2005) degrees from the Department of Statistics, Rajshahi University, Bangladesh.
What is your favorite thing about Tokyo?
The city of Tokyo is one of the busiest cities in Japan. Yono Park was my favorite place on the way to Tokyo University, Hongo campus. The park has ponds and sakura flower trees on both sides of the road which makes the park very attractive. There were countless birds chirping. At a certain time in the month of February, I was fascinated to see sakura flower ceremonies all over the park. The city of Tokyo is one of the busiest cities in Japan. Yono Park was my favorite place on the way to Tokyo University, Hango campus. The park has ponds and sakura flower trees on both sides of the road which makes the park very attractive. There were countless birds chirping. At a certain time in the month of February, I was fascinated to see sakura flower ceremonies all over the park. There are many more things in this city that surprised me at first, e.g.
- There are separate walkways on both sides of the road and special arrangements for the blind.
- To avoid chaos they always create a row which is really awesome.
- Even if there are no cars on the road, no one crosses the road until the signal to cross is given.
I also had some other favorite places like Tokyo Tower, Shopping Mall, Aokigahara Forest etc. There are many more things in this city that surprised me at first, e.g.
- There are separate walkways on both sides of the road and special arrangements for the blind.
- To avoid chaos they always create a row which is really awesome.
- Even if there are no cars on the road, no one crosses the road until the signal to cross is given.
- Last but not least, the Japanese are very polite, easy-going and do not like lies.
In what ways has your impression of Tokyo or Japan changed since coming here?
I lived in Tokyo from 2008 to 2012 while studying at the Hango campus of the University of Tokyo. I have experience traveling to a few more countries, but I have never seen a beautiful city like Tokyo. The most important thing to me about this city is the communication system. I have never seen such a beautiful train service in any other country or city. Trains were always ready to travel from any part of the city to any other part of the city, which were well managed according to the specified time. One more thing that fascinates me about this city is its security. Even in the famous cities of many big countries of the world, people are not always safe. But my experience is that people in Tokyo are safe enough, even for women. From morning to night, people of all classes and professions can move around safely for twenty-four hours. I think two things that abruptly changed when I came here was the language for communicating and the food. Gradually I was able to feel quite comfortable with the food as well as language barriers were reduced over time.
What attracted you to choose The University of Tokyo as a place to study?
After my graduation, I was very excited to continue my research work on the development of new methods or the application of statistical methods to biological data. I tried to pursue higher degrees at various universities in Japan. Among the few university opportunities out there, I have chosen the University of Tokyo. The first reason for this is that I found a very strong profile professor who was simultaneously proficient in statistics, mathematics and biology and matched my study interest on research perfectly. The second reason was that Tokyo university is the Japan’s top university and the highest-ranking Japanese university in the international ranking.
Please write a message to students or researchers in your home country who may be thinking about studying in Japan.
In terms of nature, Japan is a really beautiful country. In winter you can feel the snow, which you are missing in Bangladesh, and in spring you can enjoy the beautiful calm weather along with the flower ceremony. There is no reason to worry too much about your food. You will get all kinds of vegetables, fish and meat around you. If you want to eat halal food, there is also no reason to worry, there are many only halal food shops. You can even buy halal food from any store as these are written on the packet. However, the most important thing is that Japan has one of the best education systems in the world. The education system there is learning by doing, which is very effective I guess. In addition to studying, you can work if you want, which will help you financially, and after graduation, there are job opportunities in various companies, institutions, or universities in Japan.