Voice From Alumni

I am Swagata Das from Guwahati, Assam, India. I finished my Masters in Electronics Design and Technology from Tezpur University, Assam. During my training at CSIR-CEERI, Pilani I came to know about the Taoyaka Program (one of the Leading Graduate Programs of Japanese Universities) of Hiroshima University and joined this course in Apr 2016. Currently I am a PhD 1st year student in the Biological Systems Engineering Laboratory under the supervision of Prof. Yuichi Kurita.

Japan is the first foreign nation I ever visited. I was quite overwhelmed in the beginning thinking if I can adjust well to the completely different set of work culture. But the attitude of people in Japan left me astonished. I never felt I was in a new place because of the friendliness I received from every person I was connected to. The dedication that I found in the Japanese work culture influenced me a lot. One of the experiences that I would share in this section is about my registration as a permanent resident in the City Hall of Higashi Hiroshima. I went there with a Japanese friend. He already had a list of to-dos in his diary (The Japanese maintain a schedule book for every task in the future). I was expecting the procedure to consume at least an hour or so, taking into consideration, my previous experiences in public sector offices in India. But I was left astonished as it just took 10-15 minutes and I could go back home. This is just one incident out of many, that influenced my attitude towards living life.

Before coming to Hiroshima University, I was working on a project related to Brain-Computer Interaction. These kinds of systems are used to aid people who have lost their motor abilities completely due to paralysis. The system helps them to communicate with a robot through a computer that can help them do their desired activity by sending Electroencephalographic (EEG) signals of the brain. During this project, I developed interest in rehabilitation robotics. Robotics these days is advancing in a lightning fast speed. However, with all the advancements, we tend to forget the aspect of wear-ability or comfort of use while designing robots for humans. The laboratory where I am working in now, is focusing on this very aspect and through our research we intend to design wearable and lightweight robotics. I chose this laboratory in Hiroshima University especially because of my research interest. Another reason was the Taoyaka program, which is a specially designed program that gave me the opportunity to interact with local people of neighboring areas in Japan. The main aim of this program is to make you deal with people from the real scenarios and interact with them to bring the element of practicality in your research. This interesting concept attracted me to choose Hiroshima University at the first place. I got plenty of opportunities of field work during my study as a Taoyaka Program student which is usually rare when you are an engineering student.

It was not at all difficult to adjust with Japanese culture. No wonder there is a huge difference in the cultures of Japan and the place where I come from, especially in terms of the work culture. But Japan teaches you to be professional and brings out the best in you. So, if you have the commitment within you, it is not that difficult to blend yourself with the Japanese work culture. At times it felt a little difficult to balance personal and professional lives because of the plenty of schedules lined up making me worry about them continuously. But eventually, when I started working on everything and achieving things, confidence built up and I knew how to handle it. The one thing that I learnt from Japanese work culture is taking very good care of the past, present, and future of both personal and professional commitments simultaneously and with minimal failure.

There is no doubt that Japan provides you with world class infrastructure and studying environment. However, if you are thinking of coming here, you must be ready to commit yourself to work and give our 100 percent because you must maintain the standards of Japanese research. Japanese universities provide you the best setup to opt your masters or PhD that include highly qualified and dedicated professors, achiever fellow students and adequate financial aid for research. In addition, you will be adequately supported to attend conferences and open gateways for expanding your opportunities in the future. Apart from your career, you can explore the nature and landscapes of Japan. The tiny country offers you with everything including mountains, desert, sea, snowcapped sceneries etc. The country has a different beauty in every season. Spring brings out beautiful flower gardens, autumn lets you see stunning shades of maple leaves, winter brings you the snow-capped landscapes and summer lets you enjoy beaches and trekking.