Student Voice

Why did you chose to study in Japan?

There are many reasons why I chose to study in Japan. Firstly, Japan is one of the safest countries in the world and then, international students could study peacefully. Secondly, a wide range of scholarships are available for international students in Japanese universities. In addition, Japanese universities are famous in the research contributions and also could provide the students a good research lab and technology with the good teamwork. Finally, there is a high employment opportunity in Japan especially in Computer Science.

How was your student life in Japan?

I studied master degree of Computer Science at the Speech Interface Lab. My research was related to the speech recognition of Myanmar language. Every week, we had a research discussion with my supervisor and lab members. I successfully graduated thanks to the advice of my supervisors and my Myanmar friends who were participated in sound recording. I learned Japanese language taking the Japanese language courses and also had conversation with Japanese students. There are Japanese courses starting from beginner level to advanced level at the Kumamoto University. On holidays, I enjoyed with Myanmar students, cooking Burmese food and also join the trips planned by the university for international students. The first challenge that I encountered is that the weather difference and homesick. When being homesick, I enjoyed gathering with Myanmar friends. Also, when I encountered social and academic challenges, I discussed with my supervisor, and my tutor.

Please tell us about your career after studying in Japan and the reason why you chose it. If you got a job in Japan or Japanese company in your country, please tell us about your job-hunting experience, especially differences between your country and Japan if any.

The reason why I chose Suzuki motor corporation is that there is an opportunity for the foreigners even who could not speak Japanese well. Moreover, it is one of the big companies in Japan and also a global company. Thus, I could get international working experience although working in Japan. Concerning about job-hunting experience, I consulted with teachers of the Kumamoto University Career Development Program (CDP) office and my supervisor. I got the job vacancy information from the professor who is in charge of job hunting for students. The main difference between my country and Japan is that there is no office like CDP where the students could consult about their career opportunity.

Any message and/or advice to those who wish to study and work in Japan?

My advice for those who wish to study in Japan is that it is better to study Japanese language before coming to Japan although there are English program for international students. You can enjoy your student life more and could make friendly conversations with the lab members (Japanese students) if you could speak Japanese well.