Hello, this is Dr. Sreenath from Kyushu University, Japan. I have been employed as a Research Assistant Professor at the Department of Advanced Energy Science and Engineering since May 2023. It has been an incredible journey from 2019 as an affiliated JICA-sponsored doctoral fellow at the Department of Applied Science for Electronics and Materials, Kyushu University.

There have not been any preferential efforts from my side to be affiliated with a Japanese University for my doctoral degree after graduating from IIT Hyderabad in 2018. But after three years of vocation as a doctoral researcher at Kyushu University, I would say, gathering an academic degree from a Japanese University not only buoys up your eligibility for a sterling career but also most importantly, you will be influenced by the lifestyle, coworker's politeness, community hygiene to attain a personal decorum.

The state-of-the-art laboratories in Japanese universities were significant in providing a fruitful research environment, explicit data curation, and efficient time management during my PhD course. The ease of collaboration between Japanese institutes must be stressed as an important point in availing experimental support and I was fortunate to collaborate with the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) Kyushu which had a significant contribution to the quality of my research and on time submission of the thesis.

The working and living surroundings in Japan are noteworthy aspects. People living around me, university professors, and institute colleagues are especially kind and polite and always extend acts of support and guidance irrespective of language, gender, and color. The daily living and relocation expenditures were generously supported by JICA throughout my PhD course. As of my current knowledge, most of the laboratories in Japanese universities support entertainment events like celebration parties, study tours, and outdoor camping which are essential for productivity enhancement.

The academic and corporate career opportunities extended to you after graduating from a Japanese university will be plenty due to the university’s reputation in global ranking. Most of the Japanese universities fall under 500 in any of the three recognized university ranking schemes (i) Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) (ii) the Times Higher Education (THE) or (iii) the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University (Shanghai).

For aspirants to Japanese universities, as common, there might be relocation difficulties, cultural shocks, and problems with food preferences during your initial stay in Japan. These are all easily controlled or avoided through a prior understanding of Japanese practices and by attaining a minimum cooking proficiency.

Hearty welcome to Japan!