Although being an anime lover from my childhood, I never thought of coming to Japan for higher studies. I am enjoying studying here in Japan today because of my undergraduate thesis supervisor. Here’s how it started. My major is Naval Architecture & Ocean Engineering. I was working as an RA under my supervisor in 2019. Then one day, my professor got an email from a professor at Osaka University. It was an invitation for students for a very short exchange program, where they would arrange a university visit for the students. That exchange program was arranged by JST’s Sakura Science Program. My supervisor advised me to join this program and I agreed. I came to Japan for seven days back in 2019 to visit Osaka University, the labs, and their activities. They also arranged a study tour to a Shipyard and to the famous suspension bridge (Akashi-Kaikyo). Going back to my country I decided to study in Japan, especially in a lab in Osaka University, where I liked their research work.

Ms. Nusrat Omar writes more about her journey to Japan in the My Way to Japan column.