Hello, my name is Dismas Karimi. I am an undergraduate student at Jomo Kenyatta University in Kenya pursuing BSc Mechatronics Engineering. I am currently in my final year. I love robotics and chess!

The SSP has impacted me in ways that I could not have imagined. First, the exposure to see and understand how Japan is as a country, reserved and very kind people, work culture as well as very friendly and welcoming students.

I was thrilled to have been hosted at Tokyo City University and being given a chance to conduct materials research under Prof. Ai Momozawa's lab. It was the best 7 days of my year in 2024. I was able to have an open-minded approach towards engineering especially on the application part of it.

When I went back to my country, I adopted the kaizen approach towards how I tackled my work and joined many research activities like mobile robotics and wire arc additive manufacturing using KUKA robot.

My future plans are to look for opportunities to study in Japan for my Master's in robotics, drones, smart systems or embedded nano systems. I hope to get a scholarship and a research professor to guide me and work together to make an impact in the engineering field. I also look forward to working in Japan with like-minded peers and mentors to grow both culturally and professionally.