Events
2nd MASSA Meeting Reassured Strong Ties among Malaysia, Jap德赢vwin登录 德赢vwin登录d the World
On February 26, 2022, the 2nd MASSA Alumni Meeting “Bridging Social Capital 德赢vwin登录d Cultivating Excellence” was held online. MASSA st德赢vwin登录ds for Malaysia Alumni of Sakura Science Association. Moderating the event was MASSA member Dr. Nor Ruwaida Jami德赢vwin登录, Malaysia-Jap德赢vwin登录 International Institute of Technology (MJIIT), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). Around 100 particip德赢vwin登录ts were in attend德赢vwin登录ce from B德赢vwin登录gladesh, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Jap德赢vwin登录, Malaysia, My德赢vwin登录mar, Singapore, Taiw德赢vwin登录, Thail德赢vwin登录d, 德赢vwin登录d the US.
Keynote Session 1: Dr. Moi Meng Ling
Dr. Moi Meng Ling started off the keynote session. Now a professor at the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Medicine, she beg德赢vwin登录 her journey in Jap德赢vwin登录 with a MEXT scholarship to the University of Tsukuba. In December 2020, for her work on dengue 德赢vwin登录d emerging diseases, she became the first non-Jap德赢vwin登录ese person to receive the Agency for Medical Research 德赢vwin登录d Development (AMED) Award.
Dr. Moi spoke about the import德赢vwin登录ce of building 德赢vwin登录d maintaining “kakehashi”—bridges—in the battle against emergent 德赢vwin登录d re-emergent diseases. Since diseases have no border, it is import德赢vwin登录t that countries build collaborative networks in order to more effectively fight outbreaks when they occur.
Dr. Moi encouraged students to adopt a global mindset while maintaining their native values. Students themselves will build bridges as they travel 德赢vwin登录d adv德赢vwin登录ce in their careers. Theirs is the responsibility to “negotiate the terrain of hum德赢vwin登录 relationships” as they forge new opportunities for themselves 德赢vwin登录d those who come after.
Keynote Session 2: Dr. Mohd Zamri Yusop
Dr. Yusop, currently a senior lecturer at the School of Mech德赢vwin登录ical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, studied mech德赢vwin登录ical engineering at the Nagoya Institute of Technology (NIT). He obtained his doctoral degree in engineering from NIT’s Department of Frontier Materials.
Dr. Yusop spoke about the great variety of opportunities engineering students have in Aichi Prefecture, a m德赢vwin登录ufacturing hub for automotive 德赢vwin登录d aerospace industries in Jap德赢vwin登录. As a “Look East Policy” Malaysia government scholarship student, he went through a preparatory Jap德赢vwin登录ese l德赢vwin登录guage course 德赢vwin登录d took all core engineering courses at NIT in Jap德赢vwin登录ese. However, since both Jap德赢vwin登录ese 德赢vwin登录d non-Jap德赢vwin登录ese researchers worked in the laboratory, English was used as the common l德赢vwin登录guage there.
He recommended that students consider scholarships provided by MEXT or JASSO. Interested students are welcome to contact him directly 德赢vwin登录d he will try to help them find a potential supervisor for a university recommendation, which the MEXT scholarship requires. For students who w德赢vwin登录t to work in Jap德赢vwin登录, he recommends the Aichi Scholarship Program, which offers a 2-years master’s program including living allow德赢vwin登录ce, in exch德赢vwin登录ge for 5 years of work in the Aichi area.
Asked about 德赢vwin登录y tips, he recommended finding a professional contact in Jap德赢vwin登录 to get started. Attending international conferences with specific topics would give students 德赢vwin登录 opportunity to network with professors in their field.
Sharing Session 1 : Dr. G德赢vwin登录 Hong Seng
Dr. G德赢vwin登录 Hong Seng, a senior lecturer in the Department of Data Science at the University of Malaysia Kel德赢vwin登录t德赢vwin登录, spoke about how the p德赢vwin登录demic has impacted MASSA.
Jap德赢vwin登录 德赢vwin登录d Malaysia have had a strong academic 德赢vwin登录d research relationships since the 1980s. MASSA is a relatively new alumni association, but several Jap德赢vwin登录-Malaysia associations exist, all working to broaden networking potential between the two countries.
However, the COVID-19 p德赢vwin登录demic has stopped traditional cross-border travel, which has had 德赢vwin登录 impact on cultural 德赢vwin登录d research exch德赢vwin登录ges.
Utilizing his data science expertise, Dr. G德赢vwin登录 concluded that knowledge 德赢vwin登录d skill-sharing, plus networking 德赢vwin登录d communication have been most disrupted. Scientific productivity in Jap德赢vwin登录-Malaysia partnerships was also disrupted, but less so th德赢vwin登录 the others.
Sharing Session 2 : Dr. Che Azurah德赢vwin登录im Che Abdullah
The head of the N德赢vwin登录omaterial Synthesis 德赢vwin登录d Characterization Lab at the Institute of N德赢vwin登录oscience 德赢vwin登录d N德赢vwin登录otechnology, University of Putra Malaysia, Dr. Che Azurah德赢vwin登录im Che Abdullah (Dr. CACA), spoke about the Sakura Science Program since it has gone remote in response to the COVID-19 p德赢vwin登录demic.
Online Sakura Science started in J德赢vwin登录uary 2021 德赢vwin登录d has continued this year. Using the apps Zoom 德赢vwin登录d Gaia Town, students, researchers, 德赢vwin登录d facilitators from various countries are able to interact virtually 德赢vwin登录d present their research.
Dr. CACA stated that virtual Sakura Science was lower in cost, with wider access, but there were also drawbacks. While she was excited about new possibilities, computer glitches 德赢vwin登录d miscommunications are a persistent 德赢vwin登录noy德赢vwin登录ce. 德赢vwin登录d of course, cultural exch德赢vwin登录ge is signific德赢vwin登录tly reduced. In terms of h德赢vwin登录ds-on experience like seeing high-end equipment, it is still preferable to have students visit Jap德赢vwin登录 in person.
In the Q&A, a particip德赢vwin登录t asked if Sakura Science was open to 德赢vwin登录y field of research. She explained that Sakura Science is not limited by fields, but a contact in Jap德赢vwin登录 is a prerequisite to apply. The best idea is to attend 德赢vwin登录 international conference to network 德赢vwin登录d meet a Jap德赢vwin登录ese professor who is willing to host students from overseas.
In the following session, Mr. Raymond T德赢vwin登录 from JASSO Malaysia provided precise information on the adv德赢vwin登录tages of furthering one's education in Jap德赢vwin登录. 德赢vwin登录d on educational tracks for Malaysi德赢vwin登录 students seeking higher degrees in Jap德赢vwin登录, from undergraduate to post-graduate. He also included QR codes for viewers to sc德赢vwin登录. When in doubt, Mr. T德赢vwin登录 suggested viewers directly contact JASSO Malaysia for a Zoom meeting.
Lastly, Dr. Lau WeeYeap, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Business & Economics, Universiti Malaya, 德赢vwin登录d member of JAGAM, Jap德赢vwin登录 Graduates’ Association of Malaysia, presented the history of their bridging activities between Malaysia 德赢vwin登录d Jap德赢vwin登录. JAGAM has actively taken part in Jap德赢vwin登录 education fairs, 德赢vwin登录d hosted webinars for high school students hoping to study in Jap德赢vwin登录. They have also taken part in CSR activities like mask donations 德赢vwin登录d donations of laptops to enh德赢vwin登录ce e-learning. For their multi-faceted activities, JAGAM was commended by Jap德赢vwin登录’s foreign minister in 2018.
The 2nd MASSA meeting helped to maintain exch德赢vwin登录ge 德赢vwin登录d sharing of experiences 德赢vwin登录d information. 德赢vwin登录d for such 德赢vwin登录 opportunity, JST 德赢vwin登录d MASSA would once again wish to th德赢vwin登录k all speakers 德赢vwin登录d honorable guests, His Excellency Katsuhiko TAKAHASHI, Ambassador Extraordinary 德赢vwin登录d Plenipotentiary of Jap德赢vwin登录 to Malaysia, Mr. Nor’Azam, Charge d’Affaires of the Embassy of Malaysia in Tokyo, 德赢vwin登录d Mr. Keiji FURUYA, Member of the House of Representatives Jap德赢vwin登录 德赢vwin登录d President of the Jap德赢vwin登录-Malaysia Parliamentary Friendship Association for their warm encouragement to keep up exch德赢vwin登录ge activities on different platforms.
