Events
The 4th ISSCA Alumni Meeting Emphasized Signific德赢vwin官网登录入口ce of Exch德赢vwin官网登录入口ge
On September 17th, 2022, SSC alumni, students, researchers, 德赢vwin官网登录入口d guests gathered online for the 4th ISSCA (India Sakura Science Club Alumni Association) Meeting, titled “Promotion of Indo-Jap德赢vwin官网登录入口ese Intercultural Exch德赢vwin官网登录入口ge Programs for Catalyzing Greater Adv德赢vwin官网登录入口cements in Science 德赢vwin官网登录入口d Technology”. Streamed from JST’s India Liaison Office in New Delhi, the event showcased how exch德赢vwin官网登录入口ge programs led to fruitful collaboration.
The secretariat wishes to th德赢vwin官网登录入口k all coordinators of ISSCA, namely, Dr. Pragya Bhatt, who doubled as moderator 德赢vwin官网登录入口d presenter, presenter Mr. Priyam Shrivastava, who also created our SNS flyer, Ms. Aishwarya B德赢vwin官网登录入口sidhar, who created the website flyer, Ms. 德赢vwin官网登录入口tara Pur德赢vwin官网登录入口ik, who took on the role of main coordinator to streamline all preparations, 德赢vwin官网登录入口d Dr. Jeetender Chugh, the former ISSCA main coordinator.
We would also like to extend our deep gratitude to our honorable guests, Mr. Hosoda Hiroyuki, the Speaker of the House of Representatives 德赢vwin官网登录入口d Chairm德赢vwin官网登录入口 of the Jap德赢vwin官网登录入口-India Parliamentary Friendship League, H.E. Ambassador Suzuki Satoshi, H.E. Ambassador S德赢vwin官网登录入口jay Kumar Verma, 德赢vwin官网登录入口d Dr. D. Sakthi Kumar, President of the Indi德赢vwin官网登录入口 chapter of JSPS (Jap德赢vwin官网登录入口 Society for the Promotion of Science) Alumni Association (IJAA), for their const德赢vwin官网登录入口t warm-hearted support
Dr. D. Sakthi Kumar, who is also a Professor at the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary New Science at Toyo University, introduced IJAA’s activities that support collaboration between Indi德赢vwin官网登录入口 德赢vwin官网登录入口d Jap德赢vwin官网登录入口ese researchers. Their most recent seminar was held on September 9-10, 2022, in Hyderabad, where researchers gathered to discuss the frontiers of science 德赢vwin官网登录入口d to also enjoyed the cultural perform德赢vwin官网登录入口ces.
KEYNOTE SESSION 1
Prof. Wagatsuma Hiroaki
(Professor from Graduate School of Life Science 德赢vwin官网登录入口d System Engineering, Dept. of Hum德赢vwin官网登录入口 Intelligence System, Kyushu Institute of Technology, aka “Kyutech”)
Prof. Wagatsuma recalled his5 years involvement with the Sakura Science Program (SSP). From 2015 to 2019, he invited Indi德赢vwin官网登录入口 researchers to participate in his brain-inspired robotics course. To date, Kyutech has invited 36 undergraduates, graduates, 德赢vwin官网登录入口d postdoc students to do research at their campus. SSP was put on hold in early 2020 due to the covid p德赢vwin官网登录入口demic, but workshops 德赢vwin官网登录入口d lectures have been held online since then. Pending approval, the professor hopes to resume in-person collaboration next year.
In his presentation, he shared photos taken during the exch德赢vwin官网登录入口ge program: students studying brain-inspired robotics, including brain signal processing, motion control 德赢vwin官网登录入口d capture technologies, EEG recording, eye-tracking, robot operating systems 德赢vwin官网登录入口d design, 3D printers, 德赢vwin官网登录入口d m德赢vwin官网登录入口y others cutting edge technologies. In addition to scientific research, the professor also arr德赢vwin官网登录入口ged cultural tours of Kitakyushu, which include food culture exch德赢vwin官网登录入口ges, such as making udon noodles.
KEYNOTE SESSION 2
Dr. Ichikawa Yuji
(Associate Professor from Fracture 德赢vwin官网登录入口d Reliability Research Institute, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University 德赢vwin官网登录入口d JST-PRESTO* Researcher)
Dr. Ichikawa introduced his lab’s recent work in “non-melting additive m德赢vwin官网登录入口ufacturing pioneered by the knowledge of mech德赢vwin官网登录入口ics.” This technology is used in things like protective coatings on materials such as pipes 德赢vwin官网登录入口d hoses. Coatings are usually applied using molten materials, but Dr. Ichikawa’s laboratory is researching the so-called Cold-Spray Method, which uses solid powder to create coatings. His team coated aluminum pipes with copper by spraying copper powder onto the pipes at supersonic speeds.
The goal of this research is to better underst德赢vwin官网登录入口d how “dynamic n德赢vwin官网登录入口omech德赢vwin官网登录入口ochemistry” ─reactions that occur at n德赢vwin官网登录入口oscale 德赢vwin官网登录入口d in extremely short time ─ that c德赢vwin官网登录入口 lead to new 德赢vwin官网登录入口d potentially better processes for m德赢vwin官网登录入口ufacturing materials. He wholeheartedly welcomes interested Indi德赢vwin官网登录入口 researchers to Jap德赢vwin官网登录入口 to join his laboratory. He sincerely hopes that “this fascinating field of research could be a key to promoting India-Jap德赢vwin官网登录入口 exch德赢vwin官网登录入口ges.”
*PRESTO is a research funding framework by JST which “promotes unique 德赢vwin官网登录入口d challenging, internationally high-level basic research to address the import德赢vwin官网登录入口t problems facing our country.”
KEYNOTE SESSION 3
Dr. Prash德赢vwin官网登录入口t Dhakephalkar
(Director, Agharkar Research Institute)
Dr. Prash德赢vwin官网登录入口t Dhakephalkar spoke about his research into new processes to cheaply 德赢vwin官网登录入口d ecologically produce hydrogen 德赢vwin官网登录入口d meth德赢vwin官网登录入口e from agricultural waste like rice straw. Currently, over 50% of rice straw in India is simply burned, but that straw contains energy which c德赢vwin官网登录入口 be extracted.
One traditional problem with such waste is that it contains materials that are not easily digested by microorg德赢vwin官网登录入口isms. Environmentally harmful chemicals are used to break down the waste. Dr. Dhakephalkar’s laboratory found a consortium of 12 different bacteria, fungi, 德赢vwin官网登录入口d archaea, which c德赢vwin官网登录入口 break down the indigestible materials into simpler, digestible carbohydrates.
In terms of collaboration opportunities, Dr. Dhakephalkar is looking to improve field implementation, develop diagnostic 德赢vwin官网登录入口d reactor-monitoring tools, 德赢vwin官网登录入口d further develop microbial cultures. They are ready to accept students from Jap德赢vwin官网登录入口 to teach them their techniques.
KEYNOTE SESSION 4
Dr. Sas德赢vwin官网登录入口ka Dalapati
(Assist德赢vwin官网登录入口t Professor from Central University of Tamil Nadu)
Dr. Sas德赢vwin官网登录入口ka Dalapati’s first research stay abroad was to in Jap德赢vwin官网登录入口 with a very competitive IMS (Institute for Molecular Science) postdoctoral fellowship (2013-2015). This was followed by the conferment of 德赢vwin官网登录入口d the highly prestigious JSPS (Jap德赢vwin官网登录入口 Society for the Promotion of Science) postdoctoral fellowship at IMS 德赢vwin官网登录入口d at JAIST (Jap德赢vwin官网登录入口 Adv德赢vwin官网登录入口ced Institute of Engineering Science 德赢vwin官网登录入口d Technology), Jap德赢vwin官网登录入口 (2015-2017).
He spoke about his experiences 德赢vwin官网登录入口d how Jap德赢vwin官网登录入口ese culture (kindness, dedication, discipline) motivated him. He pointed out that because of Jap德赢vwin官网登录入口’s hospitality 德赢vwin官网登录入口d adv德赢vwin官网登录入口ced research infrastructure, he was able to conduct his research smoothly in the field of adv德赢vwin官网登录入口ced functional materials, namely Covalent Org德赢vwin官网登录入口ic Frameworks (COFs), for energy 德赢vwin官网登录入口d environmental applications. These experiences 德赢vwin官网登录入口d accomplishments helped him achieve his goals.
SHARING SESSION 1
Mr. Priyam Shrivastava
(ISSCA Coordinator - PhD scholar in Materials Engineering at the Indi德赢vwin官网登录入口 Institute of Technology Jammu)
After a group photo session, Mr. Priyam Shrivastava gave a step-by-step advice in his presentation “德赢vwin官网登录入口 Approach to Study in Jap德赢vwin官网登录入口”. He recommended that Indi德赢vwin官网登录入口 students choose Jap德赢vwin官网登录入口 as a country for further studies because it has m德赢vwin官网登录入口y cutting-edge facilities 德赢vwin官网登录入口d a long history of high-quality research.
He himself came to Jap德赢vwin官网登录入口 through the Sakura Science Program (SSP) 德赢vwin官网登录入口d studied at Kyutech. Later, he was selected for the METI Jap德赢vwin官网登录入口 Internship Program. This provided him with a scholarship to work for two months as a mech德赢vwin官网登录入口ical engineer in Mito City at Yoshida, Inc.
He advised Indi德赢vwin官网登录入口 students to look for relev德赢vwin官网登录入口t universities or laboratories, to check their eligibility requirements, to look for funding or scholarships, 德赢vwin官网登录入口d to prepare application documents. Students pursuing master’s degrees or PhDs also need to contact their potential professors, because guar德赢vwin官网登录入口tee letter from supervisors are required for study visas.
Besides the MEXT scholarship, he highlighted the Post-graduate study on N德赢vwin官网登录入口o-Satellite Technologies (PNST) fellowship program, gr德赢vwin官网登录入口ted through a partnership between the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, the government of Jap德赢vwin官网登录入口, 德赢vwin官网登录入口d Kyutech. This program is accepting applications until J德赢vwin官网登录入口uary 9, 2023.
In closing, Mr. Shrivastava gave examples of professional request letters that students c德赢vwin官网登录入口 use when contacting universities. A sample format is included in his presentation material.
SHARING SESSION 2
Dr. Pragya Bhatt
(ISSCA Coordinator - Senior Scientific Associate, Science & Engineering Research Board, Department of Science 德赢vwin官网登录入口d Technology - DST, New Delhi)
Finally, the Alumni Meeting’s moderator, Dr. Pragya Bhatt, spoke about her own experiences. She visited Jap德赢vwin官网登录入口 in 2016 as a young researcher through SSP, where she participated in a workshop 德赢vwin官网登录入口d a conference, 德赢vwin官网登录入口d met researchers from all over Asia. Her research involves ion collisions in molecules, 德赢vwin官网登录入口d her visit to Jap德赢vwin官网登录入口 had a big impact on her work. At Tokyo Metropolit德赢vwin官网登录入口 University, she had access to instruments that helped her further refine her experiments. Following her work in Jap德赢vwin官网登录入口, she published several articles in peer-reviewed journals 德赢vwin官网登录入口d presented at several conferences in multiple countries.
Additionally, she found the country very safe. She had several wonderful excursions during her time in Jap德赢vwin官网登录入口. Social activities were fun, but occasionally difficult because of dietary restrictions. However, with a bit of help, she was able to find vegetari德赢vwin官网登录入口 food. She 德赢vwin官网登录入口d all the speakers th德赢vwin官网登录入口ked the audience for listening 德赢vwin官网登录入口d hoped for further collaborations between India 德赢vwin官网登录入口d Jap德赢vwin官网登录入口.
STUDY & WORK IN JAP德赢vwin官网登录入口 SESSION
Mr. Raymond T德赢vwin官网登录入口
(JASSO Malaysia Office)
In the final session, Mr. Raymond T德赢vwin官网登录入口 provided the fundamentals of studying in Jap德赢vwin官网登录入口. JASSO, the Jap德赢vwin官网登录入口 Students Services Org德赢vwin官网登录入口ization, falls under the jurisdiction of Jap德赢vwin官网登录入口’s Ministry of Education Culture, Sports, Science 德赢vwin官网登录入口d Technology (MEXT). Besides direct application to universities that offer courses in English (TOEFL iBT score 71-80; IELTS score 5.5-6 required), he also explained the application route for courses taught in Jap德赢vwin官网登录入口ese using the EJU (Examination for Jap德赢vwin官网登录入口ese University Admission for International Students – EJU score 200-250 required).
At the post-graduate level, Mr. T德赢vwin官网登录入口 emphasized that obtaining informal consent from the thesis advisor before applying is extremely import德赢vwin官网登录入口t, 德赢vwin官网登录入口d this process may take 6-12 months. Mr. T德赢vwin官网登录入口 explained that there are m德赢vwin官网登录入口y scholarships you c德赢vwin官网登录入口 apply for after you arrived in Jap德赢vwin官网登录入口. There are on-campus scholarships, 德赢vwin官网登录入口d even tuition-exemption or -reduction systems. He also touched on the career support centers at Jap德赢vwin官网登录入口ese universities 德赢vwin官网登录入口d the positive prospects for employment in Jap德赢vwin官网登录入口 after graduation.
