So, during high school, I first came to Japan for a one-week exchange program, and there I got interested in the Japanese culture and academic environment. Originally, I was planning to go abroad to study after high school, and this trip motivated me to choose Japan as my first destination for pursuing my higher studies.
About Nagoya University, it was one of the few Japanese universities that offered English-taught programs, and they also offered programs for natural science majors. For me, I wanted to study chemistry at the university, so I decided to choose the G30 program at Nagoya University. Another point to mention is that I was awarded with the G30 Scholarship for the four years of my undergraduate studies, and it was the determining factor for me to finalize my decision.
For the reason I chose G30 Chemistry program, it is because chemistry was my favorite subject in high school, and I wanted to study more about chemistry and become a chemist in the future. Nagoya University has English-taught chemistry courses, and there were also many scholarship opportunities for foreign students. Thus, I found the G30 Chemistry course very attractive, and it became my first choice for university.
What was good about my studies as an undergraduate student in G30 chemistry is that the program includes a lot of basic classes for different fields of chemistry taught in English, and you can choose the one you like more to continue at more advanced levels. Another advantage of the G30 program is that the class size is usually small, so you are almost guaranteed to be able to interact with your professors in class and outside of class. Luckily, the G30 professors I have met are all very kind, and they are willing to help and support you during your studies.
Now I am conducting my research in the Laboratory of Bioinorganic Chemistry. In our lab, we study natural biomolecules such as proteins or nucleic acids and we try to modify their functions for our own purposes. In my third year of undergraduate, I could experience the research from different labs through the student laboratory course and the research from the bioinorganic chemistry lab was the most interesting for me. Besides, I liked biochemistry the most among the chemistry subjects, and also (this is a personal reason, but) my current professor (Professor Shoji) was my academic supervisor for my G30 program, so I thought why not join his lab? Now I am having fun doing research with proteins and bacteria, so I think I made a good choice.
So now it is my 7th year in Japan and my 7th year of being a student at Nagoya University. Of course, I have learned a lot from the classes and from my research, but the one thing I would like to mention more is the experience of being a G30 student. In this program, we have students coming from different countries in the world, so you can make friends with people with various cultures and backgrounds. Especially for people like me who are living away from our families, the G30 community kind of became our second family and I can always rely on my G30 friends for different issues in life. In fact, now I am still on good terms with several G30 students or alumni who are in Japan or abroad. Overall, without the G30 community, I couldn’t have made it this far in Japan, and I think I am lucky that I was able to meet all those amazing people.
If you’re aiming for the G30 Chemistry program in Nagoya University, I think you should be prepared for the amount of work in the first year to third year. For me, time management and keeping a good mental state was very important to get through those undergraduate years. I think students can be overwhelmed in the beginning, but you can always rely on the G30 professors and your friends for help. Moreover, particularly for the Chemistry program, you will enter a laboratory in your 4th year and do your research, so it is always good to keep a certain level of Japanese to communicate with the Japanese students in the lab. For foreign students studying in Japan, the language barrier is a bit difficult to overcome, but I think knowing Japanese will certainly become an advantage, especially if you want to seek for a job in Japan.