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Dr. Hemant Choudhary
- Degree
- Post-doctoral fellow, School of Materials Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
Message
Please give a short introduction about yourself.
It¡¯s my pleasure to introduce myself¡well, I am Hemant, Hemant Choudhary. Currently I am working as a post-doctoral fellow at Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST) under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Kohki Ebitani. I was born and raised in India. I did my B.Sc. in Chemistry (Hons) from University of Calcutta and moved to University of Delhi for a post-graduation (M.Tech.). It was in Delhi, that I got an opportunity to come to JAIST as an exchange student for a year which ultimately paved my way to join opportunity-filled School of Materials Science at JAIST as a doctorate student in the School of Materials Science.
What is your favorite thing about Nomi City?
JAIST is located at the foot-hills of Mt. Hakusan in the Nomi city. Nomi is a very small city in the Ishikawa prefecture, however it is not deprived of any urban facilities. For me it¡¯s always the natural beauty of the city is spell-bounding and the view of sunset from JAIST, especially during summer, complement its magnificence.
In what way has your impression of Nomi City or Japan changed since coming here?
Japan is best known for honest and hard-working citizens all around the world. Such impressions remain unchanged for me after coming to Japan. Along with these, Japanese people have the reputation of not mixing well with foreigners and thereby one always feel isolated. However, after my arrival in Japan, I found Japanese people have keen interest in talking to foreigners and learn about the culture/language/customs of foreign nationals, though they are bit shy and hesitant.
What attracted you to choose Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST) as a place to study?
During my one-year exchange fellowship at JAIST, I realized JAIST to be one of the best place for research; mainly because of the knowledgeable faculty and outstanding facilities. The best part was that a student is allowed to use advanced instruments after training which gives the students a chance to gain experiences and widen their area of knowledge in handling advanced analytical techniques. Also, the course structure with a freedom to undertake courses from completely different subject was also interesting; for example; doctorate students (or the prospective scientists) can undertake the course work not only related to core scientific areas but also the management or the administrative subjects which opens up their mind and increases the career possibilities. In addition, one of the prime concern of an international student is the expenses of studying in Japan. JAIST has a variety of scholarships/schemes and support for many fellowships from various agencies throughout Japan to support the education of its international student. The on-campus housing for students add to the value of JAIST which facilitate to carry out the research in a smooth way. Since JAIST has free shuttles which connect to the downtown, station and airport; the live becomes very easy at JAIST. In summary, the combination of peaceful privileged environment at JAIST and options for financial security through scholarships attracted me to JAIST for my doctoral study.
In what way did you adjust yourself to Japanese culture?
Adjusting to a culture needs to meet people, talk to them and respect their opinion. My experience in adjusting to the Japanese culture was no different from it. At the institute most of the staff and students can speak English and thereby it was easy to communicate with them and exchanging ideas. However, the locals in the Nomi city do not speak English and in order to gel up with them and enjoy to the fullest, Japanese language skills will be helpful, that can be learnt at JAIST as an Introductory Japanese course.
Please give a message to students or researchers in your home country who may be thinking about studying in Japan?
For all Indian and International perspective students/researchers to Japan, needless to say that Japan is one of the best place to study, especially science and engineering, and can lead to high-profile personal and professional life. May be you are afraid about the customs and language issues, but trust me you won¡¯t find much after you visit Japan. You will be overwhelmed by the facilities provided here and you can live a joyful life in addition to the research activities. At last but not the least, wherever you live, there are certain rules and regulations of the society, and one must respect those in order to maintain the peace and security of oneself and nation. All the very best and I hope you too have a wonderful experiences as I had.