Tuesday, September 4, 2018

One Year at The University of Tokyo

Dear Kawasaki Group,

Hi, it is Yi-Chia. It has been a year since I arrived at The University of Tokyo. Thank you all for helping me along the way. I really enjoyed the time in our group. In this article, I would like to share my impressions of learning in Japan with you, including two parts: on-campus and off-campus. 


On-campus
M2 B4送別会, March 2018

First of all, there are three main advantages making our lab distinguished.


1. Diversity
More than half of our members are international students from various countries: Pakistan, Philippines, China, India, Sri Lanka, and Taiwan. It is a valuable experience for our group members to learn from people of different backgrounds and cultures. Such diversity may inspire us through communication to create more values.


2. International research
Our group has the strong development of research in many countries; for instance, Myanmar, India, China, and Japan. One of the focused countries is Myanmar. Visiting Myanmar inspired me to find my commitment to make the developing countries more resilient to flood and climate change. Such international research experience will absolutely equip us with great vision and uniqueness.


3. Practical solutions
Most of our researches aim to provide the practical solutions to real-world problems. The solutions usually require the cooperation with international development agencies, local government, and relevant stakeholders. I learned significantly by discussing with all communities, including JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency), YTU professors and students, Myanmar government engineers, and Pasco Corporation.


Besides the research advantages, I am grateful for the farewell parties and the interesting gifts from our lab members and friends. Here are some photos of them.
学期末パーティと綺麗な扇子 
川崎グループ送別会
芳賀君の七億円扇子と浅草酒杯

武藤さんの今治タオル
面白いプレゼント

Maybe some of you have not read my master thesis, I post the part of acknowledgment that I wrote in my thesis here. 
    I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Dr. Akiyuki Kawasaki, my supervisor at The University of Tokyo. Dr. Kawasaki contributes professional opinions and significant support to this thesis. The visit to Bago River Basin helps me to better understand the real flood threats to the local residents. Dr. Koji Ikeuchi, Dr. Takeyoshi Chibana, and Dr. Satoshi Watanabe lead the fruitful discussion in River Environmental Engineering Laboratory. Dr. Ralph Acierto provided the dynamical downscaling and bias correction data, which is critical in this research. Mr. Tomoaki Itaya supported the development of CNN downscaling model. This research could not be accomplished without these kind helps.

    To River Environmental Engineering Laboratory Kawasaki Group members: Wei san, I always have the pleasure and constructive discussion with you. Good luck to your research in Harvard and anywhere! Seemanta san, thanks for your RRI model. Gouri san, good luck to your Ph.D. thesis and your future career! Moiz san, it is always fun to have lunch and heard your interesting stories. Good luck with your brilliant Ph.D. research! Yonehara san, although we stayed in the same lab only several months, I learned a lot from you, both in Bago research and in Japanese daily lives. Hope you enjoy the career in JR! Yuya san, thank you for lending me the guitar. Good luck to your work in CTI Engineering. Haga san, wish you the best to your master thesis! Liu san, good luck to your ancient China flood research! Yamagami san, Shimomura san, Okuda kun, Nishihara san, wish you all the best in your future work. I especially thank Muto san for being my tutor and supporting my primary stage of stay in Tokyo.



Off-campus 

I also got chances to visit many magnificent places and made life-long friends. Here is just a glimpse of several views.
仙娥滝(山梨県昇仙峡)
白川郷(岐阜県)
金沢市(石川県)
目黒川花見(東京都)
キツネ村(仙台市蔵王町)
江戸川区花火大会(東京都浅草)
赤レンガ倉庫(神奈川県横浜市)

足利フラワーパーク(栃木県)with my best friends
株式会社パスコのインターン
Hallstatt, Austria

Bago, Myanmar
東京大学本郷キャンパス工学部1号館 (my second home in Tokyo)

One year is short but long enough to make some changes. I completed my master thesis, gained the internship experience, traveled to many places, learned Japanese, and made great friends. It is definitely a fruitful, fun and solid journey in REEL and Kawasaki Group.

皆様 お世話になりました。
いい思い出日本の学生生活を過ごすことができました。
感謝の気持ちがいっぱいです。ありがとうございました。まだ東京で会いましょう。
台湾に来られる機会あれば、ぜひ 連絡ください。


Yi-Chia


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