Name

Gastón San Cristobal

Country

Argentina

Graduation Year

2017

Degree

Master's

Impressions/Experiences

Despite my formation was related to Economics, I received a lot and very nice support from the professors and members of the lab to incorporate all the tools I needed to work, as the use of GIS for example in which I didn´t have previous experience. I felt very comfortable during all the two years I was doing my Master´s. I also really liked and enjoyed all the activities the lab prepaired during the year to study and integrate the members, such as special seminars, fieldworks in and outside Tsukuba, special lectures by international professors, participation in conferences and also dinner parties. The lab is very equipped with software and hardware, the work environment is very good and the professors integrate an amazing team of professionals. I was very happy in every sense about my experience of studying at the SIS lab.

Name

Gerasimos Voulgaris

Country

Greece

Graduation Year

2016

Degree

Master's and PhD

Impressions/Experiences

Arriving in Japan might be the cause of cultural shock for many foreigners. Anything can greatly vary from your previous experiences, from the weather, the food or the accommodation. The University of Tsukuba is generally an old but prestigious university with an unlimited range of facilities. While the dormitories at Tsukuba University are not the best, in contrast, the SIS Laboratory is situated in a state of the art building and is equipped with cutting edge computers and machinery. All the teachers, including Professors Murayama and Morimoto, are well established specialists in the field of Spatial Information Science, and they are always available for any problem, be it studies or life in Japan in general. They have established the SIS lab as an international environment where any student from anywhere can prosper and advance their research in a quality academic setting. Life in Japan can be challenging, but both the administration of Tsukuba University, as well as the professors and staff of the SIS lab strive to support students and make their studies in Japan a worthwhile and fruitful endeavour. In conclusion, should you get the opportunity to study Spatial Information Science in Japan, being a scholarship recipient or otherwise, you should greatly consider doing so in the SIS lab, one of the best laboratories in Japan.

Name

Rajesh Bahadur Thapa

Country

Nepal

Graduation Year

2009

Degree

PhD

Impressions/Experiences

With generous support from Japanese Government (MEXT scholarship), I spent 3.5 years in Division of Spatial Information Science (SIS Lab) at the University of Tsukuba. First half year, I was a research student where I got opportunities to learn Japanese language and cultures and outline my PhD research. In the remaining 3 years, I focused on my PhD course and was able to receive PhD award in Geoenvironmental Science. In addition, I received three awards during the study period, i.e., Sinfonica Research Award (2007), Outstanding Research Award (2008) by the University of Tsukuba, and JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship Award for the following two years. I continued my postdoc at the university just after my doctoral graduation. The SIS Lab was full of state of the art technologies with all necessary software, computers, reference materials and highly competent professors. I was lucky enough to have so caring supervisor. I had many opportunities to attend international conferences inside as well as outside the country. The university also had very good facilities for study and sports. I enjoyed using library, indoor swimming pool, and gym facilities. I often ate my lunch at cafeterias in the university premises. A wide-selection of foods were available. Some chain as well as local restaurants were also available nearby the university. Extraordinarily clean and green spaces were in fact splendid. At the beginning months, I found difficulties in adaptation but my supervisor, tutor, other faculty members and researchers and friends at SIS Lab and International Student Center helped me to overcome. The university is located in Science City of Japan which is well connected to Tokyo by train and bus services. The city consists of several national research institutes, schools (government as well as international), hospitals, beautiful parks, shopping, restaurants and residential areas, and so on which made my daily life easier, comfortable, healthier, and livable. The city is peaceful and foreigner friendly. I had travelled many parts of Japan for sightseeing, enjoying snow, onsen, and foods. I had wonderful time. All these led me to extend my stay in Tsukuba more longer than I imagined earlier. Later, I got research positon offer from JAXA – Tsukuba Space Center where I spent few more years and returned Nepal in later part of the year 2016. Currently, I am a Capacity Building Specialist at ICIMOD serving its regional member countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan). In fact, I missed Tsukuba!