SHOU_ Liao Kai
Hello, this is Liao Kai, I am gonna share my experience in the Double Degree Program. I got my master degree in industrial economics from Shanghai Ocean University (SHOU) this June. Two years ago, I got an opportunity to study at Professor Sasaki's lab due to double degree program between SHOU and TUMSAT. Hence, I am now also a second-year master student in TUMSAT. My introduction can be separated into 5 parts:
To be frankly, the reason why I want to enroll in the program is my curiosity. During my first year in SHOU, many FAO experts and foreign scholars were invited to share their recent studies, I found their researches are interesting and novel, so I become curious about studying abroad. OQEANOUS Program began in 2017, two years ago, my information about this program was limited, all I know is that there are many excellent professors in my college graduated from Japan, and I wanna know what they learned during their study in Japan, so I made my decision.
Speaking of challenges at TUMSAT, from my perspective of view, the biggest challenge is the language barrier. Lucky for me, I received language training course in TUMSAT, so I can understand the daily conversation in Japanese. But when I took the course of Academic Japanese and Marine Economic and Policy, it was quite challenging, I have to spend more time in making preparations for the class, and even worried about my results after the examination.
The common difficulty when studying abroad is probably the loneliness, sometimes I may doubt whether I made the right decision or not. But loneliness can be treated as our best friend, someone has told me before that if you know how to find happiness when you are lonely, you can have the courage to overcome most difficulties in your life.
Merits: I have always believed that life is more about experiences, join this program can enrich my life experiences. I can got the opportunity to learn what are the latest research trend in Japan.
Demerits: On my opinion, I may get frustrated and sensitive easily when studying abroad. But I am now trying to control myself.
Before I join this program, I wanted to work as an intern in Food and Agriculture Organization to carry out research project in African country. This programme has gave me a lot of confidence and courage to challenge myself, so I am now more focused on my life goals.
During my study in Japan, I was inspired by a lot of teachers, their classes have shown me how to put the theoretical knowledge into real practice, how to conduct research project and educational program. Besides, I have also learned Japanese, Japanese culture and tradition. I think I can be more positively influenced by the academic atmosphere in TUMSAT, so I chose here to continue my studies once again.
The students at SHOU are very friendly, please don't afraid of asking for help. If you are outgoing, you can make a lot of Chinese friends in SHOU. If you are introvert, you can stay in the library from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm, the cafeteria can serve your meal, you don't have to cook for yourself.