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Short Term Program

STP Report (KU / CU Jul - Aug 2025)

2026.04.15

Course of Food Science and Technology Policy, Graduate School of TUMSAT
１st year of Master's Program
M.S.

Reason for applying to STP

The opportunity arose when a senior in my lab, who had participated before, recommended the program to me. I personally enjoy traveling abroad and watching foreign films, and I like international cultures, but I have a complex about speaking English. Because of this, I was vaguely interested in studying abroad but felt unable to take the first step.

Also, since I only became interested in studying abroad in my fourth year of undergraduate studies, I was looking for a short-term program. Given my commitments--writing a graduation thesis, participating in a student organization, and knowing that I would have job hunting during my Master's--I thought a short-term option would be best. Therefore, as I wanted to participate in a short-term study abroad program where I could interact with people from overseas, this STP, which perfectly met my criteria, was the one I applied for.

Online lectures

The online lectures were held about a month before the field trip. I felt that the content was somewhat difficult without prior knowledge. I think that if I had paid more attention to marine-related knowledge and environmental issues beforehand, I would have enjoyed the lectures more. All the lectures were conducted in English.

Face-to-face program (field trip) in Bangkok

The program included many opportunities to experience Thailand's ecosystem, not just facility tours of the university, which I enjoyed. Although I am in the Department of Food Science and am not very knowledgeable about biology, the students and professors explained things in detail, allowing me to learn happily. Learning about traffic rules and local culture during transit was also very interesting.

Interaction with students from other universities

The students from other universities were all from the Asian region, so none of them had English as their first language. I was surprised that everyone spoke English very well and could communicate smoothly. Throughout the trip, the Thai students, in particular, helped us a lot. During the fieldwork, they guided us through their university and taught us about the cafeteria system. They also spent their free time with us, showing us delicious Thai food, famous spots, and places locals frequently visit. I felt that everyone was engaging in conversation with a strong desire to convey their message and a willingness to understand what others were saying. I realized that body language and facial expressions are also essential in conversation.

Changes in attitude after participating

Before participating, I thought that studying abroad was only for people who were proficient in English or who had studied English conversation, believing it was something for special people. However, through this experience, I realized that this was merely my timidity. I was particularly bad at speaking, but with the kindness of the surrounding students and professors, I was able to communicate happily. My roommate was also an international student who was very good at English, and she constantly tried to understand me. We talked about each other's countries and became good friends, which made me realize that the language barrier was much thinner than I had imagined. Furthermore, experiencing the warmth and tolerance of the people removed my fear of different cultures, and my mindset shifted to "just try it first." I was also afraid that I would get an upset stomach in Thailand, as I had heard, but the food was delicious, and I didn't get sick, so my perception of food safety also changed slightly.

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