1.What made
you study in Japan in the
first place?
My goal, when I was in the high school in Myanmar, was studying abroad
to acquire the advanced techniques after the graduation. In those days,
there were several popular destinations for studying among Myanmar’s adolescents,
such as Japan, the U.S., the U.K., Australia, Canada, and Singapore. Around
that time, many PCs started to spread over my country - such circumstances
got me interested in electronic/information engineering and made me aspire
to come to Japan, the kingdom of electronics. Not only electronics and
home appliances were imported from Japan but also most of cars and motorbikes
running around the town were made in Japan. That is why many young people
in Myanmar got interested in Japan, and I was one of those who set a goal
to study in Japan. Unfortunately, I couldn't straight to a Japanese university
after graduating my high school; however, in my freshman year of the Miamian
University, I found our government-sponsored Study Abroad Scheme, which
is conducted as a part of the ODA funded by the Japanese government. I
couldn’t miss this good opportunity. After a long campus-wide and nationwide
competitive screening procedure, I finally won the ticket to study in Japan.
2.What did
you learn at KNCT?
After studying the basic Japanese in Tokyo for six months, I came to the
Kure National College of Technology. Although I was interested in electrical
engineering, I decided to study civil engineering at KNCT, because the
infrastructure development was the first priority to Myanmar at that time.
The KNCT provided me with general education, basic and practical civil
engineering techniques, and language lessons (mainly Japanese). I also
had many splendid experiences outside the campus with Japanese traditions,
various food cultures, and friendships among youths from different countries.
3.Do you
have good memories at KNCT?
Yes, I made a lot of good memories at KNCT. Right after arriving at KNCT,I
had no idea what to do at the beginning, but my great homeroom teacher
warmly supported me and told me about the Japanese culture now and then.
During the consecutive holidays in my first year at KNCT, he took me to
the Seto Ohashi Bridge, the world’s longest two-tiered bridge. This was
a wonderful experience. It may be no exaggeration to say that that was
the starting point for me to live as a civil engineer. Although I studied
Japanese for about six months before coming to KNCT, I could neither understand
classes nor read textbooks for a while. I had never had such a hard time
in my life. I often visited teachers to ask academic questions. Also, my
student tutor and other classmates helped me a lot. Through such an interaction,
the student tutor became one of my best friends and some of the classmates
and I still keep in touch even more than ten years after we graduated.
When we have a chance to drop by either of our places during a business
trip, we go drinking together to talk about our good old school days. I
remember that we would often study together in my dormitory room. When
we studied until late at night, I used to cook all of us instant noodles
from Myanmar with a lot of vegetables and eggs in a big pot. We spread
newspaper on the floor and put the big pot on it, and then sat around the
pot to slurp noodles together.
4.What did
you do after graduating KNCT?
After the three-year study at KNCT, I entered Hiroshima University to get
more special skills which would lead to a career chance in Japan in the
future. I was conferred a doctoral degree by the university, and started
to work for NIPPON KOEI Co., Ltd.(NK). The NK is one of the largest consulting
companies in Japan for providing comprehensive technical assistance services
not only for Japan but also for the developing countries. I hope I can
contribute to my country’s infrastructure improvement through the services
of my company.
5.Could
you give some advice to those seeking for studying abroad in the future and prospective
students of KNCT?
The following
points are the advantages of the study at a national college of technology compared
to universities.
At a national college of technology, you
can get practical engineering skills as well as the basic knowledge in your
specialty.
There are few foreign students, so not
only your teachers but also your regional community supports you very well.
Foreign students can fit in with their
classmates easily because you belong to only a fixed single class and the
classmates will not change until the graduation. They will also have no
difficulties to adapt to the school and the regional community.
After you acquire the fundamental and the professional
engineering skills at a national college of technology, you can choose either
to get a job or to transfer to a university in accordance with your purpose. From
my experience, I think it is important to hold a big dream, set a high target,
and keep on working toward the goal. The Japanese society has been supporting
foreign students who need any help but are willing to work hard. I believe that
foreign students with higher technical skills and adequate proficiency in
Japanese would have a big chance to work for a big Japanese company.