Voice from International Students 2021

Hi everyone! This is Azizul from Bangladesh. Currently, I am doing my doctoral research in Soft Materials Chemistry Lab (Tanaka Lab) under the supervision of distinguished Professor Masaru Tanaka Sensei. I have joined in this lab on October 2019. Before coming to Kyushu University, I had several choices to go to pursuing my PhD degree. Finally, I was selected as MEXT scholar and decided to come to the Applied Chemistry department at Kyushu University as a PhD candidate.
As all of you know, Kyushu University is one of the five royal university in Japan. Kyushu University is one of the best research university in the world which is ranked 124 based on QS University rabking-2021. Among the departments, Applied Chemistry is also a leading department under the faculty of Engineering. I am so proud to be a member of this department. I believe that, Soft Materials Chemistry is the biggest lab with three individual research branches, (Polymer Synthesis, Surface Analysis and Cell Culture) in Applied Chemistry department. I found this lab is a versatile lab with enormous research facilities. A lab member can able to acquire more wide learning and amazing research experiences. These laboratories are contributing very challenging research activities in the field of biomaterials and medical equipment research. Every year, a significant amounts of research outputs are publishing world renowned peer reviewed journal.
Here is my research topic is “Surface interaction of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) on the PMEA (poly(2- methoxyethyl acrylate)) and its analogues”
Here, I am trying to construct of small diameter artificial blood vessel using biocompatible biomaterials which is still challenging.
So, if anyone interested to take challenge on research and contribute to the mankind, Applied Chemistry department is the best department and Soft Materials Chemistry lab would be the finest choice of you I believe.

I joined Kyushu University in October 2018. I selected this course (Ouka-bunshi) to pursue my passion for Chemistry, which matches the learning opportunities offered here. As I expected as a PhD student, the learning program really concentrates on upgrading students’ research skills by proposing original ideas, executing precise experiments, and communicating the new findings. My research is about the extraction and separation of critical metals from secondary sources using green technology. Specifically, I’ve been working to recover platinum group metals (Pt, Pd, and Rh) from spent automotive catalysts. Our laboratory develops a greener metal recycling process using advanced technology by integrating ionic liquids into the membrane transport system. It’s been a fascinating research experience! Also, the best part is, I’ve got really supportive lab mates and an encouraging environment. At the end of this course, I feel a lot of improvement in myself as a scientist in terms of mindsets, work ethics, attitude towards science, writing and oral communication skills, and lab skills. Besides the exciting research activities, I also have a lot of fun outside the laboratory with Japanese and other international students. We’ve got chances to explore various wonderful spots in Japan, particularly in the Kyushu area, as well as enjoying the delicious foods!

I joined this university as a freshman of applied chemistry course in 2016. I was attracted by its well-facilitated fuel cell research environment: ideas, knowledge, facilities; all available in-house. After completing my undergraduate research at Fujigaya Lab, I decided to further challenge myself by combining a data science approach with my previous experiences with experimental approaches. I wanted to establish a highly efficient and higher cost-performance research method via machine learning of fuel cell components. However, being a novice in programming, I had no idea how to move forward towards my goal. Fortunately, I am surrounded by inclusive and supportive lab mates and professors, who pointed out resources relevant to my level so that I could head start my research. Since I came to Japan to study as an international student, other than scientific research, I also had to get accustomed to a different social customs and cultures. On Setsubun, my usually animated lab mates were eating in complete silence. I had to wait till they finished their silent eating, to learn from them the cultural significance of this ritual. It is not a breeze to have to deal with research and a new social and cultural setting, but with the full support from your surroundings, I am sure you can leave with confidence of having expertise both in your field and in social-cultural aspects. After all, we are all here to learn!

I joined Kyushu University in April 2018 after graduating as bachelor of pharmacy. I am interested in drug delivery design and decided to continue my study in engineering field to learn from an engineering point of view. I searched for a lot of laboratories related to this field and skimmed their research themes. One lab that got my interest is Katayama lab which belongs to Applied Chemistry course of Kyushu University. I found that this course has quite numbers of foreign graduates with different backgrounds, such as engineering, medicines, science, and pharmacy. I feel excited that I can learn drug design from different point of views simultaneously and it amazes me how broad this field actually is. I learned about polymer synthesis, how its physical characteristics regulate its behaviour as drug carrier, and some experimental techniques for evaluation using some sophisticated machines and biological related experiment (handling of cells and mice). I feel grateful I can experience a lot of things in this course and hope to meet new friends to learn together!

My journey at Kyushu University started in 2014. Since I was in high school, I always wanted to work in the research field of Chemistry and contribute to solving the global low-carbon energy technologies. To achieve that goal, I understand that I need knowledge, skills, interesting research topics, and mentors from whom I can learn and seek advice. Therefore, I decided to join the Department of Applied Chemistry, because the course in the department covers all of those programs. I’m now in working in Ogo laboratory to construct a bio-hybrid system to effectively produce a new green energy system based on naturally occurring enzymes. This project brings me new things to learn technical experiment skills, interdisciplinary knowledge, and great advice from Professors and lab members. Finally, to the future students, if you decide to join this course, congratulations because you are making the right choice! I hope that you will learn and enjoy your time here!

In Oct. 2016, I joined in Hisaeda Lab of Kyushu Univ. as a research student firstly. Now I am a third-year Doctoral student, mainly focusing on developing a new catalyst system by using an artificial compound ‘porphycene’ and its complexes.

During 5-year learning and researching, my theoretical foundation and experimental operation in chemistry are improved a lot. Most importantly, my logical thinking ability becomes better than before. It is the biggest wealth I have gained here that will benefit me for my whole lifetime.  

As far as I am concerned, the discovery and creation are greatest charms of chemistry. You can get the wisdom, ability and full feeling of these charms in Ouka-bunshi. Moreover, similarly to Chemistry, there are many interesting things waiting for you to discover and create in the world. Welcome and let’s cooperate with each other and build a better future of the world together.