Student Report: Study Abroad - University of Bonn (Mr. Kotaro Kawasaki)

As part of the Waseda University – University of Bonn collaboration program, we introduce the experience of Mr. Kotaro Kawasaki (first-year master's student), who received guidance in the research lab of Professor Jonathan Schmid-Burgk at the University of Bonn's Institute for Clinical Chemistry and Clinical Pharmacology.
*Please note that the original report submitted by the student is written in Japanese. The English translation is provided for reference purposes only.

Visiting Institution
滞在先・機関

University of Bonn (Germany) /ボン大学（ドイツ）

Period of Stay
滞在期間

From Feb.6, 2023 to Mar. 15, 2023

Impressions of the Host Institution and Environment/ Differences from Japan
滞在先の印象・日本との違い

滞在先のラボは、私が所属する研究室と比較してラボメンバーが多様だった。私の所属する研究室では女性よりも男性が多く、年次に関しても学部生や修士課程の学生が多い。しかし、滞在先のラボでは、女性が半数近くを占めており、年次も博士課程の学生がほとんどであった。またバックグラウンドが異なる学生が多く在籍しており、それらの学生が切磋琢磨し、実験上の不明点がスムーズに解決していく姿が印象的だった。

The host laboratory where I stayed was more diverse than my home laboratory. In my lab in Japan, there are more men than women, and in terms of academic level, many members are undergraduate and master’s students. To the best of my knowledge, this is a common characteristic across all laboratories in my department. In contrast, in the host lab, women made up nearly half of the members, and most of the students were in doctoral programs. In addition, the lab included many students from diverse backgrounds. I was particularly impressed by how they supported and motivated one another and how smoothly they were able to resolve experimental questions through collaboration.

My Experiences During the Program
滞在先での体験談

英語での雑談が大変ではあったが、楽しかった。私にとっては同年代の学生（研究室の学生やアクティビティを企画してくれたボン大学の学生など）と初めて交流する機会だった。初めのうちは、話を聞いているだけで精一杯なことや話を振られても聞き返してしまう（もしくは適当に返してしまう）ことが多くあった。現地の学生たちが、私が言葉に詰まっていても、その間しっかりと待ってくれたこともあり、徐々に成功体験が蓄積していった。滞在終盤では自分から話を振ることや会話を続けられることもできるようになった。彼らにとっても日本人と話す機会は貴重なようで、話が弾むと彼ら自身も楽しそうにしてくれることが嬉しかった。

Casual conversations in English were both challenging and enjoyable. For me, it was my first opportunity to interact with students of the same age in English, including those in the laboratory, and students at the University of Bonn who organized activities. At first, I often struggled just to follow the conversation, and even when someone spoke to me, I sometimes had to ask them to repeat themselves—or responded only superficially. However, the local students patiently waited while I searched for words, which helped me gradually build confidence through small successes. By the end of my stay, I was able to initiate conversations myself and keep them going. It seemed that opportunities to talk with a Japanese person were also valuable for them, and I was happy to see that they enjoyed our conversations when they became lively.

What I Gained from the Experience for My Future Career
滞在して良かったと思う点・今後に活かせると思う点

滞在先の研究室の専門は遺伝子編集技術の発展と免疫学への応用といった領域だった。私はよりマクロな生化学的なアプローチで神経薬理学的な分野に取り組んでいたため、滞在前はそのギャップが大きすぎるのではないかと考えていた。しかし実際は、滞在先の研究室で行っている実験には自分の分野からしても取り入れるべき技術や知識が多くあった。また、自分が行ってきた生化学的なアプローチも滞在先の研究室で取り入れ始められていたため、自分が技術を提供できる場面もあった。
このように、一見関連のなさそうな研究分野の研究室に滞在して、相互的な技術や知見の提供ができた経験が成長につながると考えている。これは特に異分野との共同研究の発足時に発揮される。そのため、今後も異分野研究に対してより一層の興味を持ち、自分に吸収できることや自分が提供できる知見はないかと意識したい。

The host laboratory specialized in the development of gene-editing technologies and their application to immunology. Since my own work focuses on a more macroscopic, biochemical approach within the field of neuropharmacology, I initially felt that the gap between our fields might be too large. In practice, however, many of the experiments conducted in the host lab involved techniques and knowledge that could be applied to my own field. At the same time, the biochemical approaches I had been using were beginning to be adopted in the host lab, which created opportunities for me to contribute my own expertise. Through this experience, I believe that staying in a laboratory from a seemingly unrelated field and engaging in a mutual exchange of techniques and knowledge contributed significantly to my growth. This kind of experience is particularly valuable when initiating interdisciplinary collaborations. Therefore, I would like to further deepen my interest in interdisciplinary research and remain mindful of both what I can learn from others and what I can contribute in return.

Other Comments or Reflections
その他

この度は、私の滞在を支援していただき、誠にありがとうございました。今回の経験を他分野との交流や自身の研究に尽力に活かし、研究分野への貢献に努めたいと思います。

I sincerely thank all those involved in this program for their support of my laboratory stay. I hope to make the most of this experience by applying it to interactions with other fields and to my own research, and to contribute to the advancement of my field.