Beijing, 29th March, 2016(BISTU)--- A boat carrying me away to a place separated from home by mountains, for learning. 　　 

Still vivid in my memory is one day after Mid-Autumn Day of 2013 when I dragged two cases, all by myself, starting off for three years of learning at Fukui University. Time travels fast! It is now the beginning of the third year. I owe great thanks to BISTU, my alma mater,  as well as support, recommendation and encourage of my professors and teachers of BISTU’s MoU Key Lab of Modern Testing and Control Technology. I always tell myself that I shall work even hard to win honor for BISTU.  

Information about studying abroad 

BISTU has been collaborating with Fukui University for 16 years and each year there are BISTU students attending exchange programs here at Fukui.  

Duration for doctoral degrees is three years (October intake), about one to two years shorter than that in China. However, intensity of learning is much different. When applying for doctoral programs, applicant needs to discuss with supervisors on research plan and enrollment time. Sometimes applicants will have to learn a half-year “postgraduate program” and then they could be admitted to doctoral programs in April of the next year.  

Doctoral tuition is paid on semester basis. Generally doctoral students are waived of all or half of tuition. Different from doctoral studies in China, in Japan doctoral students do not enjoy allowances which is replaced by Research Assistance system (RA). Earnings from RA are equivalent to what is needed for tuition fees plus three-month living expenses.  

From macro-perspective, Japan’s population is shrinking and the number of students is also decreasing. Yet universities here do not accept international students extensively, which is further verified by my Ph.D. supervisor. He receives scores of applications each year, e.g., an outstanding undergraduate student from India Institute of Technology wants to apply master program, a South American master student majoring in Mathematics, etc. 　　 

Ph.D. Studies 

My research institute focuses on computer aided diagnosis and my program is artificial intelligence. The research institute targets at studies on human’s knees--- developing some programs to assist surgeons in their knee operation. While I was studying with BISTU in the program of mechatronics engineering, I got contacted with a research project related to machine vison. When I attend Fukui University I did not receive any specialty courses before getting into the lab and starting my experiments, which proves that courses at BISTU are actually internationally accepted. 

Poster on projects of the institute  

My PhD supervisor is a Japanese, young and energetic. For the maximum, the research institute accommodates 5 doctoral students (two from Malaysia, two from Japan, and me from China), 8 master students, and 6 bachelor students (here the 4^th-year bachelor students could get into research institutes). It is a hard job to supervise so many students. My conversation with Japanese classmates tells me that the supervisor only sleeps four to five hours per day. He is very passionate and talkative. And each year he would fly to other countries, for more than ten times, to attend international conferences. He does not strictly regulate our attendance and he would be happy if we could turn in our reports before deadlines. I am proud to say that so far I have been very active in asking him to check my papers or giving him my plan before he tells me to. 　　 

The research institute requires each of us to report on our experiment progress, achievements, errors, analysis on errors, and solution on the weekly meeting. And at the end of each semester, students are requested to introduce his experiment achievements, essay writing or published journals, and the following research plan. Such sound academic arrangement keeps us going and we would not relax ourselves before we have accomplished all tasks. 　　 

Interestingly, cups of steaming hot noodles are often seen on desks of Japanese students who work all through the nights typing before computers before examination or publication of journals. Or you could see some student staying in the classroom revising his essay, all through the night. It seems that Japanese students love working all through the night and wearing red-and-swelling eyes during the day. For me it is pretty confusing.  

Experiment at Kobe University: applying our system to operations 

There are no taught courses for Ph.D. programs and we have to learn in the institute for more than 10 hours a day. I usually term Ph.D studying as stepping on a treadmill--- you have to run to avoid being thrown away. Without learning with such intensity, you would become a “life doctor” (one extension after another until the end of life). Supervisors are very busy and they do not supervise students to every detail. Students have to be self-controlled. For instruments required in experiments, all we do is to select the models and give supervisors the information. Some components need to be done by 3D printing, I am free to use it on reservation. And as a student, the only mission is to learn. Activities irrelevant to studies are scarcely arranged which makes us more focused on studies. 　　 

Participation in international conference is particularly important for doctoral studies. Generally supervisors require us to attend at least one conference per year. Of course, the more we submit our papers the happier supervisors are. My research institute only covers half of the costs in participating in conferences, which means I have to pay the rest. 　　 

In Milan with my supervisor on an international conference 

Upon invitation of the University, I went back to BISTU in December 2013, accompanying two Ph.D. supervisors. During this visit an agreement was reached that BISTU master students could attend exchange programs at Fukui University. 　　 

Extracurricular activities  

About 10 dinner parties and collective activities will be organized in a year. Around April each year, there would be a grand party “Hanami” (Sakura festival). And there are also a series of other activities, such as BBQ, bonfire party, farewell party, etc. 　　 

Hanami at Fukui   

Outdoor activity with supervisor in a wild place 

In addition to these, the University also organizes a number of exchange activities. If you are energetic enough, your Japanese and English would be greatly improved. In every day life, basic Japanese is a must. In doctoral studies, English is universal--- essays are written in English, international conferences are in English, etc.--- and thus I normally use English. 　　  

Mach 2015, the first Ph.D. of the institute (first from left), the first Chinese student (master degree, third from left) 

As a small city, Fukui accommodates quite a few Chinese students. We help each other in many respects, furniture, home appliances, etc. In conversation with other Chinese students, I am more than happy to learn that BISTU students are simply the best. 　　 

In general, I am lucky and I am happy to have made such a choice. Living alone in a country far from homeland, I become a stronger person and I learn a lot. Now I have many international friends and more importantly, an international vision. Being lonely is just a state of mind, not a psychological status. I sincerely hope that students would make full use of the international opportunities BISTU offers to walk around the world. We could be even stronger to contribute to development of BISTU.