Experiences of a Half-Year Young Scientist Exchange Program Participant

Hi! My name is Dyah Subagyo, born and bred in Bandung. I’ve never been living outside Bandung or separately from my family before, so YSEP is a golden chance to learn living independently.

Before coming to Japan, I thought that the culture that I will be most in touch with is only Japanese culture (besides microbe culture in lab, of course). It turns out that I am wrong. Yes, I interact with many elements of Japanese culture and with Japanese people in my laboratory.

But I also interact a lot with people from different countries, such as Norway, France, New Caledonia, Germany, and China. I also interact with people from Indonesia, not necessarily from the same university. I get new friends here, whom I am very fond of with.

But life is not only for playing. I am honored to be accepted to an exceptional team in 福居laboratory. My research is related to genes involved in carbon dioxide binding. Thanks to this, I get to learn how to operate new machines such as electroporator machine and L-glutamate measuring machine (not displayed here). These are useful knowledge in my field of study.

Six months is a brief period, but these six months impact my life greatly. I get new skills, both laboratory-related and daily life related. I get many friends and acquaintances. I am getting more independent and confident. Overall? I feel like a new human, improved.