Top Global University Project: Waseda Goes Global - A Plan to Build a Worldwide Academic Network That Is Open, Dynamic and DiverseWaseda University

Akane Umeda | 1st year master’s student, School of Fundamental Science and Engineering

• Visiting Period: September 2023 to November 2023
• Study Abroad University: Georgia Institute of Technology
• Country/Region: Atlanta, Georgia, USA

 

Below is a study abroad experience report from Akane Umeda (1st year master’s student, School of Fundamental Science and Engineering), who was able to go to Georgia, Atlanta, USA, to study at Georgia Institute of Technology. This study abroad experience was possible due to support from Waseda University’s Top Global University project “Waseda Goes Global”, referred to as TGU below.

 

Reasons for applying

When I was a high school student, I participated in a world robot competition, and I had the opportunity to interact with people around the same age from all over the world. I learned a lot about the cultures and ways of thinking of various countries, and I realized that Japanese culture is also known around the world. I also found it interesting to interact with people from other countries. At that time, our team was not able to get the results we wanted in the competition, and we couldn’t participate in the following year’s competition due to age restrictions. Subsequently, I began to want to study, compete overseas and interact with people from various countries again after entering university. Also, I have been interested in space since I was in elementary school and have always wanted to work in the space industry. Therefore, I wanted to spend my time as a student in the United States, the home of space development, and experience the research environment and culture firsthand, so I decided to participate in this program.

 

Research at the lab I visited

I worked with Dr. Koki Ho in the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology. In Japan, I have been working on self-healing metal interconnect. Self-healing metal interconnect is metal interconnect that can be repaired automatically without knowing the location or size of the disconnected region. In the environment of space, where repairs and replacements are difficult, using self-healing metal interconnect makes repairs possible. I believe it is useful, so I focused mainly on experiments in Japan. In the United States, I interviewed other professors both inside and outside of our department, considered what kinds of satellite failures could be repaired using self-healing metal interconnect, and devised a simple linear model. I used MATLAB to calculate the cost-effectiveness of installing self-healing metal interconnect. Through interviews with professors, I discovered many issues when applying self-healing metal interconnects in space. In my research after getting back to Japan, I am planning to conduct experiments under conditions that more closely resemble those used in space.

 

The university environment 

Basically, we were left to ourselves. We could go to the lab at any time and go home at any time, and there were no set rules. The building of the School of Aerospace Engineering was an old building, but there were many models of engines and airplanes lined up inside, which made me excited. I had a meeting with my professor once a week to discuss research. We had a lab meeting once every two weeks, where we shared our progress over the past two weeks and heard about academic conferences that the professors had attended. In the students’ reports of their own progress, I thought it was good that even if their research was not progressing as expected, they proudly announced that they had been concentrating on their classes that week. Furthermore, there was a joint meeting once every two weeks with four or five laboratories with similar research fields, and it was a great experience to hear presentations from students from various laboratories. There were many students who were doing joint research with NASA and American space venture companies, which was very stimulating. Snacks, pizza, donuts, etc. were handed out at every joint meeting, which made me a feel like I was in the U.S.

The campus was very large and had many facilities other than school buildings. The library had separate zones for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as a quiet study space. I was surprised that eating and drinking is allowed inside the library. In addition, there were many restaurants in the student center as it was a food court-like environment where we could enjoy a variety of cuisines. However, with the weak yen, even if it was cheap, each meal would cost 1,500 yen, so I had to bring my own lunch box almost every day. All the students in the lab also brought their lunch boxes.

On a different note, there are many products, such as clothes and caps, with the name of the university on them, and many students often wear them, giving me a sense of their strong love for their school.

International exchange

Besides me, there were three other Japanese students in the laboratory, and four more in the department. There were few American students in our lab, and many international students. I spent time with students from England, France, Belgium, South Korea and Japan. I was surprised at how the lab members ate lunch together every day and communicated about everything from frank topics to serious topics, such as what they did on the weekend and what they were stuck with in their research. I was often asked, “How’s your research going?” as a greeting, and when I told them I was stuck, I was very impressed by how many students always offered to help by saying, “I can help you with ___!”

On the weekends, university or department events were held, and students from the lab invited me to go hiking and to parties, so I had a great time. There is a large stadium on campus where we watched an American football game. I was overwhelmed by how enthusiastic the audience was, both booing and cheering. I also had the opportunity to hang out with Russian-American students who were the same gender and age as me in our lab, and it was a great experience for me to have deep conversations with them about our families, school, and future plans.

Additionally, I was renting a house through Airbnb, and luckily the host was very accommodating. She always took care of me. She sometimes gave me African food from her home country, went with me to church, and took me shopping at the mall. We talked a lot about the future and work, and she had many kind words for me when I was worried about finding a job. She came to the United States from Africa over ten years ago, and although she had a hard time, she is now working as in the costume department in the film industry. It was the first time for me to have such heart-to-heart conversations with someone from overseas about my outlook on life, work, and lifestyle, so it was refreshing and I was very encouraged by her words.

The accommodations

I lived in Midtown, a relatively safe area with many buildings. I lived in an apartment I found on Airbnb for three months with a female host in her 30s. It was a 2 bed 2 bath apartment with a shared living room and kitchen. It was a seven-story apartment building with a well-maintained courtyard in the center of the building. Atlanta has a climate with temperatures that vary greatly, and even if it’s hot one day, it can suddenly get cold the next day, so I paid special attention to my health.

 

The Surrounding area

Atlanta is located in the southern part of the United States. Midtown and Downtown are lined with buildings, and many large companies such as Google have offices.

There are vast parks such as Piedmont Park and Centennial Olympic Park, and on weekends they were crowded with people enjoying sports such as running and tennis, as well as people taking walks.

South of the university was unsafe, so I lived on the north side. I used to walk from my house to the bus stop and take the university’s free bus, which took about 40 minutes each way. Many students were commuting to school by bicycle, electric scooter, or skateboard. In the United States, everything felt very large-scale, and they live in a car-based society, so getting around in daily life was a little difficult. When I decided to go shopping at a different supermarket than usual, it was a 40 minute walk one way. I sometimes used the train to go to large shopping malls.

When I wanted to buy something, I often used Amazon, and I used to pick up items at the Amazon Hub Locker pick-up facility at our university. It was convenient to be able to pick it up on my way to school, and as a student, I was able to use the Prime membership service for free for half a year without having to pay shipping charges.

Atlanta is said to have improved in safety in recent years, but from my perspective as a Japanese person, you need to be careful. It was common for Amber Alerts (a child abduction emergency alert) to be issued during kidnappings and robberies also occur. During my stay I heard that there had been a shooting incident near the university, although it was a little far away. When using public transportation such as trains, I limited myself to using them during the day and not at night.

Famous tourist attractions include the World of Coca-Cola and the Georgia Aquarium. At the World of Coca-Cola, you can see the history of the Coca-Cola Company and past advertisements for Coca-Cola products in various countries. There was also a corner where you could sample Coca-Cola drinks from around the world, and I sampled dozens of drinks. Georgia Aquarium is one of the largest aquariums in the world. I was able to enjoy an impressive dolphin show and a huge shark tank.

Impressions of studying abroad

During this program, I was able to meet people from various countries as well as Japanese people who have spent a long time in the United States. When I talked with them about career paths, I often met people with diverse ways of thinking and life choices. Some planned to remain in academia, others planned to work for NASA, and some were considering employment at a venture company. Before studying abroad, I had only considered the option of working at a major Japanese company, but I now understand that there are many different paths. I was able to meet people who I would like to have as role models in my life. Also, students who were around my same age were involved in many collaborative research projects with NASA, which I had always admired, and it was a great experience to be able to see their steady research activities. In addition to using this information as a reference for my future research activities and job hunting, I also started thinking that I would be able to support international students who came to Japan. Although I had some difficulties going through the procedures required for studying broad and also living there, I am really glad that I participated in this study abroad program.