{"id":25503,"date":"2023-07-25T16:58:49","date_gmt":"2023-07-25T07:58:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/sgu\/?p=25503"},"modified":"2023-07-25T17:02:47","modified_gmt":"2023-07-25T08:02:47","slug":"qtem2023-spring-student-report-from-tilburg-university-netherland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/sgu\/news-en\/2023\/07\/25\/25503\/","title":{"rendered":"QTEM2023 Spring: Student Report from Tilburg University (Netherlands)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Center for Positive\/Empirical Analysis of Political Economy supports Waseda students who study abroad through the international network QTEM (Quantitative Techniques for Economics and Management). Below is final report from the student who has studied at\u00a0 Amsterdam University (2022 Autumn semester) and Tilburg University (2023 Spring semester).<\/p>\n

FUJIOKA, Kosuke\u00a0 \u00a0Graduate School of Economics M2<\/h4>\n

My name is Kosuke Fujioka and I am a master’s student in the Graduate School of <\/span>Economics at Waseda University. In the spring semester of 2023, I went on an exchange <\/span>program at the University of Tilburg in the Netherlands as part of the QTEM program, so I <\/span>would like to report on my activities there.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Campus of Tilburg University<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

The QTEM program specializes in the study of empirical analysis, and one of its attractions <\/span>is the opportunity to participate in courses at a number of partner universities that excel in <\/span>economics, including Tilburg University, where I studied abroad this time. I had also studied <\/span>at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) in the Netherlands as an exchange student in the fall <\/span>semester of 2022, so I made the somewhat irregular choice to study at two different Dutch <\/span>universities in consecutive semesters. Because the semesters of both graduate schools <\/span>overlapped slightly, I was a bit busy at the beginning of the semester in Tilburg, but thanks to <\/span>my experience in Amsterdam, I adapted well to daily life.<\/span><\/p>\n

Below are the courses I actually took while I was there.<\/span><\/p>\n

Data Science Methods<\/span><\/strong>
We learned data analysis methods in the intersection between econometrics, statistics, and <\/span>machine learning. The last part of the course, “Double Machine Learning,” was difficult to <\/span>understand, but I found it interesting. <\/span><\/p>\n

Time Series and their Applications<\/span><\/strong>
We learned about econometric methods using time series data. The first half of the lecture <\/span>focused on ARMA models, while the second half dealt with more advanced areas such as <\/span>VARs and Kalman filters. The students work on group assignments in pairs every week, and it seems that the university always takes the initiative in providing opportunities to learn in cooperation with other students, not only in this class but also in other classes at Tilburg.<\/span><\/p>\n


Dynamic Economic Models<\/strong>
This class dealt with Dynamic Programming in the economic field. The number of students was small, so I was able to receive extensive instruction. We learned not only the theory of dynamic programming but also estimation methods and simulation using MATLAB for
assignments.<\/span><\/p>\n

Seminar Data Science for Economics<\/span><\/strong>
We learned empirical analysis methods using recent big data in a practical way. The class <\/span>was very cutting-edge in its style: not only general machine learning, but also methods using <\/span>tensors and deep learning, etc. The class materials were written in Python, and the <\/span>assignments were submitted via Git Hub. On the other hand, the lecture also provided a <\/span>detailed explanation of the contrast between modern analytical methods and existing, <\/span>relatively old econometric methods, as well as the story that exists between the two, and I <\/span>eventually learned the difficulty and depth of empirical analysis.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u00a0There was a unique assignment in the Data Science Methods to analyze the <\/span>mobility shift in each region in France when the French government implemented the <\/span>lockdown.<\/span><\/p>\n

The students in Tilburg were so smart that I was struggling to keep up with them. <\/span>Supposedly, what they particularly excelled in was their proactivity and self-discipline in <\/span>learning. They are able to immediately ask questions about what they do not understand in <\/span>class and strive to resolve their doubts immediately. On the other hand, They also value their <\/span>leisure time and seem to consider time spent with friends or alone for reflection as an <\/span>integral part of their lives above all.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Flower Garden in Spring<\/p><\/div>\n

The Netherlands in early spring was very pleasant and relaxing, even with the <\/span>busy schedule of classes. When I had a little free time, I often traveled to places in the Netherlands.<\/span><\/p>\n

I have already returned to Japan and am enjoying my life in Japan, and I have been <\/span>frequently reminded daily of the differences between the Japanese and Dutch lifestyles.\u00a0 <\/span>I have taken a number of interesting courses with local students during this study abroad <\/span>program, and I have learned how wonderful it is to work hard at learning what you want to <\/span>learn. I believe that this experience will be used to the fullest in the future as my source of courage to <\/span>face complicated and difficult issues.<\/span><\/p>\n


Finally, I would like to\u00a0 express my sincere gratitude to my thesis advisor, <\/span>Professor Yoshio Kamijo, who supported me in writing my master’s thesis remotely during <\/span>my study abroad, and tothe\u00a0 SGU Center for Empirical Politics and Waseda University who <\/span>supported me to the utmost. I will continue to do my best so that one day I myself can also <\/span>encourage someone else to have a fruitful experience.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Center for Positive\/Empirical Analysis of Political Economy supports Waseda students who study abroad thro […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":25508,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[99,111],"class_list":["post-25503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en","tag-en-eape","tag-report-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/sgu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/sgu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/sgu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/sgu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/sgu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25503"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/sgu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25503\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25611,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/sgu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25503\/revisions\/25611"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/sgu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/sgu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/sgu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/sgu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}