International Project 　【USA】
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Yang Qian　[D1]
(Graduate School of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering)

Thanks to the support from GSDM, my host professor Prof. Jing Kong, my UTokyo supervisor Prof Shigeo Maruyama, and my MIT friends, this international project experience has truly become a treasure. Numerous aspects of my professional development with relation to research, project management ability, and communication skills have greatly improved.
The international project was allowed by the fact that my designated host laboratory at MIT shares a similar research field to my home laboratory at UTokyo, but it also boasts different research focuses, and that allowed me to develop new ideas for my future PhD work. Moreover, my host professor and my UTokyo supervisor have a strong professional relation, so that it was easy for me to take advantage of this networking in order to gain access to this experience.
Most of my time at MIT was spent on the joint research project, which is still ongoing despite my return to Japan. The project is mainly about synthesis of 2-dimensional nanomaterials and application of as-synthesized nanomaterials to solar cells. I have developed the experiment processes and gained a good number of useful results. I also managed to coordinate future plan before my departure. At MIT, different experiments need to be conducted in different laboratories, which boosts collaboration and mutual learning. I thereby learned that the most effective way to do research is collaboration.
Besides research, I also attended several conferences in the Boston area, which also helped me to widen my research horizon and network. MIT and Boston are fantastic platforms for learning new things, as there are many lectures, seminars and social events held every day for you to attend. Many of them even offer free food and drinks. People are really active in social events so that one can know many people in a short time.
The most important fruit of my joint research is about connections. I had meaningful discussions with my host professor and labmates, from whom I have learnt a great deal. Future collaborations can be expected thanks to this international project. I also made many good friends in Boston and I will strive to keep our relations in the future.
About my recommendations to fellow GSDM students, from my experience, doing research and living in MIT and Boston is very different from Tokyo. Winter in Boston starts from late November. It is dotted with many holidays, which means that basically winter is vacation time. The experiment facilities require training and reservation, so that the starting time is long, and especially for a short visit time it will take a considerable part of your time. As a visitor, the accessibility to those facilities is also a critical issue to be considered carefully and in advance. However, besides the experiments, trying to get to know more people, to experience more and to learn more skills are also the important contents and may eventually result in being the most important. I really feel lucky that I was given the opportunity to experience this international project.