At first, I was nervous about not having any ideas on what we were supposed to do, but as I look back at the week spent in the course, I feel that I had fulfilling days. Together with the students from National Taiwan University, technical officials and TA, and professors from different universities participated in the course and everyone worked together with us and they all participated in the discussions and practices with their non-native English. And when the lecture was in Chinese, they helped us by translating the lecture in English. I felt that we worked as a whole. The first week of Lab Rotation was good though it was too short to get to know each other before we moved to the next laboratory. But in the CBT Course, with members being the same and by conducting practices together, we were able to become friends.
        As for the lectures, we were able to learn the basic principle once again and being able to put it in practice at the moment we learned was the maximum benefit. I think this is an effective way to learn and it would be nice if we can adopt this method in our university as well.
        The visit to Taiwan enabled me to see different university and for me to have a global perspective on matters. To be honest, I had been worried for some things were left undecided in the beginning, but through the interaction with the Taiwan students and professors, I was able to have valuable experience and fulfilling time. In Vietnam, we were the ones to teach practice, but in Taiwan, we were the ones to be taught. This experience led me to understand the position of my research and the level of the research in Taiwan and for me to participate in discussions with these understandings in mind. I also felt keenly of my English proficiency.
        Back in Japan, my interactions with the students in Taiwan continue and I am happy for this friendship with people outside Japan. If I have a chance, I would like to visit Taiwan again.
        I would like to thank the professors for giving me such an opportunity. Thank you very much.

（extract taken from the original report）

　        Through this overseas training, I was able to experience a wide spectrum of discussions with a number of foreign researchers and students and broaden my outlook which was a meaningful experience for me. The most meaningful thing was that my ideas on communication changed. My English improved with the direct conversations in English, but I felt that I need to brush up my English in order to have comprehensive debates. Aside from my first goal to improve my English skills, I realized how important the communication is. To become a researcher in the future, the interaction with the researchers outside Japan is essential and the ability to communicate in English is vital. Before this training, I thought that the English proficiency was the foremost important thing when communicating, but by trying positively at conversing with Taiwan students, I rediscovered the importance of having a positive attitude and communicating one’s thoughts.
        By participating in this training, I was able to interact with many people. I hope to continue the relationship and to build an international network based on this relationship.
        I would like to show my gratitude to the professors and students of National Taiwan University for accepting us with hospitality and giving us chance to debate in broad range and to visit the university, and Professor Ohneda and Professor Irie and the International Office for making arrangements for this training. And I would also like to thank all of the professors at University of Tsukuba for giving us an opportunity to participate in this short-time visiting program.

（extract taken from the original report）

        The seven of us went on a short-term visiting program in National Taiwan University (NTU) as a Musha-shugyo for two weeks from August 22 to September 4, 2010. Since this was a first academic exchange on medical sciences for both of the universities, we had no idea what to expect and I was anxious about it but when it started, but I found it to be an extremely good program.
        The short-term visiting program is divided into two, the first half being a lab rotation and the latter half being the CBT Summer Course. In lab rotation, the master’s and doctoral students paired up and selected two laboratories where we spent two days each by conducting experiments with NTU students. In the CBT Summer Course, we participated in the actual practices conducted in NTU with the Taiwan students. By cooperating and conducting researches with the Taiwan students, I was able to build a friendship with them and it was a good experience for me.
        What I felt most through this short-term visiting program is the kindness of the Taiwan students. Everyone was nice and kind and I am glad that I was able to become friends with them.

（extract taken from the original report）

        The short-term visiting program is a new project which started this year and for that reason there have been some anxiety on not knowing what to expect. But as it turned out, I felt that I had an extremely valuable experience. In the beginning, I had two goals, one being the improvement of my communication skills in English and the other being the discovery of a trigger such as a technique or logic which will lead to my own research. I feel that I have achieved both of these goals through this program. For the former goal, I’ve been able to make friends with the Taiwan students and they were very kind to look after us. The Taiwan students took care of our meals and guided us through the city. I was overwhelmed by their kindness that I asked them if they weren’t tired of taking care of us. In return to my question, they answered heartily that the important thing for them was whether we (the Japanese students) were enjoying our stay, which struck me most. It made me want to do just the same when they ever came to Japan. Though it was as short as two weeks, our friendship does not end and I believe that I had been able to build a friendship that will continue on in the future. If this is what we were able to achieve through conducting a field of research, I think that the overall goal of this international exchange has been achieved. To further understand each other, I felt that the improvement of my English is essential. And to continue this exchange, we must work closely and comprehensively to promote the research exchange.
        Lastly, I would like to thank the professors from both universities for giving me this wonderful opportunity. Thank you very much.

（extract taken from the original report）

Lab Rotation (1)
Laboratory of Plant Molecular Biology & Virology
Shih-Shun Lin
Experiment

We extracted RNA from plants and detected the miRNA in the extracted RNA by nothern blotting.

Lab Rotation (2)
Molecular Biology Laboratory
Stone S.T. Ding, PhD
Experiment

1. We confirmed the suppressive effect of incorporation of fatty acid in adipocyte by DHA with oil red O stain.
2. We cultured and identified the mesenchymal stem cell from the bone marrow of mouse femur.
3. We cultured and identified the preadipocyte from adipocyte of mouse.

CBT Summer Course: Animal
We each paired up with the students from National Taiwan University and conducted the real-time PCR, immunohistochemistry, immunostaining and purification of protein.

（extract taken from the original report）

        The short-term visiting program in National Taiwan University enabled me to have many valuable experiences through the lab rotation in two laboratories and CBT summer course. By learning a different field from my own, I learned that the fundamentals of science is same no matter what the subject is, whether it’s human, plants or animals and it made me realize that my ideas lacked flexibility.
        In lab rotation, I studied in the laboratories of Plant Molecular Biology and Molecular Biology (Animal). In Plant Molecular Biology laboratory, I learned that there is no immune system such as antibody in the plants and that the study on the microRNA is very active in the field of plants. In Molecular Biology (Animal) laboratory, I learned that other than the subject being animals such as pigs, the research approach of function analysis of gene is the same as that of human. I understood the importance of the research on homologous gene by learning about researches on both animals and plants.
        In the CBT summer course, I learned the experimental techniques in biotechnology. It was the first time for me to conduct the experimental techniques, the immunofluorescence staining and PCR-DGGE, but by experiencing it I learned a lot from it. With the other experiments as well, I felt that I hadn’t been able to understand the experimental techniques until then. The interactions with students of National Taiwan University gave me a lot of inspirations and I was able to have a wonderful experience. I hope to build on this experience for my own research.
        This short-term visiting program in National Taiwan University was realized with the cooperation of many people. I would like to show my gratitude to the professors at National Taiwan University who have instructed us with enthusiasm, the members of the lab rotation laboratories, the staffs at the institutes we visited and everyone who was involved in making this possible.

（extract taken from the original report）

        Through this short-term visiting program, I felt thoroughly the importance of the communication in English. It was a good opportunity for me to realize the importance of having one’s own opinion and to act by adapting to the circumstances. Through this experience, I felt that the eagerness to communicate is much more important than the English proficiency. When I was feeling awkward, the Taiwan professors and students kindly helped me and I felt that I could learn so much from them about not just their attitudes toward the experiments and researches but also their human qualities. My experience in this short-term visiting program changed my values greatly and it made me think of my future in a broad perspective. I am glad that I participated in this program.

（extract taken from the original report）