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1. What prompted you decide to participate in the “JSPS Science Dialogue” program?
I decided that I would like to participate in the JSPS science dialogue program for 2 reasons. Firstly, I know that one of the activities of the JSPS is to promote scientific advancement in Japan. I saw the Science Dialogue program as an ideal opportunity to contribute personally to this mission. I was greatly honoured to be able to come to Japan to conduct my research, therefore participation in this program gave me an opportunity to express my gratitude for being accepted as a JSPS fellow.
Secondly, when I was at school, I remember that the times when we had visitors were exciting and inspirational because they contrasted our daily routine of studying and receiving lectures from our teachers. I always thought science was a -cool- subject, however this was not necessarily the opinion of some of my peers. My school did not put any particular emphasis on science, nor did we ever have a guest speaker who told us of the value of going into a scientific career. I therefore wanted to try and show the students at Tsuru High School that choosing a career in science could actually be cool as well as interesting. I also thought that they should know that a career in research can give you an opportunity to travel to many countries and experience different cultures all as a part of your job. This last fact is perhaps one that many people don't appreciate!
2. To what did you give greatest attention in preparing and giving the lecture?
I wanted to make sure that the students would enjoy the content of the lecture and not be too challenged by specialist terminology, for example. In my mind, first and foremost the lecture was to give the students practice in listening to English. I therefore designed my presentation to have gradually increasing difficulty, starting with the background information about my home country, then the reasons why scientists are interested in plants and finally moving onto more difficult and specialist subjects of genetic engineering. I wanted to stretch the more able students without making the lecture too difficult so that it was impossible to understand. For this reason I also prepared notes to be given to the students prior to the lecture to enable them to familiarise themselves with my area of research before listening to the presentation.
3. Did you find it difficult to give a lecture in English to Japanese students? Could you give some advice to future lecturers on how to facilitate communication with Japanese students?
I did have some concerns regarding the level of understanding that the students would have with my presentation, specially the more difficult scientific concepts. Whilst giving my presentation I made an effort to speak slowly and clearly so that I would be understood, however even with this in mind I think I perhaps speeded up during certain sections and lost my audience. I think as with any presentation, even to an adept English speaking audience, there are things you should and shouldn't do. For example, a good thing is to only list the key points on the slide and not use too much text. I think my presentation was made more successful due to the translations that my colleague Dr Sakata gave to the students each time I dealt with a slide containing particularly difficult concepts.
4. Could you give your impression with regard to participating in this program?
I found participating in the program to be a very rewarding and enjoyable experience. For one, and it may seem like a trivial thing, I was able to travel out of Tokyo to the neighbouring Yamanashi prefecture and see some beautiful scenery. More importantly though, it felt good to be able to talk to the students and enthuse about my country and also my research project here in Japan. I think it is good for academics to get out of the lab from time to time and explain what they are doing to the public. Raising public awareness about science is something that all people involved in the field should be concerned with. In fact, one of the most challenging aspects of being a scientist is being able to translate scientific concepts into readily understandable language to be explain to your research to the public. Giving a lecture to Japanese high school students therefore gave me an unique and incredibly useful experience in this technique. I was particularly happy to be so warmly received by the high school, both teachers and students alike. I had an enjoyable day all round, which was made more enjoyable by the fact that the students seemed genuinely happy to have met me and also seemed to enjoy my lecture. Overall, I felt the day was a great success.
5. Was it meaningful in terms of your fellowship activities?
Yes I feel it was meaningful. I think that one aspect of having a fellowship here in Japan is of course to conduct research, but I also feel my role here is to inspire the people I encounter, to be enthusiastic about science, and to help forge new collaborations between scientists around the globe. I think it is important for scientists to occasionally take a step back from their research, to think about what they are doing and why. I always welcome the opportunity to broaden peoples understanding of plant research, especially students who are often very perceptive for their age. I also feel it is my duty to dispel some of the misconceptions that people have about the applications of GM technology.
6. In what ways do you think the students benefited from the program?
It was my impression that students benefited from this program because this was an opportunity to learn about an area of science that they had perhaps not encountered before. They also had to translate the lecture handout I gave them, this gave them additional language training whilst the lecture itself gave the students experience in listening to spoken English. Another benefit for the students, perhaps one not immediately apparent, was that they got some valuable information on what life is like as a research scientist. I think deciding which career to go into can be difficult for students who don't have a clear idea already about the job they want to do after they finish their education. The SSH Science dialogue program gave me an opportunity to be a positive role model for students in Japan who are considering entering into a scientific career.
7. Could you give some overall advice or comments to future participants in the program?
To JSPS fellows considering participating in the program, I would strongly recommend that they take part. I feel that it is a thoroughly rewarding experience for both the JSPS fellow and the students alike! My advice to future participants: while preparing a talk for the students, try to put your research into a wider context so that people can understand the importance of your work. Make your presentation fun to watch and listen to. I think the main goal of the Science Dialogue program is to inspire the next generation of scientists. The presentation should therefore be designed to work on the high school students level, not at the level of university post-docs and professors. Even a well-educated and mature audience will lose focus when overwhelmed by technical terminology in a presentation. So, keep it simple, and remember why you are giving this talk ? it is an opportunity to tell people about your country, why you decided to come to Japan and what experiences you have had to date. I think that for most high school students, the experiences of a JSPS fellow could not fail to gain their interest and inspire them to do the best they can in their studies, perhaps in ultimate pursuit of a scientific career.
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