Over thirty participants including professors, assistant professors, masters, doctoral students and research fellows attended the inaugural Research in Progress Conference (RPC) on June 21st & 28th, 2016.

The urgent need to promote research from the Graduate School of Education internationally, while maintaining the quality of the research conducted locally, is perhaps one of the greatest challenges ahead. To assist our faculty and students in this endeavor, the Inistitute for Promoting Global Education organized its first Research in Progress Conference, fostering new, innovative, and practical research approaches among students, faculty members, staff, and alumni.

The goal of this event was to share ideas that could inform students, faculty members, staff, and alumni on how to present at an international conference; a platform for practice. The Psychology Department of the Graduate School of Education was the first department to use this opportunity for their doctoral students and faculty members, allowing them to practice their presentations intended for the International Congress of Psychology 2016, in Yokohama, Japan. During the RPC, opportunities for interaction, collaboration, and discussion were given a high priority. Participants were encouraged to present their research in a simple way and to show enthusiasm about their research.  

From the Participants:

• While I was preparing for the oral presentation, I was able to specifically think about such things as “What type of words will be most likely to convey my meaning” and “If I’m going to talk about this point, I’ll also have to talk about this other point,” and also realize the point that “If I don’t prepare like this, I will not be able to speak rapidly.”
                        -2nd year student in Human Science, Psychology
   
• Having up to now avoided giving that first presentation at an international conference, this practice conference for me, who almost never has a chance to not only give a presentation in English but to even communicate using everyday English, was extremely valuable.
                        -2nd year graduate student, Education
   
• At this practice presentation, I was not only given the chance to practice my presentation with an atmosphere just like that of a real presentation, but also was able to get feedback from several native English-speaking professors in the form of their comments at the event and emails after the event. Because of this, I was not only able to prepare for my actual poster presentation, but really bring my presentation to life.
                        -2nd year student in Human Science, Psychology
   
• Because of my participation in this practice conference, I greatly realized how much I want to become more proficient in giving presentations in English. For that reason, if I get the chance, I would like to once again participate in this kind of practice conference. Further, I think I would like to henceforth become more assertive with a goal of presenting at an international conference. 
                        -2nd year graduate student, Education
   
• It was honestly difficult to prepare this type of presentation with only about one month before the international conference date, but even so I was able to have an experience where I truly thought “I was glad I did this.” If you are trying to decide whether or not to present at this type of practice conference, would it not be best to think “I’ll give it a try.” Once it is over, I believe you will undoubtedly feel a greater sense of accomplishment, a greater sense of fulfillment, and a greater motivation to do your best looking forward to your actual presentation.
                        -2nd year student in Human Science, Psychology