I could have the chance to be hired in a Japanese company right after my graduation. Now I am working on International Business Planning, dealing with the administration of the company’s overseas business, contributing to international magazine articles’ submission. It has been only few months but I have learned so many things, especially about rice processing technology where Satake is one of the main actor worldwide.

It was a wonderful experience that I am thankful to, it helped me to grow academically first and as a member of an international network I would have never get without participating to.

During the G.ecbo, I could get valuable experience from the beginning of the program, not only during the internship itself. We were trained on how to make a good presentation, to manage time and especially to communicate with other members. Those skills was very useful for my academic research. From my internship, I could know what cultural differences is, and now that I am dealing with international business, I can make use of it when guiding visitors to our factory. Once I was asked to help in guiding international student from Hiroshima University during their visit at Satake Corporation, even being nervous, I was confident with my communication skills in English to perform appropriately.

What impacted me the most was the way I had to communicate to ask for help in a totally new challenge I have never faced before. For example, my seniors helped me to get a good accommodation by making me in contact with their host at the time they participated in the internship. Since that, I learned the importance of the community and networks. In my work now, as I am very new in the Japanese business society, I rely on my seniors to help me to cope with this totally new environment.

To my juniors, beside academic skills, please graduate with skills that will allow you to face any challenges since you will have to deal with countless of them independently right after you leave the university. It may be in communication, may be in other fields, be a better version of yourself in everything. Learn from, use and rely on community as it is rich in experiences and knowledge to be able to contribute back to it again.