I hold part-time positions as a researcher at Hiroshima University and a research assistant at the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), Grape-Persimmon Research Unit.

I had the opportunities to participate in internships within Japan as well as abroad. I did my domestic internship at SATAKE, which felt more like an international internship as a non-Japanese participant. My internship abroad was conducted at FORWARD Nepal. This internship, in turn, felt more like a domestic one because Nepal is my home country. I chose Nepal so that my internship could be integrated with my thesis research. However looking back at it now, I feel like I missed the opportunity to visit a new country.
The internship at SATAKE was a valuable opportunity to experience the Japanese working culture. I learned about unique Japanese features like the Radio-Taiso and mini-meeting every morning before starting off the day’s work. The chimes that rang to announce the start and the end of office time, tea breaks, and lunch break indicated the importance of time-management in Japan. The major takeaway from this internship was the daily pre-planning and punctuality that I take to heart till this day. In addition, I could learn about the world-class technologies related to rice milling and cooking.
The internship in Nepal was very important for my professional growth. I was the major actor, right from establishing the MoU between Gecbo and FORWARD to planning and executing my internship. I am very grateful to FORWARD Nepal for providing the logistic supports and facilitating to hire research assistants during the internship period. They also provided a platform to present my research findings with representatives from the local governments, University, NGOs, INGOs, and the community. This experience of a research project is the key professional achievement that I still utilize. I also collaborated with FORWARD for PhD research and recently for my project funded by the JSPS Grants-in-aid for scientific researches.

Since Nepal is the country where I grew up, everything there is familiar to me. I can’t think of anything as a big impression. I do have some unique experiences from the internship at SATAKE. As a foreigner, it somewhat felt like I was back to high-school with the daily morning exercise (the Radio-Taiso) and the timely chimes indicating work-times and breaks. However, that was a very important reminder of the importance of being fit, mentally and physically, to start a long and tiresome work-day. The aspect of time management was equally impressive. I still follow the practice of incorporating regular breaks in between works and believe that improves the work efficiency.

I advise the new interns to take the internship opportunities at Gecbo for exploring new societies in a new country. Please plan your internship so that you can contribute professionally to the host institution, no matter how small. Finally, maintain the professional and personal relationships established during the internship. The networks will come handy in the future.