The Collaborative Research Workshop for Aspiring Scholars in Japanese Studies: Report on the International Conference Panel Presentation

Participants in the Collaborative Research Workshop for Aspiring Scholars in Japanese Studies 2019, organized by the Japan Foundation, made a panel presentation at an international conference.

Presenters:
4 participating students of the Collaborative Research Workshop for Aspiring Scholars in
Japanese Studies
Affiliated Universities of the presenters:
Nankai University (China), The University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong), Korea University (Korea), Monash University (Australia)
Conference:
AAS-in-Asia 2020 (Held online in order to prevent widespread infection of COVID-19)
Date:
Monday, August 31 - Friday, September 4, 2020

photo of online presentation
Presenters during the online presentation

The Collaborative Research Workshop for Aspiring Scholars in Japanese Studies

In order that young Japanese Studies scholars succeed as international and interdisciplinary researchers, the Japan Foundation has been organizing the Collaborative Research Workshop for Aspiring Scholars in Japanese Studies since 2018.
In this program, excellent students from across Asia gather together to learn the fundamentals for building an academic career, as well as the importance of networking across regions and research fields. On the last day of the workshop, students form small groups and give mock presentations in the manner of academic conferences.

In this workshop, we organize lectures intended to provide participants with practical knowledge, such as how to publish your research results, and tips for writing research proposals and application forms. The participants prepared for the conference by utilizing their learning from the workshop as well as their international and interdisciplinary networks, and succeeded in giving a panel presentation rich in diversity.

photo of shows the participants at the time of the workshop
Panel Title “Constructing the Cultural Public Sphere of and Beyond Japan: Fluidity and Dynamics in East Asia”
The research fields of the members were diverse: media studies, history, literature/tourism studies, and sociology.
Each participated remotely from their country of residence. The picture above shows the participants at the time
of the workshop.

Achievements at international conferences and sites of collaborative research are very important for young scholars in helping them to build their academic career. The Japan Foundation will continue supporting young scholars through such programs.

Presenter’s Voices

photo of presenter1

Mr. KWON Minhyeok

There were researchers from various fields at the Collaborative Research Workshop for Aspiring Scholars in Japanese Studies.
During the 10 days of the workshop, I was able to interact with participants with rich cultural backgrounds.
The lecturers’ valuable research experiences taught me the mindset I should have as a researcher, and the other participants’ panel presentations helped me learn about their fields of specialization. I was able to gain new ideas about my own research theme.
The network I formed with the people I met at the workshop and my understanding of panel presentations were a huge help in the panel construction/preparation/presentation at AAS-in-Asia 2020.
For young scholars with little experience in international conferences, the Collaborative Research Workshop for Aspiring Scholars in Japanese Studies is “a place of learning” where you can gain essential knowledge as a researcher, as well as “a place of practice” where you can test your knowledge.
I highly recommend this workshop to all scholars pursuing Japanese Studies.

photo of presenter2

Dr. DIAO Tiantian

Japan Foundation's Collaborative Research Workshop for Aspiring Scholars in Japanese Studies organized in November 2019, was an inspiring experience. The faculty members from South Korea, China, and India shared their experiences as Japanese Studies scholars. Their experiences made me reflect on my Ph.D. research and think about my future career path in academia carefully. The most exciting things during the workshop were the networking opportunity and the chances for academic collaboration.
This workshop made me realize the importance of including commonalities and diversities when forming an academic panel for Asian Studies conferences. During the workshop, my group members brought up the commonalities of our research although we are from diversified research fields using completely different research methods. The comments we received encouraged our group members to present our work as a panel at an academic conference. I started to consider forming the panel for the 2020 AAS-in-Asia right after the workshop. Built upon the Japan Foundation’s workshop presentation, I find a coherent theme for bringing our research together. Upon discussing with the panel members, I defined the panel presentation title. At the same time, we invited a lecturer and a participant of the workshop as our panel chair and discussant. Both of them gave their insightful comments when I was writing the panel proposal. Together with the other members, we spent around three weeks finalizing the proposal, and because of everyone's efforts, our proposal was selected by the 2020 AAS-in-Asia committee.
The Collaborative Research Workshop organized by Japan Foundation provided me with this unparalleled opportunity to get to know researchers from varied regions and universities. The panel will not be possible without the 2019 workshop and Japan Foundation's generous support.

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