Japan, the land of the rising sun, has been a popular educational destination for the past decade. Rich culture, high education quality, a safe and peaceful society, and many other positive attributes make this country lucrative for international students.
As of 2019, more than 3 lakh students from foreign countries have been studying in Japan. Japan generally has lower educational expenses than most first-world countries, but the Japanese government offers various scholarships for international students.
One of them is the MEXT or Monbukagakusho scholarship, a prestigious academic scholarship awarded by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in 1954. Over 65,000 students have studied under this scholarship, and the number of Bangladeshi students among them is ever-increasing.
To learn about the admission journey and get tips for future applicants, the writer is in conversation with Ragib Amin Nihal, who is currently pursuing a postgraduate degree in Systems and Control Engineering at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, and Taufika Islam Anee, who is completing her PhD at Sophia University.
Choosing MEXT Scholarship:
Students in Bangladesh find the MEXT scholarship attractive for various reasons. For Ragib, it was his love for anime and the moral lessons he learned from it.
"I was a huge anime lover from childhood, and most of my idle time was spent watching them. They emphasised numerous human qualities such as friendship, persistence, honesty, and savouring every moment. These anime also represented a lot about Japanese culture and daily life, which may be considered a huge inspiration."
He further said, "Moreover, when I was in 11th grade, my home tutor got a scholarship to Japan after his graduation. I learned about the Japanese education style, their labs, their professors, and their research from him."
Ragib's tutor said that Japan's education supports open credit from various courses, his supervisor was very friendly, and his lab had some great research publications. Hearing those made Ragib enthusiastic about studying in Japan.
After getting admitted to Robotics and Mechatronics Engineering at the University of Dhaka, he realised that Japan is leading in many prospects in robotics, and felt one day he should go there to experience it with his own eyes.
For Taufika, security and education quality were her reasons for applying for it. She said, "As a single woman who has to lead a life far away from family for her PhD degree, Japan can be the best option as the most secure country in the world. Moreover, the scholarship amount is fair enough, the additional facilities provided are convenient, and their responsiveness and management procedures are exemplary."
"Besides, my Japanese supervisor and labmates being highly altruistic is a huge plus." The MEXT scholarship provides recipient students with the whole tuition and accommodation cost, two-way airfare cost, and a monthly stipend of at least 117,000 yen or 851 USD," Taufika further remarked.
Requirements to Apply
MEXT scholarship has multiple requirements for applicants to be eligible, and there are two ways to apply: university and embassy track. As the university track is mostly available for undergraduate applicants, graduate and PhD applicants generally apply for the scholarship through the embassy track.
For research students, the requirements are: must be under 35 years of age and a college graduate; have a Master’s degree for a PhD; have a good score in a language proficiency test such as IELTS or the Japanese Language Proficiency Test; and so on.
Is research experience a must?
A fair publication profile greatly raises the chance of being selected, especially in the PhD program. Taufika had around 14+ international publications and an IELTS score of 8.0. Moreover, she had 3+ years of working experience as a research assistant and a university lecturer.
On the other hand, Ragib had done some research work during and after his bachelor thesis. He has two Q1 journals in his research experience. Both are in the Applied Artificial Intelligence field now - one is related to Bengali sign language recognition, and the other is Detecting COVID-19 from radiography images.
Both of the scholars believe that quality research experience makes it easy to convince the interview board, respective universities, and supervisors.
Future after MEXT
Recently, there has been a lot of discussion about ‘brain drain’, where students go to study abroad then never come back to their country, losing the country's valuable minds. That's not the case for these scholars. Their plan after their studies is to return and use their acquired knowledge for the betterment of Bangladesh.
Ragib said, "I want to return to Bangladesh and fulfil my dream of being an academician and help develop common strategies for knowledge sharing and enforcing the quality of education in advanced robotics and automation systems. I also want to build a robotic farm in Bangladesh in the future!"
Taufika's goal is to spread her knowledge and contribute to the country's development, "After completing my PhD, I am returning to my workplace as an Assistant Professor at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University. The experience acquired in Japan through research and scholastic activities is expected to enrich my knowledge and personality."
"So, I look forward to disseminating these positive energies among my fellow colleagues and students. Also, I intend to use my research experience to contribute towards attaining our SDGs, which I find a core responsibility of all researchers out there.
Critical aspects of the application process
Though a Statement of Purpose is not required separately in the MEXT application, it immensely helps applicants gain the upper hand.
The application form contains questions about the study purpose, motivation, experience, future plans, etc.
According to both scholars, preparing short and appropriate answers to these questions is one of the key ways to create a top-tier SOP.
The interview is one of the most critical parts of the selection process. According to Taufika, interviews are of long duration and include questions about previous research experiences, publications, the submitted SOP, and possible future implications as a MEXT scholar.
Both scholars agree that knowing enough about the background of own SOP, being confident enough about its distinction, and showing genuine interest in this scholarship, research, and country are game changers for having a better shot in this process.
Final advice for future applicants
Ragib advises future applicants to research their desired program and build a decent research profile, "There are some blogs like transenzjapan, Facebook groups, and discord groups where much information, advice, and tips can be found about MEXT scholarship preparation."
For those who have an engineering background like me, I suggest adding some quality research experience to their profile. Also, it will add more points if someone contacts their prospective supervisor before applying and convinces him to be his supervisor."
Taufika advises starting preparation from the beginning: "A good CGPA, a fair score in the language proficiency test, direct involvement with research activities, and good quality writing will never disappoint in the long run. Try to learn from the experiences of your predecessors.
Double-check the documents you prepared; don’t wait for the deadline; always seek help from seniors or teachers; and last but not least, never be overconfident. You might have some limitations; be honest and show the right amount of enthusiasm."
MEXT scholarship is one of the most prestigious and probably the best way to go to Japan with a student visa. For further details about the requirements of different kinds of MEXT scholarships, visit this website: https://www.mext.go.jp/content/20210510-mxt_gakushi02-000014806-02.pdf
