KYUDAI NEWS KYUSHU UNIVERSITY CAMPUS MAGAZINE Spring 2013 No.24

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Indonesia22Kyudai News No.24International Students’ VoicesZahra Zafira Mutiara (Indonesia)Undergraduate StudentSchool of Engineering (G30 Course)Thank you for coming today. May I ask which part of Indonesia you are from and about your high school life there?I am from Jogjakarta, which is different from Jakarta and is the central city of Java Island. I spent my childhood there until high school. My time at high school was so memorable. I had a chance to learn a great deal about Information, Communication and Technology. In terms of social life, I was a president of the student union where I met a lot of people, shared ideas, and organised a lot of activities and events which was all very exciting.Why did you choose Japan and Kyushu University to pursue your studies?I came to the Kyushu University straight after graduation. The Kyushu University promotion team came to my high school to talk about their program for international students. I was always interested in environmental protection and technology relating to that field, so when I learnt about what Kyushu University offered, I thought “this is it, this might be the best place to learn about environmental engineering”. Also, Japan has long been famous for its excellence in engineering, so I thought I would be able to pursue my studies in a good and well-equipped environment. I should also mention that some of my relatives were pursuing their graduate programs in Japan, so when I told them about the Kyushu University program, they strongly recommended me to join, saying that it would be a great opportunity for me to go to one of the best universities in Japan. What are you mainly studying at Kyushu University and how are you finding your classes, professors, and staff members? I am a third year student and am majoring in engineering, which also covers the environmental protection field. Professors here are all very open, kind and helpful despite being busy and I am really pleased with that. My classmates hail from various countries including Switzerland, the US, Egypt, Morocco, Indonesia, Malaysia, and China. They are caring and open and we enjoy talking about current issues in their countries and sharing ideas. Staff members are also supportive. They were particularly helpful when I was looking for a volunteering opportunity or when I couldn't understand Japanese. How do you find your campus life at Kyushu University? Is there anything that excited you?One of the most exciting events at Kyushu University was the campus festival. Together with students from an international association, we set up a booth to introduce games, languages, and food from many cultures. It has also been exciting to hang out with other international students playing football and volleyball, and sometimes having parties. How do you spend time after classes and weekends? Do you face any challenges? Sometimes I would go to the cafeteria, the common room for international students or the library to read magazines written in English. But on weekends, I have meetings with FOSA (Fukuoka Overseas Students Association), an international student association. I don’t think I have any major problems here. I do miss Indonesian food sometimes but the seafood here is so lovely, so it is not a huge problem. I would say, though, I find it a little bit hard to find a place for prayer. But that doesn’t happen very often and is rather a minor problem. I am very much satisfied with my life here, especially on campus. What kind of job would you like to have after graduation? I aspire to be a researcher or academic, as I would like to contribute to environmental protection while contributing to my country. However, I haven’t figured out exactly what I would like to do yet. But before I finish my bachelors, which is another year and half from now, I would like to do a part time job or internship. And after finishing my time here, I am interested in going to other countries to pursue a master degree in the field of environmental studies. Having said that, I would also like to continue my academic career here in Kyushu, so there is still some thinking to do.

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