Messages from Students

Welcome to the official web-site of the Faculty of Engineering, Gifu University.

My name is Dyana. I am a Malaysian. I have been staying in Gifu for almost 6 years. Now I'm a graduate student at the Applied Chemistry Division, doing research related to analytical chemistry (specifically in HPLC, i.e. High Performance Liquid Chromatography, which is a powerful separation as well as analytical technique widely used nowadays), and I would like to take this chance to share some information and personal experience with you.

Before I came to Japan, my friends and I took a preparation course for 1 and a half years before taking the EJU examination. Gifu is situated almost in the centre of Honshu Island. Although it is surrounded by mountains, it is easily accessible to Kyoto or Nagoya by local trains.

Here in Gifu, the living expenses are affordable. Most students commute to campus by bicycle because of cheap and affordable student apartments near campus which makes Gifu more convenient than other places such as Tokyo, where my friend has to commute by train every morning, or Kobe where my other friends have to climb hill roads to get to their campus. The peacefulness of its surrounding areas also makes Gifu a favorable place to study.

During the first month of my bachelor studies in Gifu University, it was kind of hard to catch up with other Japanese students and I ended up going to classes and coming back home without realizing I was actually pressed for time. This is because the Japanese classes that I took in Malaysia were totally different in terms of speed and grammar usage. Luckily I was able to make friends with Japanese students. The university management (Faculty of Engineering) also provided me, and my other foreign friends, a tutor to help us in our studies, especially the homework that was given to us. That was really helpful.

As time passed, the learning process become less exhausting but the subjects are getting tougher. At this point, students can easily give up or tend to find a way to escape from their problems through games, shopping, etc. Some students that are infatuated with games would ignore their studies, and some were even overwhelmed with shopping that they have to borrow money from their friends and ended up with all kinds of debt. It is indeed very sad but true.

I wouldn't have survived my university life without the support of my seniors, friends and teachers.

In addition to calling my parents at least once a week, I also try to mix with the community as well. In my opinion, foreign students should remind ourselves, from time to time, of our intention to come to Japan and to stay focused studies, and learn Japanese culture and bring back to our country and pass it on to the younger generation in order to remake ourselves or our country a better place.

Nor Dyana Binti Mohd Hamka, from Malaysia