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Interview with Shishin

Shishin Mo grew up between China and Japan and joined the GSC Domestic Program with the intention of expanding his international experiences. He did his research internship under Professor Maarit Karppinen at Aalto University in Finland.

What’s your background?

My parents are originally from Fujian in China, but they moved to Kanagawa in Japan where I was born and lived until the age of 6. Because of my father’s job, we then moved to Shanghai, where I lived for 11 years. When I was 17, I came back to Japan to go to an international high school because I wanted to go to a Japanese university.

Why did you decide to come to UTokyo?

I wanted to learn pure science, chemistry in particular. I thought coming here would be good for doing research.

What motivated you to apply to GSC?

I wanted to go abroad and was excited that this program both funds your trip and lets you choose where you can go. In other study abroad courses, there’s usually many restrictions with where you are supposed to go and what research you are allowed to participate in.

Being in the first cohort of GSC Domestic Students, what were your expectations?

You know, no one had done the program before, so I thought I would have to do everything by myself, I was a little worried about that. However, the professors and the GSC staff have been very helpful and supportive. It’s been a very good experience.

How have your experiences been with the GSC international transfer students?

In the Department of Chemistry we do experiments every afternoon. I always talk with other GSC students about our work, animation and other things. Also, as I can speak Chinese, I tried to be a bridge between the international transfer students from China and the domestic Japanese students. There are many differences between the Chinese and the Japanese, and this has been a good opportunity to learn how others think.

Why did you choose to go to Aalto University for your research internship?

At first I hadn’t heard of Aalto, but I knew I wanted to do research in solid-state chemistry, so I talked with Professor Hasegawa. He suggested Aalto University as he had a connection with Professor Karppinen there.

How was the laboratory there?

As a solid-state chemistry lab, it was quite similar to the Hasegawa lab, so it wasn’t difficult to follow the research, but the technology was quite different. It was a good opportunity for me to understand how other labs do their research and learn new techniques. I now know two different approaches for making thin film. In the Hasegawa lab, they use a physical method called Pulsed Laser Deposition, and in Professor Karppinen’s lab, they use Atomic Layer Deposition, which is more of a chemical-based method developed in Finland.

What were your impressions of Helsinki?

Compared with Tokyo, Helsinki has far fewer people, it’s very quiet. All the students there told me to spend my weekends hiking, which they really love doing. There’s a lot of greenery and the national park is very large with many people hiking and camping. Helsinki is as clean as Tokyo. I was very surprised because I thought Japan was the cleanest country in the world, but I found that Finland is also very clean.

image01The Nuuksio National Park, Finland, photograph taken by Shishin Mo

How was your accommodation?

It was a very comfortable and good place. I stayed at a place for foreign students and researchers; there were many people from all over the world. I happened to also meet some Japanese professors there too.

Did you have any difficulty with speaking in English?

Before I went abroad, it was hard for me to speak English. Now, I don’t hesitate as much speaking to foreigners. My English is not very good, but foreign students have been very patient with me, and if they didn’t understand me, they told me to try again. This helped me to improve a lot.

What has been your most memorable experience on this program?

When I was in Finland, on the weekends, I always went to the local student’s homes for parties where I got to know other students from different universities in Helsinki and played board games and computer games with them. In Japan we don’t travel to each other’s homes very often, or get the chance to meet students from other universities, but in Finland it is very common.

Do you have a message for future applicants?

If you get into GSC, and get to spend time abroad working together with people from another country, it’s a good way to make friends. GSC is one of the best programs at the University of Tokyo and I think you shouldn’t hesitate to apply. You have to try to take every opportunity!

What will you do after GSC?

I think I will keep studying in Japan at UTokyo and I’m considering Global Science Graduate Course (GSGC) for my master’s and doctoral degrees. I also want to find short-term opportunities to study abroad. I’m interested in first-principles calculations for designing new materials, so I want to go to somewhere I can do more research into solid-state chemistry.

In the past, I just wanted to do research in Japan. However, after I went to Finland, I found that if I want to do more in-depth research, I will need to speak to more and more people. Of course there are a lot of students and professors in Japan, but there are many more researchers outside Japan, which gives me more choices and a wider selection in terms of research opportunities.

image02Shishin Mo outside the Department of Chemistry building at the University of Tokyo