Studying abroad is a beneficial experience that offers a world of new opportunities. It is a once in a lifetime experience. The ability to travel overseas offers lots of opportunities for personal growth, independence, and learning. It can also have a positive impact on future career and long-term goals. Studying abroad widens knowledge and horizons, provides space for a burgeoning avidity towards pursuing the passions and meanwhile cultivates independence and personalities. Overseas travel requires the patience to communicate across multiple language barriers. While studying abroad ,I am exposed to a variety of foreign languages, and I have to find ways to communicate despite this complication. This skill is very important because communication is key for many employers as a young professional. Exchange of students and study abroad programs are components of this internationalization process. HUMAP (Humap: Hyogo-Asia Pacific University Exchange Network) an international academic exchange has a great impact on the exchange of cultures and academic knowledge. This study will reveal different kinds of Erasmus experiences, the cultural and academic impacts of the program, how the program changes the expectation of participants, and how participants experience the return home after their study abroad program. It deepens exchanges between universities in Hyogo Prefecture and universities in the Asia-Pacific region, improving the level of education and research in the region, and developing the future. It makes one cognizant of another culture first-hand. Culture is not just about languages, food, appearances, and personal habits. It can portray deep perceptions, beliefs, and values that influence one’s way of life and the way one views the world. It is a good opportunity to allow one not only to restrict a single set of ideologies, but also to figure out a totally different style of ideologies. It can aid one imbibe the ability to think about a particular subject from different angles and prospects of the world, Therefore,studying abroad has always been imperative for researchers. Students who want to discern and peruse their areas of interests consider abroad education as a golden opportunity.

Living somewhere other than your home town, even the other side of your own country, you are bound to be affected by the new things you experience. We all know that living abroad allows you to have a greater understanding of other cultures. Being born in Bangladesh, I moved into a Middle Eastern country, Saudi Arabia with my family in my early childhood. I adopted to the Arabian culture which is completely different from my home country`s culture. Therefore, from my early childhood, I always had a dream to visit different countries and to know about cultures and lifestyles. Living in Japan is very peaceful and safe for me. I am always mesmerized by the Japanese culture and nature. The natural beauty of Japan is simply tha best especially the mountains, rivers, and clean fresh air. I did not find any type of pollution in Japan. This amazes me. Since I lived in Himeji city, I feel lucky enough to see the historical Himeji Castle. His like a dream come true for me. Most importantly,I found the Japanese people really honest and kind. Whenever I am in doubt,people in Japan help and show me the right directions. Japan is also country`s of. I have experienced different festivals in different seasons throughout the year. I has seen cherry blossoms (Sakura) and colored autam leaves for the first time in my life and it was soothing. Compared to the countries I lived in earlier in my life, Japan is a cold country for me. For the very first time, I have experienced negative temperatures and snow. This was something I will remember for my entire life. When it comes to food,Japanese food is always trendy and not everyone is popularworld wide. I feel lucky for having tasted such trendy foods. For the first time in my life, I tried traditional Japanese food like sushi, sashimi, onigiri, takoyaki, and other different types of seafood. The Japanese people are really friendly and I have made a few close friends in my laboratory. We traveled to many places and had fun. Last but not the least, Japanese technology is always the best. I am always amazed by the technology of Japan. Starting from the train service to every other sector, everything goes soothly. This made my life easier and faster. It has been an amazing journey to line here in Japan that I will cherish and remember it forever.

For me coming to Japan at this early stage of my life is the biggest achievement. I was always enthusiastic about research. After coming here to Japan, I joined Professor Syoji Kobashi's Advanced Medical Engineering Center (AMEC). I have been assigned a part of the research project based on AI Knee Surgery. I started working on the project as per the instruction of Sensei. As this was my first real-life research project, I faced many difficulties while doing the research but I never gave up. All the lab members were very friendly and they really helped me to overcome those difficulties whenever I needed it. The lab environment was also very friendly and all the members were very disciplined. On my project, I learned to apply deep learning to medical imaging. Moreover, I gained knowledge on several machine learning algorithms too. After completing the project successfully, I have presented the part of my project as a student paper at ICIEV 2020, Fukuoka, Japan, and the full paper got accepted in SCIS & ISIS 2020, Tokyo, Japan. For this, I am really grateful to my supervisors for their enormous support from the very beginning of the project. Apart from this, I have attended several lab parties and a thesis defense program at the University of Hyogo.

In the future, I will try my best to utilize this knowledge for my higher studies and research purpose. I strongly believe this research experience will enhance my career. Special thanks to HUMAP for providing me the scholarship throughout the program.