Takuma Inagawa, Double Degree Program Student to France

－Please tell us the name of the university and department where you studied abroad?
École Centrale Paris, Department of Energy.

－Please tell us the period of your studying abroad.
September 2009 to June 2011

－Please tell us why you first thought about studying abroad.
Because I was interested in studying abroad since high school, and I thought that it would be a great opportunity to be in a global environment and to understand cultural differences, and also to learn a foreign language faster than learning one in Japan.

－Why did you decide to study at your host university?
École Centrale Paris is one of the best engineering schools in France, and there we can take a lot of different courses which are not limited to subjects in engineering but also include business courses like management, innovation, and finance, among others. (This education is cumulatively called “generalist education.”)
I went to both the USA and France and compared their study abroad environments, and eventually felt that France, especially Paris, was more suitable for me, so I decided to go to France. I realized that I liked the French culture, language, and people after staying in France on a six-week language program organized by Keio University.

－Please tell us about some of the aspects of your life abroad.
Positive aspects:
(1) There was a lot of homework and many examinations at my host university, and it was very hard because it was totally different from a Japanese university. But I learned a lot from that experience, like how to manage time, for example.
(2) There were more than 2000 students from 37 countries all over the world at my host university. As each student has a different background, it was very interesting to have discussions and hear a lot of different ideas from different points of view. I felt that innovation and creative ideas are made by diversity.
Negative aspects:
I realized that Japan is a highly efficient society, and sometimes I was disappointed to find that public services were very slow in France. It took a month to get my residence permit in France, for example. In Japan, everything is very convenient with some stores open twenty-four hours a day, but this is not the case in France. At first I was confused by these kinds of differences, but after a few months I adapted to French society.

－What are differences you have noticed between Keio and your host university?
Quantity of work and exams was far more at my host university, so it was very tough.
A lot of group work in France: six-month group project and group work in lessons, associations, and clubs, which was very important to make progress in leadership and communication.

－Please tell us about what you feel you gained by studying abroad.
Skills:
(1) Communication: I learned how to communicate with people with totally different backgrounds and take advantage of this to produce creative ideas which utilize their diversity.
(2) Language: French (business level), English (conversational)
Mentality:
(1) Leadership: I became someone who always tries to take initiative and leadership to decide the direction of a group after two years of studying with students who have a strong leadership mindset.
(2) Challenging: Challenging situations are very interesting and stimulating for me because I know they have helped in my personal development after two years of challenging experiences in France.

－Please tell us about your future plans.
I’m interested in working in business, and I will start my first career at Boston Consulting Group in Tokyo working as a strategic consultant. After a few years of experience as a consultant, I would like to go back to Paris to do business using my French language and communication skills in the future. I’m also interested in working as an entrepreneur.

－Do you have any advice for students who are considering studying abroad?
You have a lot of study abroad options to choose from at Keio University. Don’t hesitate, go ahead and take a chance! If you prepare a lot before going abroad, learning the language and your specialization, for example, you will find more opportunities and make more progress. The environment with diversity abroad makes you totally different from ordinary Japanese, and you can be a very valuable asset for Japan.

Information About the Host University
École Centrale Paris is Top French Engineering School, Generalist Education

About the writer
Takuma Inagawa
Second year student of Master's Program
Graduate School of Science and Technology