Kana Koinuma (Third-year student, Doctoral Programs in Pharmacy, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences *at the time)

I have long been interested in the field of global health, so I participated in this program to learn about pharmaceutical research conducted overseas and the initiatives of international organizations.

We visited Denmark and Switzerland, where we had the opportunity to tour various facilities such as regulatory agencies and pharmaceutical companies. Among these visits, the experience at the World Health Organization (WHO) was the most memorable. The WHO is an organization founded with the goal of "Health for all." This program gave us the chance to enter the WHO headquarters in Geneva, which is normally inaccessible to the public. It was thrilling to step into the conference rooms I had only seen on television, but what left the deepest impression on me was listening to a Japanese staff member who works at the WHO. It was a significant learning experience for me to hear directly from someone active on the international stage about the qualities required to work globally. I learned that to work in an international organization, it is essential to clearly articulate your strengths and goals to others, and that to create such opportunities, you must communicate regularly with your colleagues and expand your personal network.

While I certainly gained new knowledge from the lectures and tours at the places we visited, I am glad I participated in this program because it allowed me to improve communication skills that are difficult to acquire when studying in Japan, such as the ability to give presentations in English and the habit of proactively asking questions. I hope that future participants will also feel free to express their own thoughts and ideas and have a fruitful experience.