JDS Scholarship #2: interview
More about the JDS (Japanese Grant Aid) scholarship. In the first post I discussed how the writing of your research proposal was critical to you passing the first step in the scholarship application process.
If you write a good proposal that addresses (= answers directly) the main points of the application, you will then attend workshops in Yangon where you will learn and be tested (using TOEFL examinations) on your English language skills. If you do well in these tests, you then enter the next stage of the application process, which is an interview with a professor from the Japanese University where you have chosen to study.
You need to PREPARE for this interview, which will be conducted in English. Your preparations should involve two steps:
Carefully planning what you will talk about
Practising - doing at least TWO MOCK (=pretend) INTERVIEWS and getting feedback on your performance.
So, what should you talk about at your interview? Luckily, the application process provides clear information about the areas you need to be ready to talk about. These are:
Your current work and responsibilities relevant to your application / proposal
Your reasons for choosing to study in Japan and especially at the university you have chosen.
Your research topic. Why did you choose it? Why is it important to you? How does it connect with your work and your duties?
How you plan to study and do research during your two years in Japan. You should be able to give some rough (= not detailed) schedule for your study and research.
After the two years of study - how will your research and your study help Myanmar? And what are your plans? How will the two years of study help you in your career?
If you really want to go to Japan, then you must PREPARE for this interview. A professor has come all the way from Japan to talk to you, so make sure you can answer his or her questions clearly and concisely (= directly).
Go online and find out about the university where you will be studying. What is special about it? Does it have a great library? What is the campus like? Identify some things about the campus and university that are attractive to you, so you can talk about them in the interview.
Find out about the area where you will be living. What can you do when you are not studying? Show to the professor that you have some knowledge about where the university is situated.
Try and be as clear as possible about how your research can benefit Myanmar and about how studying in Japan is especially beneficial.
Once you are prepared, then you need to practice. In the next couple of weeks I will be doing mock interviews with two students who have applied for the JDS scholarship and who will be interviewed at the end of January.
REMEMBER, if you want to apply for the next JDS scholarship, you need to be thinking about your research plan and proposal NOW. Contact me if you want some help.
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