With anxiety and uncertainty as motivators to press forward towards a goal
that has been left untouched for 50 years.
Course of Energy Intelligence,
Department of Information and Intelligent Systems in the School of Engineering of Tohoku University
Shota Abe
"Engineering is the universal language."
On my path, there is no detour for "giving up".
Singapore, with its temperatures reaching extreme heights of around 30℃ throughout the year, is a very different country from Japan’s climate. The food, culture, lifestyle, habits and methods of establishing personal relationships are also so different that it is hard to believe that we belong to the same Asia. All that aside, we do have some major common ground. “Engineering is the universal language,” says Shota Abe, a student at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. “English is also important, but I've found that I could probably get things taken care of at most foreign engineering facilities with just the numbers and symbols in common.” Studying at the leading national university of Singapore challenged his preconceived notions of culture and made him realize how narrow his perspective was. Dormitory life and the subtle stresses of being in new surroundings gradually take their toll. But Abe has no option for giving up. There is only the trajectory that he has set for himself, powered forward by pure fascination and the exciting potential of his field.
I took my first step towards Tohoku University during my second year of high school,
when my dreams manifested alongside a plan to achieve a life-changing goal.
Shota Abe was involved in the science club in high school. Of his activities he participated in the project for Tohoku University named “EGGS (Exploring-Germination-and Growth program for young Scientists)” which determinedly sought out high school students with high scientific interest. It was his first step to deciding to enroll in Tohoku University. Abe chose the “Development Course” and his mini-report submitted after he attended monthly lectures of a Tohoku University teacher was so highly approved, that he was placed in the top 30 winners who were able to join the research of the Engineering Faculty of the Tohoku University. “As I participated in lectures, I started to feel that I’d like to be a part of researching and dedicating my time to science like the teachers. Looking back, it was a simple idea, but it made me so excited right from the heart.” Abe made up his mind to direct his research towards the subject of “plasma”, which he had been deeply impressed by with from a lecture offered in Fukushima High School as a part of the SSH(*) program. “I thought plasma research is truly filled with possibilities. Electricity is a classic scholarship and is still the basis of today’s manufacturing science. But I was so attracted to a potentially new method of power generation, so I decided to study plasma after entering the university.” ※SSH…Super Science High School. Designation awarded by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) to upper secondary schools to enhance science and mathematics education.
Retrospection of “the cue to study abroad”,
expansion of vision and the hesitation for a future career.
His university life started with unexpected anxiety, before the research even began. “Engineering research was not as easy as it is to start from today. There are many steps to take to practice actual research, and most of all, studies are subdivided into a wide range of fields. It broadened my outlook while it also made me feel uncertain when choosing a specific path to study, like plasma.” It requires strong determination to choose a field that one might live with for the rest of their life within the first or second year. Then he thought; it could be a way to study abroad, at one of the advanced partner universities of Tohoku University. Abe utilized various overseas study programs and the “School of Engineering International Exchange Grant”, and decided to study at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, one of the many partner universities. I also found another cue to begin my overseas education in the club “ESS” which I joined shortly after I entered the university. Most people I met at the debating convention whom I thought especially interesting were having experiences studying abroad. The study abroad Fair and my friends gave me inspiration to further push forward.” But he slammed into unexpected problems in Singapore.
Course of Energy Intelligence, Department of Information and Intelligent Systems in the School of Engineering of Tohoku University
Shota Abe
Abe graduated from Fukushima High School in 2012. Participation in science workshops at the Cambridge University expanded his view of the world. In April 2012, he entered the School of Engineering of Tohoku University. On August of that year he joined the summer camp for the National University of Singapore. After he took a short-term study exchange program at the University of New South Wales in February 2013, he moved to Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He’s been travelling around Southeast Asian countries such as Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam, experiencing local cultures and life styles. He wishes to develop his own research on plasma after he returns to Japan.