I recently attended the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) held in the U.S. IROS is one of the top conferences in the field of robotics along with ICRA and other prestigious conferences. IROS is one of the top conferences in the field of robotics along with ICRA. This time I attended the conference alone because it was my presentation, but many students have presented their research in international conferences held abroad this year. (Recently, several students' research was accepted at international conferences. I will be busy this winter practicing my presentation in English).
What I felt again after participating in IROS this time is the high motivation of young overseas researchers.
I gave an oral presentation followed by a poster presentation in the interactive session, and many of the researchers who came to listen to the oral presentation visited the poster session. Many of them were young researchers, and we were able to have many discussions about the outline of the robot, research ideas, and other topics that we could not hear in the oral presentations.
I was impressed once again by the vitality of young researchers in other countries.
We young researchers who are conducting research in Japan cannot afford to lose. I believe that international conferences are important venues for presenting research results. Direct discussions with researchers from various countries who are conducting the world's most advanced research will help you brush up your own research and make new discoveries.
The students in my research group are highly motivated and motivated, which makes my research activities very rewarding.
At a recent conference in Singapore, a student gave an outstanding presentation in a conference hall with five large screens. I was very proud of them as I watched from the conference hall. The students who had been nervous until just before the presentation were full of confidence after the presentation.
Students who had recently been accepted to international conferences seemed to be very happy that their research was correct. I hope that they will have meaningful discussions with researchers of various opinions.
However, after attending several international conferences, I have noticed that the number of Japanese researchers and presenters is overwhelmingly small. In particular, I feel that the number of student presentations is very small compared to overseas conferences. It may be just a coincidence, but since there are so many laboratories conducting research related to science and engineering in Japan, it seems to me that there should be a few more students presenting their research in foreign countries. I hope that students will persuade their faculty advisors to allow them to experience giving presentations in English. There are many systems in Japan that provide financial support for overseas presentations. In today's global society, the experience of presenting your research in English will be a great asset for your future working life. If you are not comfortable going abroad, there are also international conferences held in Japan.
Especially in the future, meritocracy and individualism will be the key to success. Your achievement of being the first author of a paper is a great asset, and it will be a great advantage in your job search as well.
I hope that you will be highly motivated in your research life.