Hi, I’m Vincent Topacio, but my friends call me Xent. I’m a 2nd Year Masters student under the Department of Earth and Planetary Science. I’ve been in Fukuoka for 2 and a half years now.

What attracted you to Kyushu University?

I first heard of Kyushu University from my undergraduate thesis adviser. My old laboratory for my undergraduate course already had a partnership with my lab now in Kyushu University. When I was listing down potential universities to continue my research in as a master’s student, I was further attracted to Kyushu University since I found more about what my current laboratory was doing.

What’s the most interesting part about your program?

My laboratory focuses on space weather, like magnetic phenomena. To support this research, my lab has, in partnership with other institutions, a network of ground sensors that monitor the magnetic field in real time all around the globe. Being able to handle this data directly is very interesting to me. In addition, to maintain the network the lab usually organizes trips abroad to several stations twice a year for maintenance, which also provides an opportunity for students to go abroad and visit the actual sites of those stations.

How’s student life at Kyushu University?

Student life is generally pretty good! Aside from the good academic environment, there are lots of clubs you can join depending on your interests. There are also various university events, like the Kyushu University Festival, so students will not run out of things to do.

What do you like about Fukuoka?

What I like most about Fukuoka is that it’s a very tranquil place to live, but at the same time it’s not completely remote. It has most of the benefits of a city like Osaka or Tokyo, but with less crowds. There are shopping malls, shopping streets, and lots of restaurants with good food. Nature is also very accessible, especially near campus.

Any advice to prospective international students?

From what I see from my friends, it would be a very good thing if you try to be more outgoing and adventurous in trying new things! There are a lot of other international students in Kyushu as well, so you would not have trouble looking for friends as long as you are outgoing and join as many events as you can. There are also clubs and events dedicated to making Japanese people and international students meet, so those are also good so you can meet and interact with the locals during your stay in the University. Of course, it would be better if you could speak Japanese, but the friends I’ve made so far have been accommodating, plus the university itself provides free Japanese classes to international students, so take advantage of it!