2025 (Current Year) Faculty Courses School of Life Science and Technology Department of Life Science and Technology Graduate major in Life Science and Technology
International Career Development Basics
- Academic unit or major
- Graduate major in Life Science and Technology
- Instructor(s)
- Takashi Suzuki / Eiry Kobatake / Shoen Kume / Yasunori Aizawa / Shawn Mcglynn / Adrian Walton Moore
- Class Format
- Lecture/Exercise (Blended)
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - Intensive
- Class
- -
- Course Code
- LST.B404
- Number of credits
- 110
- Course offered
- 2025
- Offered quarter
- 3-4Q
- Syllabus updated
- Oct 2, 2025
- Language
- English
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
Background- Internationally speaking, it is becoming more and more competitive to obtain a position in academia or in international companies. In the PhD selections overseas, it is often the case that students have to give presentations after critical readings of important scientific papers or logical essays. In such circumstances, it is becoming necessary skills to strengthen their practical ability in English for the master course students to overcome upcoming hurdles.
Aim- The lecture will be given by the international lecturer who has experience and has developed his/her career in international academic environment. Latest topics in modern life science will be chosen. Building up on those topics,it will be important for the students to develop their abilities to grasp the scientific issue behind the data, to discuss scientific matters in logical way in English, to build up their original research proposal, organizing the research network with cooperators, to persuade or convey the ideas to international collaborators, to communicate with the local public. Furthermore, by exposing to the international environment where you have to present and discuss the scientific matters in English, the students start to intensify their own abilities to go through multiple interviews on their upcoming career path.
Course description and aims
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
1) Absorb the contents of scientific literature or presentation in English and understand swiftly.
2) Build their ideas on how to solve the upcoming questions through accurate understanding of the scientific data and through discussion with a group of people.
3) Learn how to efficiently convey their messages, how to ask efficient questions,and come up with a discussion strategy to draw a solution for the problem.
4) Learn how to make the job interview successful in academia or in international companies.
Keywords
Scientific description, scientific papers, oral communication, group work, discussion, presentation
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
"This class will proceed in a cycle of assignment setting by the instructors → oral presentation → Q&A session → job interview practice. Therefore, active participation and contributions from each student are required for the successful execution of the course. Two instructors will be in charge: in their first session, each instructor will provide a lecture and assign a paper; in their second and third sessions, students will engage in oral presentations, Q&A, and job interview practice. Subsequently, mutual evaluation will be conducted, which is expected to enhance the practical effectiveness of active learning further. In principle, classes will be held face-to-face."
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | 【tentative】Specialized lectures and introductions to research papers on scientific topics by the first lecturer |
Will be given during the lecture |
| Class 2 | 【tentative】Comprehension and presentation of assigned research papers, effective questioning, and job interview exercises |
Will be given during the lecture |
| Class 3 | 【tentative】Comprehension and presentation of assigned research papers, effective questioning, and job interview exercises |
Will be given during the lecture |
| Class 4 | 【tentative】Specialized lectures and introductions to research papers on scientific topics by the first lecturer |
Will be given during the lecture |
| Class 5 | 【tentative】Comprehension and presentation of assigned research papers, effective questioning, and job interview exercises |
Will be given during the lecture |
| Class 6 | 【tentative】Comprehension and presentation of assigned research papers, effective questioning, and job interview exercises |
Will be given during the lecture |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class.
They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course material.
Textbook(s)
none
Reference books, course materials, etc.
none
Evaluation methods and criteria
Students will be evaluated through presentations given for each assignment, the questions posed about them, and their performance in interview-style responses.
Related courses
- LST.B605 ： International Career Development Advanced
Prerequisites
As this lecture will deal with topics on Life sciences, basic knowledge of related area is preferable.