Fijians psyched up for studies
Three Fijians, Harshna Charan, Elvis Kumar and Shameel Shah, have been awarded Japanese Government scholarships for research studies and are psyched up to make the most of this lifetime opportunity. Ms Charan graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology and Chemistry, a Post Graduate Diploma in Climate Change and a Master of Science Degree in Climate Change from the University of the South Pacific. She will undertake PhD studies at the School of Biological Resources at Tohoku University in Sendai, north of Tokyo, Japan.
Ms Charan said she was honoured to be a recipient of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) scholarship.
“I applied for this scholarship last year in June when I was in Fiji for my summer break from teaching at the College of Marshall Islands. I was informed about getting the scholarship in January this year,” the 26-year-old said.
“I tend to have an optimistic approach to all that I do and I understand sometimes we do not get the things we strive for, however receiving this scholarship has been a pleasant surprise.”
Ms Charan said she hoped to learn as much as she could so she could apply her new learned knowledge in Fiji.
“I will be studying how climate change is affecting the ecology of seaweeds, which are an important resource in the marine environment,” she said.
“My family is supportive of my academic endeavours. I hope to learn more about the Japanese culture and at the same time come back to Fiji. After my studies I hope to give back to my country the knowledge I gained in Japan and contribute towards research and development within the region.”
They will begin their studies in Japan from April. Mr Kumar will study at the Graduate School of Science and Engineering in Yamagata University in northern Japan’s Tohoku region and Mr Shah will study at the Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at Kagoshima University on Japan’s Kyushu island.