MEXT 2016 - Master degree of engineering

Hi all, this is my 1st post in this forum.

I am a mechatronics engineer and I want to study the same field or near in Japan. I have the following questions:

1- Field of study:
As this is the hardest one! I have never wrote such a thing, and don't know how to do it now. All I want is to study Mechatronics or electronics engineering in Japan, get experience in these fields that enhances my abilities... Electronics product design is what I really aspire to learn. Now, I don't have a "detailed" plan for this!!

some people have a certain project that they want to do, for them writing a step-by-step, detailed plan is very easy. but for me, i don't have a certain project to make. what is your recommendation?

2- The ridiculously high 2000$:

For me it is literally impossible for many reasons... I might never have HALF of them xD. Is it really that much hard to live there? when will I get the money of the scholarship? I ask those who actually tried it to tell me about it.

3- Japanese language:

I don't know how to speak nor to write Japanese. However, I am interested into learning all that later on. I simply can not score a single mark in any exam. And I believe ALL students in my country are like me and even worse (at least I know some vocab and stuff xD). Honestly, If I gave them a nice empty exam paper, will it be the end of my dreams?

4- Recommendations:

I can get one recommendation from my professor at my university, and 2 of my current employees as I work as an engineer and in another work that have a great relationship with Japanese culture. Do you think this gets me good points? (The other job is a localizing professional to localize Japanese content into my language, with a good well-known company).

5- Accommodation:
I am an ignorant in this. Can you describe how to get a "just enough" room in Japan? pricey? and how to get from the airport to it? < should I contact my university or something to prepare the room so I can just get from the airport directly to it? or I must search on and on for one while having no place to go with all the chaos of arriving, registering, preparing... stuff on my head?

For now this is all I have, I am sure I will bring more questions later on.

thanks all! and pardon me for long texts.

your friend, Vegeta

please help xD

Hi Vegeta,

I'm also applying for the MEXT scholarship for 2016, I am in no way an expert on this subject, but it seems that you have several doubts and would like to help you a little bit with what I know (which is not much really xD).

vegeta said:

1- Field of study:
As this is the hardest one! I have never wrote such a thing, and don't know how to do it now. All I want is to study Mechatronics or electronics engineering in Japan, get experience in these fields that enhances my abilities... Electronics product design is what I really aspire to learn. Now, I don't have a "detailed" plan for this!!

some people have a certain project that they want to do, for them writing a step-by-step, detailed plan is very easy. but for me, i don't have a certain project to make. what is your recommendation?

Click to expand...

Do you mean the "Present field of Study" section on the "Field of Study and Study Program" document? You should describe what was your major at your university, what was your degree about, what kind of subjects did you study and so on. In my case, I included a bit of my working experience that is closely related to my degree and my proposed research topic.

vegeta said:

2- The ridiculously high 2000$:

For me it is literally impossible for many reasons... I might never have HALF of them xD. Is it really that much hard to live there? when will I get the money of the scholarship? I ask those who actually tried it to tell me about it.

Click to expand...

As I mentioned, I am applying for the scholarship and couldn't give you a first hand answer, however, I know several people who have been awarded with this scholarship and let me tell you that it is really necessary to have some money at least. It seems that MEXT takes some time to make the first deposit of your allowance (30 days or so), so you're basically on your own during this period. Of course, your university will help you as much as possible so you shouldn't worry too much, but it will certainly be of great help if you prepare some money in advance for those first days of getting used to your new environment.

vegeta said:

3- Japanese language:

I don't know how to speak nor to write Japanese. However, I am interested into learning all that later on. I simply can not score a single mark in any exam. And I believe ALL students in my country are like me and even worse (at least I know some vocab and stuff xD). Honestly, If I gave them a nice empty exam paper, will it be the end of my dreams?

Click to expand...

In some countries it's a major plus if you speak Japanese, so I would recommend you to study a lot of Japanese and be prepared for the Japanese exam in case you pass the document screening process. I don't know any details about this exam as I have not taken it yet heheh.

vegeta said:

4- Recommendations:

I can get one recommendation from my professor at my university, and 2 of my current employees as I work as an engineer and in another work that have a great relationship with Japanese culture. Do you think this gets me good points? (The other job is a localizing professional to localize Japanese content into my language, with a good well-known company).

Click to expand...

You should try to get recommendation letters from high authorities in you University, such as faculty dean, head of department and so on, if you can get recommendations from more than one person it could help you get more recognition during the process (it depends on your embassy, ask them). The same goes for the employer recommendations, it's better to get recommendations from Managers, Directors, VPs, etc. rather than colleagues or something like that.

My recommendation for anyone aiming for this scholarship would be to prepare at least 6 months (or more) before the deadline in your country, this is in order to prepare all the documents, clear all doubts you might have, look for japanese universities, prepare several drafts of your research proposal in Japan, contact your prospective research tutors to set some ground in case you get awarded the scholarship (Not to ask for the letter of acceptance, as it has been said many times before in this forum, you should ask for the letter of acceptance after you get selected as a pre-candidate), etc, etc.

Hope this helps you clear some doubts you had, I am no master on this subject, but I also had many questions these last 7-8 months of preparation for the MEXT application.

//kamuizero