As a kick-off for the new year of 2024, MSc Programme in Genomics and Bioinformatics has held the Japan Study Tour 2024 on 2-6 January 2024 for its current students and alumni.

Prof. Stephen K.W. Tsui ,Programme Director, Dr. Jessie Huang, Lecturer and Ms. Karen Kong led 10 students and 2 alumni on a visit to two famous universities in Japan, Kyoto University and University of Tokyo. Prof. Tsui has connected the participants with Prof. Tatsuya Akustsu, Prof. Hiroyuki Ogata and Prof. Hiroshi Mamitsuka from the Kyoto University Bioinformatics Center. All the participants gained valuable insights from the presentations given by these professors about their research projects. The visit also included a tour of the Supercomputer Room at the Center, which hosts the KEGG platform in Prof. Ogata’s laboratory. The participants were thrilled by this opportunity.

Also, a visit to the University of Tokyo was arranged for the participants, where they had the opportunity to meet Prof. Martin Frith of the Graduate School of Frontier Sciences. They had the chance to interact with Prof. Frith’s research team.

This enlightening study tour experience has inspired the participants to consider joining top-notch research teams in different countries for their future careers. We hope that they will have more chances to explore research communities worldwide and fulfil their dreams in the future.

Photo taken on the main campus of the Kyoto University. The tree behind the participants is the logo of the Kyoto University.

The tour group met with Prof. Martin Frith (7th left, back row) at the University of Tokyo