Letters from alumni

Dr. Nan bin Md Sahar

Senior Lecturer, Department of Computer Engineering, Faculty of Electric and Electronic Engineering (FKEE), Tun Hussein Onn University Malaysia (UTHM)

I completed my doctorate in 2010 at the Advanced System Safety Lab under the supervision of Professor Suzuki Kazuhiko. At the time, Associate Professor Munesawa Yoshiomi and Associate Professor Minowa Hirotsugu also e to supervised my research. Currently, I am a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Computer Engineering, Faculty of Electric and Electronic Engineering (FKEE), Tun Hussein Onn University Malaysia (UTHM). In addition to being a senior lecturer, I am also in charge of the only supercomputer lab at the university.

I was accompanied by my wife, Nurliza binti Md Nor during my studies at Okayama University. After my wife graduated from high school in Malaysia, she was offered to an opportunity to study in Japan with a Mombukagakusho scholarship under the ‘Look East Policy’ inspired by Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, the former prime minister of Malaysia. She completed a Japanese Preparation Course at University Malaya for two years before being accepted to study medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University. My wife had always wanted to become a doctor since childhood, and Japan was her country of choice due to the advanced technology used in medicine.

Six years as a medical student in Japan were undoubtedly hard for my wife but being surrounded by many friendly and supportive lecturers and friends, the tough path as the only foreign student in the School of Medicine was barely felt. For the first two years of my doctorate, my wife worked as a Junior Resident at Okayama Saiseikai General Hospital, which is situated very near to Okayama University, after successfully passing Japan’s national examination for medical practitioner (Ishi Kokka Shiken) and obtained her doctor’s license. Then she became a Senior Resident at Okayama University Hospital at the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Although my wife only worked at Okayama Hospital for a less than a year before we had to return to Malaysia, she will always remember the invaluable experience gained under Professor Hiramatsu Yuji , Assistant Professor Kusumoto Tomoyuki and others

Nurliza binti Md Nor now works as a medical officer at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Sultanah Nora Ismail Hospital, Batu Pahat, Johor, and next year will further her studies by enrolling on a master’s program.