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(Out of 57 responses)

1. Academic Program

1-1. I’m satisfied with the discussion in the stream in which I presented my paper.

1-2. I’m satisfied with the composition of the stream presentation (including the balance of affiliations, disciplines and them of the presenters.

1-3. I agree with the idea of a multidisciplinary conference.

1-4. I agree with the idea that the Organizing Committee requests and accepts panel proposals, made by prospective participants.

1-5. I agree with the idea of taking into consideration the distribution of students across APRU universities with selecting participants. 

1-6. Please comment freely on the academic program.

*The following were the comments written by participants in response to this question.

"It seemed that some papers were academically very poor and I can't help but wonder if those students had been selected on the basis of the distribution of representatives across APRU universities."

"There should be more balance between People/students coming from natural and social science background. I expected a professor’s presence in each stream to provide feedback."

"Presentations should be for a wide, general audience."

"I think all streams should follow the same format. At least one did all Q and A at the end of the talks, which makes it difficult for people to catch the 2nd and 3rd presentation if they switch between streams."

"It's well-organized."

"Too many people in our stream - 6 were too many. 3 had too long a presentation for people to cope with - 4 would have been appropriate or our stream could have been split up into 2 groups. Plus, our stream was in the same time slot as another Humanities stream that I was interested in going to. Scheduling was poor."

"It should be much more academic for Ph.D. students."

"It should be compulsory to attend each stream as people usually do not attend streams after their own presentation. Also, some streams had topics too diverse."

"While arranging the stream topics, it's better to combine those from the same research field together, albeit I know sometimes it's difficult to differentiate their researches. Why not ask the attendants to classify themselves while submitting their application papers?"

"It's great to have a variety of areas being covered, but I think that there maybe a slight lean towards the humanity based subjects."

"In general, very well!!"

"A little longer discussion time"

"Wonderful."

"I am satisfied. Very happy!"

"We need more feedback from the audience. Sometimes the comments and questions are irrelevant and disappointing."

"My presentation topic was not quite related to the other two talks in my stream. I just wondered if there is any way to let the participants read the other papers to be presented in each stream beforehand to see if they feel they are in the right session, and if the allocation can be changed."

"I enjoyed the conference academic program + the variety. I agree that there was an imbalance between technology and engineering. Also, a paper in my stream was very much off topic and was unfortunately neglected in the discussion."

"In general, the academic program met my expectations which are to be able to show fellow doctoral students some aspects of my research and to learn about thesis."

"Unbalanced. Favored Japan-related and technology-related topics. As quality of some papers was quite poor, selection procedures were obviously inadequate."

"Presentations are too disciplined."

"In one word, very good!"

"There are apparently some cultures that allow talking during presentations, but perhaps a friendly reminder that it is not acceptable would be nice."

"Please make professors also a part of each session. This will help students get more academic feedback on the paper. A discussion only among a multidisciplinary audience may not be enough. Yoroshiku."

"The academic program was alright for me, they were all interesting."

2. Keynote Lectures

2-1. I was satisfied with the keynote lectures.

3. Social Programs

3-1. I was satisfied with the social program tours.

3-2. I was satisfied with the conference dinner.

3-3. I was satisfied with the Japanese Culture workshops.

3-4. Please comment freely on the social programs.

*The following were the comments written by participants in response to this question.

"I did not participate in the social programs because I have spent a lot of time in Japan and places for the social programs were limited. I thought that I should not take a place away from a student who has not been here before. However, it seems that the social programs were a good idea."

"Keep it gang! Very good program!"

"Great."

"It seemed very interesting, but I didn't have enough time to join these social programs and work shops. That was a pity!!"

"Should organize a late night activity like group dance/disco, maybe following the conference dinner."

"Wonderful organization!! Even for me living in Japan."

"Great organization! My deepest appreciation!"

"Quite good and excited"

"Very good. Tours could have been more informative."

"I accept that most delegates did not bring their family to Tokyo, but I felt that I was unable to participate fully because my family was not able to join in."

"The social program has been wonderful!! Thank you. I think it's very important to learn about the culture/ society of the country you are visiting."

"Social programs should be related to the traditional culture of the host country."

"Very good by all."

"Unbelievable."

"All are good!"

"It was fascinating. I think Keio University has a very vibrant alumni network. It makes me also want to be part of it."

"I enjoyed the social activity very much. Please keep up the good wave!"

"I'm a little surprised that I didn't participate in many events! It was partly because I've been to Tokyo often, but I also overslept and missed another event. No insults intended, the program seemed quite wonderful."

"The social program was interesting. It provided us with the opportunity to interact with ordinary Japanese, and to encounter their legendary hospitality and respect for others."

"Very interesting and wonderful!"

"Very good. I did not participate in everything because I am already familiar with most of it."

"Very Good!"

"Tea room is too hot."

"The social program was well-organized and very amazing! I enjoyed it so much!"

4. Management

4-1. I was satisfied with the management of the conference.

4-2. I was satisfied with the hotel.

4-3. I was satisfied with the university facilities.

4-4. I was satisfied with the meals provided during the conference.

4-5. Please comment freely on the management of the conference.

*The following were the comments written by participants in response to this question.

"As a wheat-intolerant vegetarian I understand that it was hard for the conference organizers to accommodate my dietary requirements. I do feel that more of an effort could have been made though, as I could not eat most food at breakfast, at the conference dinner, and in the cafeteria. Lunch box menu was very limited. I think it would have been very difficult for me to attend this conference if I could not speak Japanese or was not familiar with Tokyo so could not buy some extra food."

"Keep up the good work! Good hospitality!"

"Could be more attentive to diet needs. e.g. vegan and other health problem."

"I'd like to thank the people who deal with the management of this conference. Because of them, I enjoyed the conference so much.

1. Pick up service / the reception desk at Narita Airport should have been set. 2. Better directions should have been given on how to get to the hotel, as there are many cheaper ways than the one given. 3. Reducing the duration of the conference to 4 days might be better."

"I wanna express my thanks to the Japanese students who volunteered to serve here. That's so nice."

"Thanks guys."

"Breakfast had very little variety. All other meals were great."

"I was very satisfied with the organization of the conference during my time in Tokyo."

"They all work hard!"

"Very good!"

"Did a good job!"

"Hot soup could be provided at some time."

"Yes, it's very good. It's the essence of Japanese style management - very attentive. "

"I am satisfied with every detail."

"Excellent!"

"The conference was very well run. Congratulation!"

"I wish the hotel had provided us with some international news channels, at least. In particular, the English language news channels would have provided us staying in Japan with access to the world."

"Snacks should be provided at morning tea + afternoon tea, better assistance　should be provided to inexperienced organizers"

"Good!"

"Lunch box is cold."

"Great help!"

 "Very Good management. However during coffee session on the 1st day, we would have appreciated coffee also, instead of only coke and orange juice."

"Everything was mostly based on the plan; very little change; very disciplined; the organizing committee took every little thing."

"The organization is really fantastic. This is the best conference I’ve ever attended!"

5. General Comments

"The interaction between students and a professor on the subjects presented in each stream should be there."


"Balancing the number of participant, especially those from science/engineering background."


"Great job!"


"I think that duration of conference should be shorter (3days is better)."


"Keep a balance of students from various disciplines."


"Maybe a map could be provided in advance to guide us for transportation from the
airport to the hotel. Especially the railway, subway notes."


"Western style lunch box should have been prepared."


"Overall, it has been a great conference. My thanks to the organizing committee for such a great job."


"This was the most productive + fun conference I've ever been. It was relaxing, influential yet done professionally!"


"Great job! Thank you!"


"Encourage more people to audit sessions. More audience!"


"Some presentation stream I went to had a time management problem. Especially when the chair was giving the talk, it could be dragged really long. I suggest that the facilitators from the host university have right to supervise time management. Thanks!"


"Presentations in different sessions should be more similar and more academic."


"Make attendance compulsory. Full papers should not be necessary."


"My biggest concern regarding the DSC is that the website was sometimes difficult to navigate to find the information that I needed. However, when I submitted questions by email, the questions were answered promptly and to my complete satisfaction."


"Thanks a lot for the Organizing Committee! I hope to see cooperation of subcommittees (needed to be established) from different countries. With the establishment of subcommittees from different countries (or even universities) the preparation would be easier and more effective."


"I think the DSC is very worthwhile in terms of meeting other students from all over the Pacific Rim and learning about a variety of research! It's good to know you are not alone as a PhD student. Great motivation/ enthusiasm!! The only bad thing was that some people were skipping a lot of the talks because they didn't think those talks were relevant to their research. Thanks again."


"Really, the conference is very well. Congratulation!"


"The participants could be selected by the Universities firstly, to make the presentation to be more qualitative."


"May give a contact list, so we can contact each other easily! Many thanks to Keio University!"


"Hope to collect all the full papers of my stream."


"Information about the forthcoming conference should be sent to all participants by email, instead of just updating the website. This is not very convenient for participants like me usually in the lab, not always in front of the computer. Updating the conference HP is not really enough."


"More students from the host university could be encouraged to give speeches."


"Wish more students would have come here. It is a good chance."


"It's the best experience I've had with conferences. I think the only thing that needs to be improved is to have more control on Q and A part - to be more professional, and increase inter-panelist comments. Based on the core discussion (because they know more about each other's topic), the audience can develop more discussion."


"The 8th APRU DSC is well organized. The guides to all of tours have been very helpful. All the people have been very polite and kind. They enjoyed my visit to Japan, and my participation in the tea ceremony workshop and other various activities."


"I think the running of an international conference should be managed by a professional conference planning organization, so academic organizers can concentrate on program issues. Further, organizers should be familiar with conference procedures in the West, to meet the needs of international delegates. (e.g. food requirements, expectation of friendly communication)"


"Please suggest the presenters to consider the backgrounds of audience."


"Thank you for every thing that Keio University had done for us."


"Perhaps try accommodating all the papers with one session - that way, you can leave one day, like Wednesday, for a conference-wide social activity or tour."


"I seriously feel that faculty members should be there in all sessions because at the DSCs, students would benefit more from an honest feedback on their papers’ content and scope, and on how to improve their papers. Students alone cannot do it among themselves. DSC should be a more learning opportunity for students."


"I am apologetic for the other participants who were not present in some of the presentations. On the overall, I am very grateful to join the 8th APRU Conference."