Top universities with the best student-to-staff ratio
Jikei University School of Medicine in Japan came in at number five in the Times Higher Education 2017 table showing the universities with the best student-to-staff ratio.
Japan
I had the idea to study in Japan during my second year of high school. Having been drawn to Japanese student life through movies and dramas, I especially liked the idea of school festivals and club activities – most Chinese schools don’t have similar events. So after the final examination in the second year of high school, I started to learn Japanese by myself and shared my idea of studying abroad with my parents.
In Times Higher Education’s inaugural Japan University Rankings, the University of Tokyo is the country’s premier institution.
In 2015 I applied for the master's course at the Osaka City University (OCU) Graduate School of Science. I had heard positive stories about OCU from fellow biology students in China who visited OCU on an exchange programme and it has a good reputation for science research (my graduate school even boasts a Nobel Prize laureate).
I came to Tohoku University five years ago as an undergraduate student majoring in molecular chemistry. Coming from Thailand, I was nervous about adjusting to a new environment but I was also excited about the opportunities available.
Working with people from different countries and cultures can benefit students and researchers personally and professionally, by cultivating new perspectives and ideas.
Chemists and collaborators Dr David Michaelis, of Brigham Young University in the United States, and Dr Hiroyuki Miyamura, of the University of Tokyo in Japan, forged a fruitful partnership after meeting in 2010 through the Reaxys Prize Club: a select group of chemistry PhD students nominated for a prestigious prize.
In June 2015, Aaron Chapman travelled from his home in the UK to Japan, hoping to study for a master’s degree there the next academic year. His motivation was almost entirely selfless; he felt a duty to become a cultural ambassador.
“I feel like it is my mission to ensure that a good level of understanding happens between countries,” he says.