My first experience of presenting at an international conference

I would like to write about my first experience of presenting at an international conference: Asia Academy of Management(AAoM). The conference is held every two years and in 2008, I attended with my colleagues in Taipei, Taiwan.

On the first day, the conference gave a welcome dinner. I was unsure of how to socialize with famous professors and other distinguished graduate students. But I managed to navigate the party without incident. After the welcome party, Asoci. Prof. Colpan, and Asoci. Prof. Hikino invited me to go around Shi-lin Night market with Prof. Lincoln. It was my first overseas excursion and a highlight of my time in Taipei.

I never imagined I would get the chance to visit foreign countries during my master course. Foreign countries and international conferences seemed a world away. On occasion, I used to check the cost of airplane tickets to U.S. I was surprised to find the tickets to be in excess of 300,000yen. (But the price proved to be full fare without discounts and reasonable PEX fares.)

However, suddenly the chance to venture overseas presented itself. I cannot explain this chance without mentioning two friends.

First, Dr.Mutarika Pruksapong from Thailand. At that time, she was a Ph.D candidate of Kyoto University in Japan and always offered me a gracious hand of help. She recommended that I attend the Asia Academy of Management and helped me to refine my submission. I was overjoyed upon receiving an acceptance letter from AAoM, but as the conference was approaching, i became nervous and shrouded in anxiety. Dr. Pruksapong was forever calming my nerves, "take it easy" (Mai pen rai in Thai). I have to say thank you Dr. Mutarika Pruksapong, my best friend. Without her grateful help, I could never have presented at the Asia Academy of Management in 2008.

Second, Dr. Lee Walton from U.K.
We met in an English school in my hometown when I was an under graduate. He was generous with his time in helping me complete my paper before the deadline. He always patiently corrects my bad English and aids me in making my papers easier to read(as with this blog). Moreover, he gave me a lot of insightful hints to improve my paper and advice on public speaking from the view point of an outsider. I have to express many thanks to Dr.Lee Walton, my genius friend. Without his dedication, I could not have completed my paper.

My first presentation at the AAoM was poor, but I gained a lot from the experience. I think that it is very important for graduate students who do not have the experience of studying overseas to try presenting
at international conferences. Attending international conferences enables you to access the level of graduate student of other countries. What I noticed from my first attendance was that many Asian graduate student had a very solid command of the English language. I was shocked and disappointed that my English was the worst amongst them.

In closing, I would like to show the accompanying email which I attached with my paper submission for the conference. I wish many Japanese graduate students could attend international conferences in the near future!

Dear Professor XXX:

I am sending this e-mail to apply for an oral presentation in "XXX (session name)" "XXX(your research title)" at "conference name". I attached my paper. Please find my paper entitled " your research title". Thank you in advance and I am looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Best Regards,
XXX(your name)