Bridging Science and Culture: KI and UTokyo Joint Course for Doctoral Students in Tokyo

In this course students learned study design, bioinformatics, technologies, LLM and AI through lectures and hands-on based on their interests. At the end of the course, students had short presentation to show what they analyzed during the course. Beyond the academic rigor, the course also fostered cultural exchange and international collaboration, enriching the experience for all involved.

Student Reflections

Maria Angeliki Toli, MD, PhD student at the Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Theme cancer, Karolinska University Hospital

"Taking part in the joint doctoral course Bioinformatics Analysis and Visualisation of Medical Genomics Data in Tokyo, Japan was a truly memorable experience. I loved how the course brought together students with different scientific backgrounds and levels of experience in R and bioinformatics. This created a genuinely collaborative atmosphere, where we learned as much from each other as we did from our instructors. It felt more like a shared learning journey than a traditional course. 

I also appreciated the diversity of the topics and methods we explored during the course. I especially enjoyed the open discussions around experimental design and data interpretation, which made me reflect more deeply on how I approach my own research and gave me a lot of practical insights.

Beyond the academic content, it was a joy to share this experience with students and researchers from both Karolinska Institutet and the University of Tokyo. It felt like a true cultural and scientific exchange.  I am grateful to have been part of this course, and I have returned feeling both inspired and better equipped for the next steps in my research journey".

Yuki Yamamoto, PhD Student, The University of Tokyo added:

"As a working PhD, I had a hard time finding time to devote to the pre-assignment, but the assignment itself was a very good introduction and I felt it was a well planned curriculum.I think the first group work was the best attempt. We were able to interact, exchange ideas, and share knowledge. 

The professors lectures were diverse, interesting, and packed with useful information for future research. KI students have diverse backgrounds and I learned a lot from talking with them. I was able to deepen my understanding and be sure of my own understanding through the exchange of opinions on the papers. 

I was almost a beginner in R, but through reproducing figures from the papers, I improved my skills as well as my understanding and interpretation. Overall, it was a very good class where I was able to connect with many researchers, exchange opinions, and interact with them. I strongly recommend this class to other students."