Dinara won a trip to Japan! Read about her travels, maybe you will be the next winner of the MIRAI program.

Dinara Auyelbekova is a graduate student at Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan. She read my previous blog post about educational opportunities, applied to the program, and got it! So if you got selected for any program, please tell us about your experience too! I feel really happy when the information I share actually helps someone to have positive experience, meet new people, and travel around.

- Dinara, congratulations on being selected to represent Kazakhstan in the MIRAI program. I am sure you have lots of memories to share.

First, I am sure our readers want to know about you generally. Where do you study? What is your passion? What are your career goals?

- Hi Aizhan, thanks for having me on your blog. I am a Master of Arts student at the Graduate School of Education at Nazarbayev University. My major is Leadership (management) in Higher Education Institutions. My career goal is to do what I love and earn lots of money. I believe we can do both at the same time :) I am still not sure what exactly I want to focus on, but the main topics that interest me are concerned with the equity and fair access to education. It is sad to realize that many people in Kazakhstan can’t afford high quality education because of the financial hardships. My hobbies are playing basketball, travelling, interacting with people and eating good food, as on this picture :)

- There were a lot of applications from Kazakhstani students. How many became MIRAI finalists? What universities did they represent? Where did they hear about the program?

-Overall ten students were chosen to represent Kazakhstan. It was very thoughtful of MIRAI program organizers to give more spots for students from Central Asia because otherwise they have less chances for student mobility in comparison with students from Europe.

Half of the students (5 out of 10) were from Nazarbayev University, 2 from KazNU named after Al-Farabi and 3 from ENU named after Gumilyov. They found out about the program at their universities.

- What do you think is the main reason you were chosen to go to Japan? How did you make yourself stand out?

-I think one reason is that I was sincere in my application and during the interview. The program was looking for students in economics, political science and Japanese studies. I wrote that my interest was education and specifically how the Japanese people were able to establish two leading universities in the world of dominating Anglo - Saxon system of higher education. You can see my motivation letter on my blog. My host parents said they chose me because of basketball as they love sports :D

- How much do people in Japan know about Kazakhstan? How did you share Kazakh culture with them?

- Unfortunately, they do not know much about Kazakhstan. My host parents and the volunteers who were accompanying us googled some information beforehand in order to learn more about Kazakhstan.

I was showing pictures of Kazakhstan's nature and of course I brought Rakhat chocolate. I shared it with people I met and showed that sharing is a part of Kazakh culture. One woman I met knew Denis Ten and I was trying to explain my hosts who he is. I opened the photo from Sochi 2014 Olympiad and showed them that he won the bronze medal there.

- We all know that Japan is the world's leading economy despite of the fact that it does not have vast natural resources like Kazakhstan does. Based on your interaction with people, visits to national companies, and overall impression, what do you think are the main factors contributing to their success?

- I think the main factor is that they work hard. It is true that the Japanese people have incredible work ethics. My basketball coach Brett Craig always told the team that "Hard work beats talent". They are a perfect example of this. They do not look for shortcuts and do their job to perfection. Another reason is that the Japanese people focus on what they can do for their own country. They send their kids to local universities and don't promote learning English language. Also they do not see the need of simply copying the western path of development, they have been working on creating their own path.

- I am sure you have seen and learnt a lot from your experience. What impressed you the most? Tell me about your "a-ha" moment of the trip.

- It is hard to choose one. There are 3 best moments, which are staying at host family, wearing kimono and visiting Meiji Jingu Shrine.

- Why do you think this kind of cultural exchanges are important? How did it contribute to your personal and professional goals?

- I think these exchanges are important for promotion of the country, in this case- Japan. All 150 participants will disseminate their knowledge and experience locally. That is what I am also doing in Kazakhstan because there is a lot to learn from Japan. Personally I can say that after participating in this program I fell in love with Japan, its people and culture, and want to visit it again. As for my professional goals, during the program we were working on getting a Global Competence certificate. Now I can certify that I am effective intercultural communicator. I believe that travelling is a great way to learn something new and widen your perspective.

- What advice can you give to Kazakhstani university students if they also want to participate in similar events?

- Just keep swimming (trying) as one very smart character said in the “Finding Nemo” movie. I was applying for lots of programs like this and I got rejected all the time. But I did not give up and continued to apply because I know that Lady Luck favors those who try. And don't be lazy, be like Japanese.

Please read Dinara's blog HERE. If you have any questions to Dinara, contact her at [email protected]. Like, share this post with your friends! Follow my blog to learn about new opportunities. It will come out soon :)