Universities in the United States have a system called "office hours." This is the system where students go to meet professors in arranged time slots to talk one-on-one. Last week, I went to office hours for the first time in my life because Japanese universities don't have this kind of system.
The first professor I went to talk to was Professor Barbara Kellerman. I visited her because I had been stuck on the short paper which she had assigned. She was warm and interested in my new life in Boston and Harvard Kennedy School. At the same time, she pointed out the lack of my logic and evidence in my draft report. Thanks to her advice, I could figure out where I needed to further focus in my writing. It was only 15 minutes, but it was a highly concentrated, meaningful time.
After that, I also made use of office hours with Professors Henry Lee and Robert Lawrence. With Professor Lee, I talked about Japan's LNG (Liquefied natural gas) strategy and nuclear power policy. With Professor Lawrence, I talked about Japan's recent trade deficit, the influence and opportunity of China's rise for the Japanese economy, and the way to increase competitiveness of manufacturing industries in Japan. I also sought advice from both of them regarding what courses I should take at HKS in order to pursue my interests. Both of them were empathetic and gave me useful advice. These office hours were really meaningful opportunities for me. At the same time, I felt that I needed to prepare and study the subjects more beforehand in order to have deeper discussions with those professors. Next time, I want to prepare more before going to talk with them.
Since we have to talk with professors one-on-one, and it is easy to disclose our lack of knowledge during office hours, we tend to hesitate to go. But I think the advantages I can gain by using office hours are greater than the disadvantages, because I can talk with professors directly about my own interesting matters. I'd like to continue to make the most of this valuable opportunity.
The first professor I went to talk to was Professor Barbara Kellerman. I visited her because I had been stuck on the short paper which she had assigned. She was warm and interested in my new life in Boston and Harvard Kennedy School. At the same time, she pointed out the lack of my logic and evidence in my draft report. Thanks to her advice, I could figure out where I needed to further focus in my writing. It was only 15 minutes, but it was a highly concentrated, meaningful time.
After that, I also made use of office hours with Professors Henry Lee and Robert Lawrence. With Professor Lee, I talked about Japan's LNG (Liquefied natural gas) strategy and nuclear power policy. With Professor Lawrence, I talked about Japan's recent trade deficit, the influence and opportunity of China's rise for the Japanese economy, and the way to increase competitiveness of manufacturing industries in Japan. I also sought advice from both of them regarding what courses I should take at HKS in order to pursue my interests. Both of them were empathetic and gave me useful advice. These office hours were really meaningful opportunities for me. At the same time, I felt that I needed to prepare and study the subjects more beforehand in order to have deeper discussions with those professors. Next time, I want to prepare more before going to talk with them.
Since we have to talk with professors one-on-one, and it is easy to disclose our lack of knowledge during office hours, we tend to hesitate to go. But I think the advantages I can gain by using office hours are greater than the disadvantages, because I can talk with professors directly about my own interesting matters. I'd like to continue to make the most of this valuable opportunity.
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