MEXT SCHOLARSHIP RESEARCH PLAN: GENERAL NOTES ON SECTION SEVEN (Part i & ii)

sesungguhnya realiti itu tidak indah;

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The MEXT Postgrad Application for Academic Year 2020 is officially OPEN and the deadline is only 11 Days Away 😱(29th March 2019)

Picking up last from the previous post, where we generally discussed the main points for Section Six, (which you can read here) this post will talk about how to deal with Section Seven of the MEXT Application Form, i. e. the Research Plan, specifically for applicants in Malaysia.  

As already stated, Section Seven will be used as one of the most important references for selection. Although they allow a maximum of 3 additional sheets to be attached, the bold caps lock can frankly tell you that they really don't expect something too long and complicated unless necessary. So Point Number 1, as usual, KISS😘 it. (Keep It Short Simple).

Section Seven itself is divided into three short parts, which is actually meant to give the whole research plan a flow, and make it easier for the reviewers to comprehend what your research will be about. 

Part i) Present Field of Study

This space is for you to summarize the current problems/questions that you have recently uncovered from your occupation. Although it can be tempting to write out a detailed explanation of how you have come to such  identified problems/results, it is good to keep in mind again that the reviewers have to go through many other applications, and having something precise, concise and straight to the point will be extremely helpful. 

My application was written in Japanese, and is basically the abstract of my undergraduate research paper, explaining my findings and what I have concluded from the study.

Sample Academic Year 2017 Application

 My husband (oh yeah! we got married last week. teehee😉) on the other hand concluded on the findings that he has been working on while working with the state-government think tank.

Sample Academic Year 2018 Application

Part ii) Research Theme After Arrival in Japan

Your research theme should generally talk about the research questions that you plan on answering when conducting the research in the future. It is also important to emphasize here why you wish to pursue said research theme, and bonus considerations can be given if you are able to highlight why such research should be conducted in Japan per se.  

Sample Academic Year 2017 Application

At this point of your research plan, it is understandable if the theme you have chosen is still very broad, and not have any specific research questions in mind as seen in the example below. The research has yet to be conducted, and is ever changing and evolving, so keeping the theme open is not a problem. It is important however, to state why such theme is significant and is worth pursuing in order to convince the reviewers. 

Sample Academic Year 2018 Application

The final part of Section Seven will be discussed in the next post (promise it won't take another week ) as that deals with slightly more detailed ideas and research methodology compared to that of Part i & ii.

The intention behind these general notes are meant to give a rough/basic guide to those who have already prepared their applications, and perhaps would like a second opinion or two on where they can make it better. I do know that simply reading these tips will of course not be able to help anyone instantly craft a solid-proof application (especially not when the deadline is only a week away), but its always comforting to know which track you're on and which direction you're headed to. 

at least I think so.

Do you? 

Useful Links:

MEXT Scholarship Application (Malaysia Embassy Recommendation) 

Step-by-Step MEXT Application Form