Keasbey Travel Grant Report – Dai Shi (2019, Oriental Studies)

18th European Association for Japanese Studies (EAJS) PhD Workshop in Olomouc.

I am very honoured to attend this workshop, which has proven to be indispensable for my DPhil research. Having been back to my hometown in China for almost two years due to COVID-19, the EAJS workshop was my first opportunity to discuss my work with others whose research also focus on Japan. Ever since I started my DPhil, discussions about my research had been mostly restricted to talking to my supervisor. The EAJS workshop has helped my research and academic outlook in the following ways.

First and foremost, I have received many constructive comments for my research from the tutors and students at the workshop, which helped me become aware of the potential weaknesses and pitfalls of my research and provided me with new perspectives for the analyses of my project. Specifically, I am aware that I need to clarify my methodology and I need to be more cautious with regard to linguistic reconstruction. Secondly, the workshop has greatly boosted my confidence in doing presentations in front of others, which has always been one of my fears. Thirdly, as a person who has not attended conferences before, the workshop, which carried out in the form of a mini-conference, has made me become more familiar with the conference setting. Lastly, I have made some wonderful and intelligent friends during the conference whom I shall surely stay in touch in the future. The opportunity for networking was very important to me as I have not had such opportunities at all due to COVID-19.

I would like to sincerely thank the organizer for such a wonderful workshop. I would also like to thank the University College (University of Oxford), which generously provided me with the Keasbey Grants and made this trip possible.

Find out more about the range of travel grants and scholarships available to assist Univ students on our Travel Grants page or read further travel reports.

Published: 2 December 2022

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