I Got Hired: Japanese Language Study with Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation

Posted on: 14 May 2020 in Graduate stories

Jack graduated BSc Hons Evolutionary Anthropology in 2019 and is graduating MRes Palaeoanthropology degree from the University of Liverpool in 2020. He has received an offer to undertake a unique 19-month programme of language study, work placement and homestay in Japan with Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation.

What was your best experience while studying your course at the University of Liverpool?

As a member of the Department of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology I was incredibly impressed by the diversity of opportunities to engage in practical fieldwork both in the United Kingdom and abroad, and more generally the opportunities to gain international experience as part of study abroad programmes. As a result, my best experiences while studying Evolutionary Anthropology during my undergraduate were the 6 months I spent studying at Seoul National University in South Korea and the 5 weeks I spent excavating at Grotte Scladina Palaeolithic cave site in Belgium. Though it is incredibly difficult to narrow down these to more specific events or moments, there were just so many!

Which aspects of your course do you think have been the most beneficial to your career development? 

In the same vein, I believe the international experience I have gained have really given me the edge in my career development as being in such a narrow field with so few students it is incredibly important to stand out and take as many of the opportunities available to you as possible. I would also like to give particular praise to the work of the department's Photogrammetry Team and Dr Ardern Hulme-Beaman, Charlotte Sargent and JR Peterson. As a member of this diverse team, I have been able to engage in various research and outreach projects and develop various sought-after skills and experience in imaging and programming.

Can you describe your current role?

I have recently been accepted by the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation's scholarship programme to undertake a unique 19-month programme of language study, work placement and homestay in Japan. This scholarship will not only open an incredible number of doors for my future development in an international work environment but allow me to gain experience specific to my personal and research development goals as an zooarchaeologist. My acceptance onto this programme would not have been possible without several of the opportunities I engaged with at the University of Liverpool. I would not have know about the scholarship had it not been for the Careers and Employability and the presentations they held, or the fact that the current head of the Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology Department, Professor Anthony Sinclair was also a scholar on the programme in previous years and was able to support my application. Without the vast number of opportunities I was able to seize at the University of Liverpool, I would not have been able to demonstrate the passion and clear, ambitious career aspirations that are necessary for acceptance onto this scholarship. Without the various study abroad, course representative, ambassadorial and fieldwork opportunities that I was fortunate enough to engage with, I have no doubt that my application would have been considerably weaker.

Do you have any top tips to share with future and current students?

In terms of tips for future and current students I can only really say that your time at university will go by so incredibly fast and will present you with so many incredible opportunities. Take as many of these opportunities as you can, even if they might be a little out of your comfort zone. They will be some of the most rewarding and fulfilling experiences you will have and really give you the edge in an increasingly competitive world.

What is the first thing that you think of when you think of the University of Liverpool?

If I am being honest, the first thing that comes to mind when I think of the University of Liverpool is that it has served me as an excellent jumping off point for my career development and that the communities, friends and colleagues I have made are some of the most rewarding and valued I have and will continue to be as I move forward. 

Are there any other memories you would like to share from your time at the University of Liverpool?

I would also like to mention that the Liverpool Guild of Students has been, for me, one of the most important aspects of my life over the past four years. I have been fortunate to have my own radio show, publish 3 books, write for the student magazine and act in one of the incredible drama productions and serve on a society committee, to name but a few of the amazing opportunities that are available through the societies at the Guild of Students.