My story begins in 2018 when I decided to apply for the Project for Human Resources Development Scholarship (call as JDS Scholarship program) in order to obtain Master's degree in Road Engineering. I worked at the Department of Road Management, the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Kyrgyz Republic, but I did not have the status of a civil servant and I could not match for the application requirements of the JDS Scholarship program.

Since that I did numerous efforts to seek the scholarship program where not only government officials, but also ordinary engineers would be able to apply, and I finally could find it under the cooperation of JICA. The aim of such a program was to make knowledge accessible, get to know about international experience, and enhance qualifications. After analyzing the effectiveness of this project, with the support of JICA (I am immensely grateful to JICA for this opportunity), the programme "Core Human Resources Development for Road Asset Management" was implemented and documents were submitted. In 2020, after several interviews and selections, I enrolled at Ryukyu University in Okinawa, Japan.

Education?! I had so many challenges! At first, different country, different culture, different people. In addition, the university's educational system was totally different. And of course, the language... In the first 2-3 months, I tried to understand and adapt to the communication style, language, and rhythm of life. Since I wrote in my essay about the issue of natural disasters, I was assigned to the "Hydraulics Engineering" laboratory. It was a totally new field for me, and since it was my first time dealing with rainfall forecasting in small rivers to prevent floods, I found it very interesting. At the university, there were experimental sessions where we could simulate flooding, using programming languages like Python and Fortran.

I decided to pursue a doctoral degree. I could manage to pass the selection process Doctorate Progarmme among other candidates and was accepted to Hokkaido University. My research work will be on the construction and maintenance of bridges.

I would like to wish everyone to believe in themselves and all pathways are open to women. Let's invest in the development of our country and in our future. I hope that my career and academic achievements will be an example and inspiration for people. They say everything impossible is possible!

JICA Kyrgyz Republic