Young scientists need to communicate with their peers worldwide, but there is little opportunity to do this in Asia. Most international scientific meetings are held in the United States or Europe, so the long distance and the expense, as well as difficulty communicating in English, make it hard for young Asian scientists to take part.

To deal with this problem, a group of graduate students in Kyoto brought some young Western scientists to Kyoto University's Graduate School of Biostudies and the Institute for Virus Research in March. We organized a seminar to provide an opportunity for young scientists from all over the world to exchange scientific experiences and form friendships and, perhaps, collaborations with each other.

We invited 15 graduate students and five postdoctoral fellows from abroad. All were the same generation as us, and had similar interests in fashion, sports and career goals, so we could enjoy talking with them in addition to exchanging scientific experience.

The first half of the four-day symposium focused on scientific presentations. We showcased 40 oral presentations and 110 posters covering a range of life-science topics.

In the second half, we held a group discussion at Ninna-ji temple in Kyoto, focusing on similarities and differences in science, culture and lifestyle between Japan and other nations. Common concerns included balancing scientific and personal life, but cultural differences led to different approaches to dealing with this. Many Western participants said they came to the lab very early in order to have free time after supper, whereas many Japanese scientists tend to work very late.

The scientific ideal was the same for all of us: a love of science, an interest in problem-solving and a desire to improve communication with society as well as with colleagues.

This seminar was organized as part of the 21st Century Center of Excellence Program at Kyoto University, funded by the Japanese government. The focus on student presentations and collaborative relationships provided a valuable experience for both Japanese and foreign students. The seminar let us form collaborations and discuss the future of many scientific fields from an international perspective. We hope that international communication among young scientists will increase through more such seminars.