A great opportunity to delve into neuroscience in a supportive atmosphere
Aug. 10, 2021
Eichi Toyoizumi
Student Trainee, Lab for Circuit and Behavioral Physiology at RIKEN CBS
Brain Science Training Program (BSTP) is a 9-month-long lecture series where, every week, principal investigators from RIKEN CBS present on their areas of expertise. BSTP can be used to earn lecture credits at University of Tokyo and Waseda University.
The topics in BSTP range from mathematical models to animal experiments to molecular neurobiology, and thus are not easy to comprehend all of the materials perfectly. However, there were some implementations to make the student experience better, such as tutor sessions after the lecture, recording of the lectures were made available, etc. It is also worth noting that BSTP is one of the very few comprehensive neuroscience courses taught entirely in English in Japan.
BSTP also has tremendous potential to create a community of young neuroscientists. Students from BSTP have collaborated with CBS labs, and some have returned to CBS as PIs themselves. Those young neuroscientists-to-be who voluntarily commit themselves to a long, intense program will sure be a good friend and a colleague in the future. To foster this community, this year we founded a joint alumni association of BSTP and Summer Program for better communication and networking across programs and generations.
With the fact that this whole program is free (yes you’ve read it right it’s free), it’s hard to find a reason not to join BSTP, unless you just don’t like neuroscience. We alumni are very much looking forward to interacting with future participants.