Evaluation Sheet of Guest Professor Program,Graduate School of Science, Osaka Prefecture University
1. If there are comments or advice for the graduate students who took your lecturein “Science Communication”, we appreciate your writing them below.
You must improve your foreign language skills, in particular in a competitive economicsituation like today. While this is difficult in a lecture scenario, international exchange
is a good way to do this. The scientific language is everywhere the same, e.g. thechemical structure of water is always H2O. Use your degree and study to travel anddiscover the world through science and improve your foreign language skills at the sametime. Take advantage of this great opportunity!
Also, open up! Learning is more efficient if you openly address your teacher outsideclasses. There is always a burden to approach a teacher, in particular a foreign one, but
the following discussions can be extremely helpful.
This is the time after the financial crash. The economical situation will not go back to
the days before it. Your job and career option will be significantly improved with goodlanguage and communication skills and also experiences abroad.
2. If there are comments or advice for the graduate students of your host professor, weappreciate them.
Focus and work more efficiently! There is a difference between „being present‟ and„working‟. Staying at the university from 8 AM to 8 PM six days a week doesn‟t makeyou an excellent student if you spend that time sitting in the meeting room. Focus while
you are at OPU.
Know your science, literature and collaborators/competitors in the field. Openly discuss
your ideas with your supervisors and coworkers.
Take advantage of the many visitors in your supervisor‟s group. These people usuallywork in related areas and can help you or give you advice or inspiration. They may also
invite you to join their group for a research stay. Take full advantage of this!
3. If there are comments or advice for the undergraduate students who took yourlecture, we appreciate them.
You started your degree in a difficult time. However, you have still some years ahead ofyou before you will graduate. Make the best out of it! Your studies are an investment
into your future. Learn as much as you can, use all resources provided andopportunities given by OPU to broaden your horizon!

Your career is like a river and you are floating on it. Science can be your boat and cantake you anywhere if you just want it! The distance you will travel on this river depends
almost entirely on you.
Also, follow your interests and stick to them. There will be lectures and lecturers you
like and other you will dislike. Use the excitement from your favorite classes andsubjects to get through the tough and „sticky‟ ones.

4. If there are comments and suggestions for our program, we appreciate them.
While I generally support this program and enjoyed it, I found the English level andgeneral awareness of the students very „difficult‟. It is extremely disturbing when
students sleep openly in lectures or leave after having signed the attendance sheet. Thestudents are representing their university, faculty, school and ultimately Japan andleave a very bad impression on the foreign guest lecturer.
There has also been no communication between myself and any of the students. Instead,I gave lecturers in a one-way direction only. This surely is a missed opportunity.
In addition to the difficulties with English, I also taught new subjects and used
Powerpoint (as I do at my home university). As a result, the lectures were probably too
advanced and too difficult to follow for most students.
I would suggest integrating the foreign visiting professors into the existing teaching
curriculum. It may be more beneficial if a foreign lecturer teaches something familiar
rather than completely new. This way, students could concentrate on listening toEnglish. Lecturers should also be given using chalk boards rather than Powerpoint. The
guest lecturer should also be involved in the evaluation/examination process.
Attendance and evaluation sheets should be handed out at the end of lectures rather
than the start to prevent students from leaving.
Also, advice on teaching methods and scientific levels of the students must be provided
to the guest lecturer in advance. The levels and teaching systems are different in many
countries and thus not comparable.
Finally, I suggest open discussion or tutorial sessions where real communication is done.
These can be Question & Answer sessions on career options, the lecture content or„nandemoi‟.

5. Can we make this sheet open to the public? [YES]Name Michael Oelgemöller

Date 2011-02-04
Thank you.