On August 2, Reiko Abe, Ph.D., Executive Officer of Oriental Consultants Global Co., Ltd. (OC Global) and Representative Director and Chairman of the Oriental Consultants India Private Ltd. (OC India) subsidiary, spoke at a bus tour of science and technology companies organized by the Wakayama Prefectural Government. She told the participating junior high and high school students about the appeal of working as a development consultant and the joys of working overseas.

Lecture by Dr. Reiko Abe

The Government of Japan’s Gender Equality Bureau Cabinet Office appoints “STEM Girl Ambassadors” to encourage the career choices of female students in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), by showcasing successful women in those fields as role models. Dr. Reiko Abe was appointed as an ambassador for this initiative in 2018 and has since been delivering outreach lectures to students and speaking at various events.
Approximately 20 junior high and high school students and tour staff attended the lecture. Dr. Abe introduced the appeal of the profession of development consultant through her own career and involvement in various rail projects in India. She also talked about what students should do while they are still in school to be able to work overseas in the future. At the end of the lecture, Dr. Abe asked the students if they had been inspired to consider working overseas in the future, and the students nodded enthusiastically. Dr. Abe stated that it was a pleasure for her to be able to help broaden the horizons of junior high and high school students’ future careers.

OC Global supports the promotion of STEM fields and diversification of career choices (SDG 4) through the activities of STEM Girl Ambassadors (SDG 5).