On October 11, 2024, Dr. Reiko Abe, Ph.D., Executive Officer of Oriental Consultants Global Co., Ltd. (OC Global) and Representative Director and Chairperson of Oriental Consultants India Private Ltd. (OC India), spoke at a special lecture at a junior high school attached to Saga University’s Faculty of Education. She told the participating students about the appeal of working as a development consultant and the joys of working overseas.

[Related Link] STEM Girls Ambassador Website by the Cabinet Office of Japan

Lecture by Dr. Reiko Abe

Group Discussion

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.

In this lecture, approximately 400 students from the 1st to 3rd year of junior high school and around 30 teachers from the school participated. Dr. Abe introduced the appeal of the profession of development consultants and the challenges and rewards of working overseas through her own career and involvement in various railway projects in India. After the lecture, a group discussion session was held, where the participants were divided into small groups to ask Dr. Abe questions individually. The students asked various questions, ranging from how to work and communicate in countries with different cultures to Dr. Abe’s dreams when she was a junior high school student and her future goals. This proved to be highly stimulating for Dr. Abe as well. She stated that it was a pleasure for her to be able to help broaden the horizons of junior 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).