I encourage researchers to go abroad and spar with excellent researchers. Don’t be ‘big fish in a small pond,’ so to speak. Go to places where you feel alone. If you attend conferences outside your specialization, you might not know anyone.
Despite people speaking a language you know, you still won’t understand them. I want researchers to experience for themselves what it feels like to be in new domains.
-　Executive Vice-President for Research Promotion,Kyoto University KITAGAWA Susumu