From everyday questions to academic research: Lessons from Ko Aung Wai Yan’s journey in Japan

“Why do food prices keep rising? How has the pandemic changed young people's attitudes toward education? Can a difficult decision today become one we are grateful for years later?”

These questions may seem unrelated, but they share something important: curiosity about the world around us and the choices we make within it.

During a recent session hosted by the Parami University Career Development Center (PUCDC), Ko Aung Wai Yan, a second-year Ph.D. student at Kyoto University, encouraged students to look at familiar situations with a researcher's curiosity. Drawing on his experiences in Myanmar's banking sector and academic life in Japan, he shared how simple questions can develop into meaningful research and what students might expect if they choose to pursue postgraduate studies.

His reflections also touched on something beyond the classroom: the uncertainty of choosing between work and further education, and the courage needed to follow a decision without knowing exactly where it will lead.

Finding research ideas in everyday life

For students preparing a capstone or their first research project, finding a topic can feel harder than the research itself. Ko Aung Wai Yan's advice was to start with what they notice in daily life.

Why have food prices changed at a neighborhood market? How do spending habits differ between generations? How has the pandemic affected young people's education? Each observation can become a research question.

He used inflation as an example: students could compare regions, household expenses, or different time periods. The challenge is to turn a familiar issue into a question they can investigate.

One lesson from his professors has stayed with him: "Academic research is not storytelling."

Reporting that prices have risen is only a beginning. Research asks why, weighs competing explanations, and supports its conclusions with evidence.

He learned this during his master's thesis on political instability and commercial bank performance in Myanmar. His first analysis concentrated on the damage conflict caused. Then his professor asked him to consider a different possibility: could some businesses benefit from instability?

Looking beyond Myanmar, including at businesses during Angola's civil war, helped him recognize the limits of a one-sided argument. For students, the lesson was clear: a research question need not be perfect at first, but it should leave room for answers they did not expect.

What students should know about research life in Japan

Postgraduate study also demands a shift in how students learn. Ko Aung Wai Yan spent six years working before returning to academia, and the difference between banking and research surprised him.

Banking required strict reporting procedures. Research gave him more freedom, along with the responsibility to question ideas and defend his conclusions.

At Kyoto University, he has found that professors may suggest a direction without choosing the methods or answers for students. Much of his progress has come through independent study, conversations with peers, and learning beyond his immediate research topic.

Although his work concerns Myanmar's banking sector, he attends seminars on migration, politics, and environmental issues. Hearing how other scholars frame questions has helped him think more broadly about his own work.

In the Q&A, students asked how to prepare for graduate study in Japan. He encouraged them to seek professors and research centers connected to their interests, and to write Statements of Purpose that explain a genuine academic fit rather than simply praising a university's reputation.

He also recommended strengthening analytical and communication skills, including learning Japanese for everyday life.

He did not hide the difficult moments. Critical feedback has sometimes shaken his confidence, and discussing those setbacks with friends and professors has helped him return to his research.

Choosing your own path: Work, further study, and everything in between

The conversation became especially personal when students asked whether he had ever regretted pursuing his Ph.D.

After completing his master's degree in 2024, he wanted to work in Japan, earn money, and support his family. Encouragement from his university led him toward doctoral study, but he admitted that he has sometimes questioned that choice.

A professor once told him that a decision may only reveal its value years later. Ko Aung Wai Yan has held on to that thought: rather than waiting to know whether he chose correctly, he is trying to make the choice worthwhile.

He offered students no single answer about working or studying. Family responsibilities, finances, ambitions, and opportunity costs all matter. Starting a career now, he emphasized, does not mean giving up on education later.

He is still unsure exactly what comes after his Ph.D., although he hopes to work on research related to Myanmar's economy and financial sector.

For Parami students preparing capstones or considering life after graduation, his honesty may have been as useful as his research advice. Even a Ph.D. student can have doubts about the future.

A good research question begins with curiosity. Choosing what comes next takes some of the same courage: examining the possibilities, accepting uncertainty, and continuing to learn along the way.