Activities

Lab operation policy, weekly and annual schedules

Lab operation policy

Nagai lab adopts core work hours (10 am - 4 pm) because the lab members need to collaborate with each other in performing experiments (especially mutual collaborations as observers in psychophysical experiments are important) (currently suspended). This system must help the students make solid progress in research activities, in addition to weekly research meetings. Finally, the staff's schedule is always open to the lab members to facilitate discussions with the staff.  

We also provide social events to promote friendship in our lab. Activities with your friends or in communities other than in the laboratory must also be meaningful experiences. We support the fulfilling campus life of our students.


Some of the research and social events are jointly held with Kaneko Lab, Department of Information and Communications Engineering, Tokyo Tech.

Core work hour

The core work hour is from 10 am to 4 pm. Of course, the students are allowed to shift the core hour temporarily to do something.  In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, we've adopted a 'flexible-core' work hour instead. The lab members aim to come to the laboratory about three times a week to foster interaction and peer learning among students. Core work hours offer several advantages, including easier access to advice from senior students, better coordination of participant schedules, more stable daily routines, and consistent research progress.

Research guidance

The staff suggests some research themes to the newcomers when they start to belong to the lab. If the newcomers have strong interests in some specific topics in vision science prior to belonging to the lab, such interests may be translated to their research themes. The staff's schedule is always open to the students, so they can easily find the time to discuss research topics with the staff.

Roles

There are several roles in the lab, such as general affairs, web administrators, and event planners. Those roles are typically assigned to newcomers. Let's work together to make lab life fulfilling.

Weekly schedule

Journal club (once a week)

Assigned members introduce the latest English papers to laboratory members. This meeting provides good opportunities to learn about the latest research trends not only for presenters but also for the audience. Journal club is often held jointly with Kaneko Lab.

Study meeting (once a week, only for newcomers)

All newcomers read an English textbook on visual cognition (e.g., Basic Vision: An Introduction to Visual Perception, Sensation and Perception) together. You can learn basic knowledge about vision research in this meeting.

Research meeting (once a week)

Assigned members introduce the progress of their individual research to the laboratory members. In this meeting, the lab members share the todo list regarding research activity. This meeting is often held jointly with Kaneko Lab.

Workshop (semiannual)

The purpose of the Workshop is for students to get a picture of their respective research. Research objectives, experimental methods, results, and discussions are summarized and presented to laboratory members. After the presentation, everyone discusses the individual research policy and research contents.

Presentation practice (as needed)

Students practice presentations for academic conferences and thesis presentations. Even if your research has excellent results, bad presentation may depress the value of your research. Therefore, we typically repeat practices to substantially improve our presentations.

Annual schedule

We have various events for research and recreation, which are crucial for a fruitful university life. Sudden events, such as Tako-Yaki parties, hot pot parties, and sports events, may be held occasionally. Some of the events are held jointly with Kaneko Laboratory.

Presentations at conferences

As a general rule, graduate students have to give presentations at several conferences in our laboratory. The conferences we often attend are as follows:

International

Domestic