I am Soukphavanh Sawathvong, a third-year Ph.D. student at the graduate school of Integrated Sciences for Global Society (ISGS), Kyushu University. Now I am conducting research supervised by Prof. Hyakumura Kimihiko at the Institute of Tropical Agriculture.

The JASTE conference is an academic conference organized annually which open for various academic research to share interesting and informative research in agricultural and forestry fields. I used to attend JASTE 31 as an oral presenter which is organized online based on the 26^th to 27^th of June 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. My presentation was based on my first research as a Ph.D. student which is related to the participation of stakeholders in the REDD+ consultation process in Lao PDR.

This year, in 2022, JASTE 32 is organized by using a hybrid method (online and onsite) at Nagoya University, Nagoya from 18^th to 19^th of June 2022. My great opportunity and two master students (Mr. Airyai Vongxay and Miss. Nilapha Vorachith) who are under same supervisor to attend the JASTE 32 conference in an oral presentation session onsite. I have shared my research which is based on review work and online-based interviews related to smallholder tree plantation engagement in REDD+ in Lao PDR.

I have precious time to share my research with and learn from other academic researchers. Besides academic research, I have a chance for practicing presentation skills and learned how other researchers structure their research and their presentation skills. Moreover, the JASTE conference brings opportunities for academic network creation. Break from academic time, I and the attendees have a chance to explore many interesting Landmarks such as Nagoya Castle, the Science Museums of Nagoya city, and the aquarium.

In the process of learning for conducting the proper academic research, attending the academic conference is important and can help to shape logical thinking by learning from other experienced researchers.

And I am under the process of Learning.