I first travelled to China during the course of my PhD project that was based in Mae Fah Luang University, Thailand but involved close cooperation with the soil biology group at the Kunming Institute of Botany (KIB) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). For my field work investigating mushroom diversity in Southwest China’s Yunnan Province, I regularly travelled back and forth between Chiang Rai, Thailand and the wonderful city of Kunming, capital of Yunnan. I got to know a new and fascinating culture that soon made me curious about exploring more of this interesting country. Yunnan is so fascinating in its diversity of landscapes, people, and food that I couldn’t help but return many times.

In the final months of my PhD program, I was offered a research position in the soil biology group of CAS’s KIB. After defending my thesis at Mae Fah Luang University, I got the chance to apply for the CAS President’s International Fellowship Initiative (PIFI). The great support from this fellowship created an outstanding opportunity for me to carry out research in China after finalizing my PhD.

The soil biology group is a very diverse and active research group at CAS’s KIB that offered me a lot of freedom to focus on my research, while at the same time allowing me to broaden my horizons by getting involved in other research projects, learn from my colleagues about new topics and link my research in a wider context. I also had a chance to learn lab and statistical methods in new fields that improved the quality of my scientific work. During this time, I benefited from active exchanges with other research groups and visiting researchers, and from supervising PhD and master’s students.

In addition to the CAS fellowship, I was awarded a National Natural Science Foundation of China grant, which extended my project and made my work here possible. I generally experienced a very research-friendly environment, and learned that China compared to other countries offers a greater variety of funding opportunities. CAS also provided wonderful facilities to carry out experiments under the latest sequencing and electron micrographic techniques which allowed me and my students to produce extraordinary publications. This is a great experience in a foreign country.

I also got to know many different cultures by working in an international office. I improved my English language skills and learned some basic Chinese. Over time many Chinese and international colleagues became good friends, and on project-related work as well as on holidays I had many chances to get to know remote and fascinating areas of Yunnan. In particular, my involvement in research projects, where scientific knowledge is applied to improve the sustainability of agricultural systems and therewith the livelihoods of rural communities, was very valuable for my future career. From this experience, I personally learned and am still learning how rewarding it can be to see scientific knowledge being implemented in practice to benefit or improve existing systems. I was overwhelmed by how China invests money for research and development specially to conserve threatened fauna and flora. Also, China pays a lot of attention to restoring degraded lands. The PIFI fellowship is a clear indication of China's rising stature in advanced science.

Finally, I want to convey my gratitude to CAS for establishing the PIFI program and giving me this wonderful opportunity to further strengthen and expand my research career.

Source: Samantha Chandranath Karunarathna

Kunming Institute of Botany,

Chinese Academy of Sciences