Brogan Stewart

is the recipient of the Concordia International Scholars Award. The goal of this special award is to shape the next generation of innovative leaders that will change the worldwide research landscape by mobilizing abroad, participating in professional and cross-cultural training, and building local and international networks. It was funded through the Quebec Mobility Bursary. You can find out more about the Quebec Mobility Bursary here.

I left for Japan at the beginning of May, 2022. I started my trip at the Center for the Evolutionary Origins of Human Behavior, which is a Kyoto University campus located in Inuyama. I was able to collect behavioural data for my research project on a captive group of Japanese macaques housed at this institute. There were 20 macaques from this group that I included in my study. I collected around 93 hours of usable data.

For the second part of my trip, I was on the island of Awajishima in Japan. I collected behavioural data for my research project on a semi-wild group of Japanese macaques. They live in the forest but are also free to come to the monkey center as they please. There were 22 macaques from this group in my study, and I collected about 128 hours of usable data.

Since coming back to Canada, the only thing that I have on my mind is how I can return to Japan! This experience has taught me so much, and I do not think there is any replacement for hands-on learning like this trip.