[Seminar Introduction] What Are University Students Learning? Consumer Behavior Research in the Shimizu Seminar

A seminar (officially called a Kenkyukai) is a place where a small group of students studies a specific field of expertise in depth. While research content varies greatly depending on the faculty or seminar, students do not just receive knowledge from professors; they find their own themes, conduct research, engage in discussions, and give shape to their own ideas.

In the Faculty of Business and Commerce, students learn a wide range of basics regarding corporate activities and business practices in their first and second years. From their third year, many students join seminars divided into four fields—Management, Accounting, Commerce, and Economy & Industry—to enhance their expertise.

Among these, I would like to introduce the Akira Shimizu Seminar, which belongs to the Commerce field, from a student's perspective.

The Shimizu Seminar specializes in "Consumer Behavior Theory" within the field of marketing, which considers mechanisms that allow products and services to continue selling naturally. Our research subjects are the behavioral mechanisms of the consumers around us.

In groups of four to six, students identify issues, formulate hypotheses, and conduct surveys. Furthermore, by analyzing the data and deciphering consumer behavior and psychology from the results, we lead our findings toward new policy proposals.

As the 17th generation of the seminar, we worked on four themes for our first of three annual research projects: "Green Consumption," "Cashless," "Sharing," and "Nostalgia."

However, things did not go smoothly from the start.

"How should we formulate a hypothesis?"

"How do we use the analysis software?"

We were surrounded by terms we had never heard before. Furthermore, we were on the verge of giving up many times when the analysis results we envisioned didn't appear, but we moved forward with our research bit by bit by receiving feedback from our professor and seniors and engaging in repeated group discussions.

What is particularly difficult yet interesting about research is that our predictions and the analysis data do not always match.

Our group chose "Green Consumption" as our theme and hypothesized that "people with a higher interest in the environment are more likely to actively choose eco-friendly products." However, as we analyzed the data, we saw that simply being interested in the environment did not lead to purchasing behavior. Factors such as the desire to "act for the environment and society" and everyday shopping criteria were what related to the behavior.

Our prediction that "if they are interested, they should act" was overturned by the data. From there, we reconsidered consumer behavior, asking "why are there people who don't act even if they are interested?" and connected this to our proposals.

While struggling with the gap between our predictions and the results, we think deeply to explore what lies behind consumer behavior. That is the fascination of consumer behavior research that I feel.

The general activity day for the seminar is every Thursday. Each group presents their research progress and receives feedback from Professor Shimizu. On other days, each group meets in group study rooms or via Zoom to hold repeated discussions.

In group research, we often encounter perspectives that we wouldn't have thought of alone.

"Is that question really measuring what you want to measure?"

"Is that analysis method appropriate?"

We gradually build our arguments while frankly exchanging opinions.

When we can't find an answer no matter how much we think, or when we don't get the analysis results we want, the time we spend snacking together and having trivial conversations serves as a refreshing break. The reason I can think "I'll try a little harder" is because I have peers who are working hard alongside me.

In the Shimizu Seminar, we don't just learn marketing; we also acquire logical thinking skills, analytical skills, the presentation skills to communicate them, and the ability to build a single piece of research as a team.

A major goal in the Shimizu Seminar is to win the "Kanto Student Marketing Conference" (commonly known as "Kan-Make"), a student research competition that has been held for over 35 years. Seminars specializing in marketing in the Kanto region each set a research theme and present their research results to one another.

In the Shimizu Seminar, we continue to face a single theme for about five months from late June to late November in preparation for that conference.

We discuss things with our group members over and over until we are satisfied. If we get stuck, we bounce ideas off seniors or peers in other groups to get feedback, and if there is something we don't understand, we consult the professor. We give shape to the research, break it down, and rethink it again. It is a repetition of that process.

To be honest, there are days when I want to run away after thinking about the same theme for so long. Even so, I am still struggling forward, believing that there is an answer at the end that only we can reach.

In university life, there aren't many experiences where you spend time on one thing and keep thinking until you are satisfied. You can think thoroughly, struggle, and become passionate together with your peers. That is the Shimizu Seminar.

When I was a high school student, I also didn't really understand what university students were actually learning. I would be happy if this article has conveyed even a little bit of the fascination of university learning.

*If you would like to learn more about seminars in the Faculty of Business and Commerce, please visit the official Keio University Faculty of Business and Commerce website. For more details on the activities of the Shimizu Seminar, please check the official Shimizu Seminar website and Instagram (@shimizua_semi).

*This article was created based on information as of 2026.

▶▶ [My Recommended Class] Introduction to Social Psychology: Experiential Learning in Action is also available! The Keio students editorial department provides an in-depth report on Professor Junkichi Sugiura's class in the Faculty of Letters. You can see more details below about the actual class scenes and the enthusiasm in the classroom where students learn consensus building through games. Please read it along with the interview.