Learning That Leads to the Discovery of "Questions"

Faculty of Environment and Information Studies

AO Admissions

Male

I was interested in information technology even before entering SFC.

When I was in my third year of high school, I visited a science and technology university I was considering. A comment from a faculty member there significantly changed my path.

They said, "There might not be much for you to learn in this faculty." This statement both affirmed the path I had taken through self-study and implicitly questioned my reasons for going to university.

For me, this became an opportunity to confront the core questions of why I wanted to go to university and what I wanted to learn there.

The answer came down to this: "I want to use the information technology skills and knowledge I've gained through self-study to create a better society."

This realization was a major discovery for me. I realized that my motivation wasn't to learn about information technology itself. I wanted to see information technology as a tool and learn and think about how to use it. In other words, I found that I had mistaken the means for the end.

To gain that perspective, enrolling in a faculty or department specializing only in information technology was not the right fit for me. It was in this context that I discovered SFC and decided I wanted to study there.

Although it's called AO Admissions, I see this entrance exam as an opportunity to present and appeal your own awareness of problems to SFC. Therefore, with that mindset, why not take another look and ask yourself if you are truly passionate and enjoying what you do?

Activities and preparations focused on the exam results may be important to you. However, I hope you won't get too caught up in the word "exam" and will instead cherish the question of what you need now to articulate your own awareness of problems to SFC in your own words.

Finally, here are two points I want you to value, not just for any specific entrance exam:

1. Cherish the feelings of discomfort, anger, and distrust you encounter in life more than ever before.

2. Consciously verbalize them.

The information each person gains from an event or environment is different. "Perception"—the act of creating information from signals in your environment—is the very source of your originality. I believe this information evolves into an awareness of problems that only you can generate. However, this kind of intelligence is difficult to express with numbers like "standardized test scores," and I think it's hard to be conscious of it during high school life. Therefore, I hope you will take this opportunity to cherish the feelings of discomfort, anger, and distrust you experience more than ever. Furthermore, I believe that by verbalizing this awareness of problems, sharing and asserting it in society, and gathering many followers, society will become better. As a first step, please try presenting your awareness of problems to the community at SFC.

I believe there are two types of people in the world: those who "discover problems" and those who "solve problems."

For me, SFC is a place that nurtures "problem discoverers."

However, the "problem discovery and solving" mindset is not unique to SFC; it's common in other faculties and universities as well. This is because "research" is a process of accumulating knowledge based on an awareness of problems or questions. It's the same process as "problem discovery and solving."

But why, then, does SFC explicitly champion this concept?

This is just my personal view, but I think it's because the meaning of the word "problem" has become extremely diluted.

While there are too many things in the world being called problems, I feel that the problems that truly need to be solved or can be solved are not being asserted or shared in the real world, or they are getting buried. As a result, the "solvers" have been unable to keep up.

One reason for this situation, I believe, is that in our globalized and complex society, it has become harder to identify the problems that need to be solved.

In such circumstances, I think it's important to survey and reinterpret existing problems from multiple perspectives, breaking them down into solvable units.

SFC has spent four years teaching me what kind of perspective is needed to be a "problem discoverer." SFC's characteristics, such as its "diverse and varied learning opportunities" and "research group-centered curriculum," are essential for nurturing "problem discoverers."

Which side do you want to be on in the future? Based on that, I encourage you to consider SFC as an option.

SFC is not a place to conform to or compare yourself with others; it's a place to find the questions you can love, be passionate about, and devote your time to. Such questions are the starting point from which civilization advances. I believe that SFC offers a wide variety of learning opportunities so that each and every person can find such questions. Whether you have found your question already or not, let's nurture the seeds of the future at SFC. SFC is not the goal; it's the beginning. We are waiting for you at SFC.