The Future Is in Your Hands | Hideyuki Tokuda (Dean of the Graduate School of Media and Governance)
2011.03.11
In early February, I had the chance to go to Joetsu Kokusai Ski Resort with students for our lab's annual ski trip. Many of the students took an overnight bus, but I traveled to the ski resort with the group that took the Shinkansen. The journey was very comfortable, partly due to its short duration. The organizers did a great job again this time, and the second-year master's (M2) and fourth-year undergraduate (B4) students, who had been staying overnight in the lab to work on their master's and graduation theses, joined us with their junior colleagues, making it a very enjoyable trip. An international student from Vietnam also participated, experiencing skiing on a snowy mountain for the first time in his life. Teaching a beginner to ski can be quite a challenge, but as we all took turns looking after him, I was thrilled to see that by the second day, he was able to ski down the slopes on his own at a considerable speed. It makes me hope that he will be able to stand on his own two feet just as quickly in his research. Now, we had a small incident this year. After we all had lunch together on the first day, we lost contact with two new students, and we all had to split up to search for them. We were told that announcements couldn't be made over the ski resort's public address system. Having no other choice, we were about to split up and check the hotels, lodges, and clinics adjacent to the slopes when we safely found the two students, who had fallen asleep in the lobby of the hotel where we had lunch. The matter was settled.
In mid-February, the entrance examinations for the Faculty of Policy Management and the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies were held. The exams concluded without incident, and there were no leaks of exam questions via mobile phones, as had been a topic of public concern. In the future, as more people start carrying smartphones, SFC may need to review its policies. However, I hope that those who take the exams will do so with a sincere attitude, aiming to think through problems and solve them on their own, without resorting to such methods.
In early March, I visited four high schools in Taiwan to introduce the GIGA Program, which will be launched in September. Thanks to perfect advance preparation, we were able to effortlessly complete the remarkable feat of visiting four schools in a single day. At one high school in particular, three current students worked together to interpret my presentation. It may have been quite difficult for second-year high school students, but I was moved by their dedicated efforts to translate. Two of the three were Japanese students currently living in Taiwan, and even so, their enthusiastic interpretation was impressive. In the evening, I was also invited to a dinner with members of the Taiwan Mita-kai, where I was able to hear various stories about future exchanges between Keio University and Taiwan. Recently, many Japanese universities, as well as those from Hong Kong, have been coming to recruit talented Taiwanese high school students, so it was a very meaningful dinner for us, as we were able to obtain valuable information.
Now, for a word to the students, which is the theme of this message. To those who are thinking of taking on the challenge of SFC, I want you to aim to become "a person who can discover problems on their own and solve them with their own abilities." To the current students of SFC, I hope you will not forget the spirit of "jiga-sakko" and will courageously take on new challenges.
Because the future will be built by your hands.
(Date of publication: 2011/03/11)