The World, Tottori, Ruri Rocks, and Graduate School | Kazunori Takashio, Dean of the Graduate School of Media and Governance
This year was a hotter summer than usual.
On July 23, as the spring semester classes were winding down, a ceremony was held to confer an Honorary Doctorate from Keio University upon Ms. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission. Naturally, the degree was from the Graduate School of Media and Governance. As the Dean of the Graduate School, I had the honor of reading the recommendation on stage. Details of the ceremony are reported on the Keio University web page . Despite the limited time and the intense heat during her stay on campus, Ms. von der Leyen herself, as well as the EU Ambassador to Japan and other attendees, appeared relaxed throughout. From the meeting with the President to signing the guestbook, photo sessions, and the commencement, it was a wonderful ceremony filled with smiles. I feel very fortunate to have had such an opportunity during my tenure as Dean. Once again, my deep gratitude to everyone who worked hard to make this happen.
Ms. von der Leyen is a German physician and politician who held major positions in the Angela Merkel cabinet for many years before becoming the first female President of the European Commission. Since taking office, she has led the response to COVID-19, supported Ukraine, and promoted the Green Deal for a decarbonized society, tackling a wide range of international issues and driving policy innovation in the European Union. It is a natural progression for the Graduate School of Media and Governance, which treats policy as a subject of education and research, to confer an Honorary Doctorate upon her. In her speech, Ms. von der Leyen touched upon the significance of Yukichi Fukuzawa's teachings in an increasingly complex international society, and sent a passionate message to the world, to Japan, and above all, to the students of Keio. She spoke of how each individual having a specialty, mastering it, and acting responsibly as a member of international society is the essence of "independence" and "cooperation"—qualities necessary in unstable times. It might be my own interpretation, but that is how it resonated with me.
The graduate school exists as a place to pursue and master what you love.
On a very personal note, I have been hooked on a piece of content called "Ruri no Houseki" (The Jewels of Ruri) this term. It is a story depicting the interaction between a high school student (Ruri) who becomes interested in gemstones by chance, and a graduate student (Nagi) engaged in mineral research. The original work is a manga by Keiichiro Shibuya. While the story itself is interesting, I got hooked because it accurately depicts the life of a "graduate student" as a researcher. It is a unique piece of content. In the 7th episode, "Nagisa's Recycling Workshop," there was an exchange like this:
Glass, a classmate of Ruri. She also loved collecting beautiful stones since she was a child. However, those around her did not understand, and even her parents told her, "You shouldn't make your hobby your job." Because of this, Glass could not be honest with herself, but seeing Ruri and the others absorbed in what they love, her feelings exploded. She confessed to Imari, who researches minerals at the university with Nagi, "I want to become a mineral researcher," and asked, "Is it hard?" To Glass, who put her feelings into words for the first time, Imari advised, "There are hard parts, but I think it's fun," "If there's something you want to do and you can make it an option, it's better to aim for it," and "I'm sure you'll find comrades."
This phrase, "You shouldn't make your hobby your job," was also said to me by a certain adult when I was in elementary school. Ever since then, this has been stuck somewhere in my mind, making me feel uneasy. Like a fish bone caught in my throat.
The week after Ms. von der Leyen's honorary doctorate commencement, I stayed in Tottori again for nine days from July 31 to August 8. Following local preparations, the "Camp for Designing the Future in Yonago: Augmented Town Workshop" was held from August 3 to 5. I wrote about holding the Camp for Designing the Future in Tottori in my previous Dean's Diary. It is a new type of residential workshop that takes place outside the campus with the support of Tottori Prefecture. It is co-hosted with the local government and held as a branded event, implemented as part of the "Tottori Future Co-creation Project" promoted with the prefecture.
This year, we also identified regional issues through field research conducted in Yonago City in June and launched five projects aimed at solutions. This year's workshop theme was "Opening the Future of People, Living, and Regional Healthcare with XR and Robotics." After discussions with Yonago City, we set "Disaster Prevention/Physical Simulated Disaster Experience" and "Multimodal Frailty Experience" as the main challenges. We implemented service prototypes applying the latest technologies such as XR, IoRT (Internet of Robotic Things), and sensor manufacturing, and brought them to the site. During the Camp for Designing the Future, high school and vocational college students also participate in each project as system developers. Without any sugar-coating, they get to experience university research and development realistically. We go as far as demonstrating the systems, content, and services implemented and improved during the period in front of stakeholders to seek evaluation. It is truly intense. I think it's really intense myself. We show them what a university and what SFC is all about, and have them experience it firsthand. In terms of caring for the participants, the cooperation of local high school and vocational college teachers and supporters is also vital.
A great many stakeholders attended the results presentation on the final day. Both the presenters and the listeners were serious. Moving forward, we aim for shared awareness and solutions at the municipal government level, and plan to turn highly requested projects into joint projects over a span of several years. After the program ended, as the organizer of the Camp for Designing the Future and as the Dean of the Graduate School, I asked and told the participants: "Research at university and graduate school is truly interesting, but it was hard to produce results, wasn't it?" and "If you think it suits you, I want you to come to SFC, and if you feel it's a bit different, it's also okay to choose another option." The order is the reverse of Imari-san's "It's hard but fun," but what I wanted to say is probably the same. I don't remember exactly when, but since I started thinking this way, I feel that the uneasiness I've had since childhood has lessened a bit.
The day after the Camp for Designing the Future ended successfully and the cleanup was finished, I moved from the Mt. Daisen venue to Nichinan Town to participate in the "Nichinan Town University Hub" training camp. This camp, where faculty and students from Keio, Waseda, and the University of Tokyo gathered, was also in "hard mode." On the morning of the first day, we visited a tomato farmer for a harvesting experience (it was delicious). In the afternoon, under the guidance of the "Nichinan Chugoku Mountains Forestry Academy," we entered the mountains to experience felling cypress trees. We geared up, and each person cut down one tree with a chainsaw. Even though it was a plantation, climbing up and down the steep slopes away from the forest road was tough. While the purposes of entering the mountains—mineral collection versus logging—are different, these are scenes that often appear in "Ruri and the Jewels."
The specialties of each university lab using Nichinan Town as a field are diverse. Each has tried to solve regional problems from their respective fields. This is our third year of involvement with Nichinan Town. On the final day, we held a workshop to discuss the challenges facing Nichinan Town, involving town staff, local volunteers, and middle and high school students. Various opinions were exchanged on how each university team's specialty could approach the problems faced by the forestry/woodworking and agricultural industries, which are major industries in the town. Ideas that could be realized immediately were born, as well as ideas that should be discussed and implemented over several years. It might not be on a global scale, but this too is a social contribution through "independence" and "cooperation" as Ms. von der Leyen mentioned. I have nothing but gratitude for Tottori Prefecture for always providing such a place for practice.
SFC has been promoting high school-university collaboration in various forms to increase the number of high school students who vaguely think, "Being a researcher seems cool." Next, I think it might be high school-university-graduate school collaboration. The "Camp for Designing the Future Follow-up Program (Research Lab Internships for High School Students)," which has been suspended since the COVID-19 pandemic, was exactly an anticipation of that concept. I suppose we should start by restarting that.
Even though summer is ending, it looks like the intense days will continue.
P.S.
My eldest son is a starry sky enthusiast. In his club activities, he also goes out to Chichibu and Itoigawa for mineral collection. Currently, he is hooked on digital telescopes and occasionally sends me wonderful astronomical photos from his training camps, so I'll share a little bit. Looking at the images, I vaguely think, "I hope their generation can honestly make what they love into their job." This is a father's honest feeling.