[No. 225] Mariku Kimoto

I am deeply honored to have this opportunity to contribute to the Keio University alumni column. First, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Professor Issei Fujishiro for guiding me through my doctorate.

I came to Keio University as an international student for my master's course through the double degree program. Born and raised in France, I attended a grande école called École Centrale de Nantes and was able to study abroad at its partner institution, the Graduate School of Science and Technology at Keio University. After being selected for the Leading Graduate School Doctoral Programs, I proceeded directly from the master's program to the doctoral program.

I then left the Leading Program to start a venture, but I did not give up on my doctorate. During my student years, I juggled both my academic studies and my business.

After gaining experience at several early-stage ventures, I am now an Engineering Manager at SORACOM, INC. In Japan, I go by the name "Mariku Kimoto," and Professor Fujishiro came up with the ateji (phonetic characters) for my name.

After graduating from high school in the Jura region of France, I moved to a local city because I was good at mathematics and spent two years in the Classes Préparatoires, majoring in mathematics. In the French higher education system, the Classes Préparatoires are preparatory schools that students must attend for two years to prepare for the entrance exams for the grandes écoles. After passing the exam, I entered a grande école called École Centrale de Nantes.

Until then, my life had been a path of going where my upbringing and grades dictated, without making any decisions for myself. From that point on, things were different.

There were many international students at École Centrale de Nantes, which inspired me to start studying Chinese and Japanese. As luck would have it, I ended up sharing a dormitory room with a Japanese man. Thanks to him, I was able to further my Japanese studies, for which I am very grateful.

At that point, I decided to leave France, which I had grown tired of, and go to our school's partner institution, Keio University.

Incidentally, while I was a student at École Centrale de Nantes, I had a part-time programming job (web programming and an analysis program for diagnostic imaging in renal scintigraphy). This made me want to study computer science further and pursue research in information visualization, so I decided to contact Professor Fujishiro's lab. Fortunately, Professor Fujishiro accepted me.

I am often asked why I chose Japan. At the age of 20, I had heard that "Japanese people are diligent," and I thought that a culture of diligence would suit me better.

I applied to the Leading Graduate School Doctoral Programs, hoping to earn an income as a research assistant. I had saved up my scholarship money in France by living on a food budget of just a few euros a week to study abroad, but at the time, the cost of living in Tokyo was several times higher than in rural France, and I was prepared for my savings to disappear quickly. If I hadn't been accepted into the Leading Program, I planned to get some kind of part-time job, but luckily, I was accepted. Incidentally, when I was about to run out of money, a staff member from the Keio office shared some food with me and helped me out. I am very grateful for that.

Thanks to the Leading Program, I was able to earn a stable income and focus on my studies for a while. I got along well with all my classmates in the lab, which allowed me to move on to the next step in my career without any worries.

Because I was interested in medicine, I chose the research theme of Computational Forensics. I was also allowed to attend forensic autopsies, which was an experience I would never have had otherwise.

Through connections I made at academic conferences, I got my first job in Japan. From there, I became involved with several early-stage IT ventures. Next, at a medical venture called Symax Co., Ltd., I was involved in the development of the Internet of Things (IoT), where I was able to work with technologies at every layer, from hardware design and manufacturing to device firmware and cloud software development. It was very stimulating and new. Above all, I found the most joy in creating things that were valuable to customers.

At that point, I ran out of time and had to leave the Leading Graduate School Doctoral Programs, but I continued with my doctoral studies. I hoped to somehow manage my research in between my work.

I then joined the founding team of a company called Epig-Know, Inc. as Chief Technology Officer (CTO), where I was responsible for providing systems to hospitals, system development, customer interviews, organizational growth, and hiring engineers.

For my Doctoral Programs, I changed my research theme from Computational Forensics to the visualization of astronomical spectroscopic data. I proposed a visual programming environment for spectroscopic data analysis called AFLAK, and thanks to Professor Fujishiro and many collaborators, I was able to obtain my PhD.

After that, wanting to continue balancing my corporate work and academic pursuits for longer, I served as a visiting researcher for two years after graduation. However, my work at the company became increasingly busy, and unfortunately, I had to step away from research.

Currently, I am a Senior Engineering Manager at SORACOM, INC., which provides an IoT platform. I love the mountains and split my time between Inawashiro Town and Tokyo. I hope to contribute to the development of systems that form the essential foundations of human society, such as healthcare and infrastructure.