No. 10 (September 9, 2016)
Yasu Direct Mail Magazine No. 10 (September 9, 2016)
This summer is particularly hot and humid, and it is continually difficult to sleep in this weather. Are all of you SOKENDAI students spending your time in meaningful ways?
Once you have graduated, I am sure that you will realize how blessed you were?and how important it is?to have a large block of time for learning. I think the summer vacation, in which graduate students have an especially large amount of free time, is a period in which students who were involved in other things during their undergraduate years can return to their pursuit of knowledge, and in which students who were focused on studying can learn from a different point of view.
SOKENDAI students are divided into different campuses with small numbers of students, so each individual tends to be a bit isolated. However, although there are few graduate students nearby, that does not mean the number is zero. Some alumni have become acquainted through school-wide projects like the Freshman Course, as well as Retreats and other projects organized by one or more schools, so I am sure you can make connections with other graduate students. It is also important to forge bonds with young teachers in the same or nearby laboratories. In many cases, the significant influence of colleagues and older students you are familiar with is extremely beneficial in the future. In one sense, it can be said that science is the result of connections between people.
Research is both a physical and mental test, but neither physical nor mental toughness are fostered through studying and research. Therefore, connections between people?as well as sports, recreation, travel, and reading?are of premium importance. Many of SOKENDAI's parent institutes may not have exemplary welfare and sports facilities. I feel that I must request that the people who are responsible for the inter-university research campuses?such as the heads of institutes and departments?work to improve this as much as possible. After all, your time as a graduate student is in many ways a period in which you will build a strong foundation for your future life in research.
Research is not merely the process of focusing on a specific issue and producing results; it must also include the process of fully sharing and presenting these results in papers or books. In these processes, in either case of single or multiple authorship, communication (discussions, information exchange, and joint research) with many people in the surrounding environment is essential, as is support and assistance from these people. In this way, one gains greater objectivity and refinement. Moreover, being able to incorporate your own dedication in some unique way likely enables a different style of working and enhances the level of your message, so I hope you will strive to have this flexibility (another type of foundation).
Nobel Prize winner Dr. Satoshi Omura said, "To build up the strength of young people, they must be around people of a high level. Imitation is not enough." (Note). You are already in a very privileged environment in which you can study at parent institutes, such as Inter-University Research Institutes, where there are many creative people and those of the top level in the world. I hope you will utilize these favorable conditions to grow and become fantastic researchers and people working in research-related positions after you leave SOKENDAI. The vigorous activities of each individual boost SOKENDAI and strengthen the Inter-University Research Institute Corporation and institutions, and also help protect and foster Japanese and global academics. I will provide as much support as I can to that end.
I look forward to your further activities after SOKENDAI.
See you next time!
PS: In Hayama, we have nice views of mountains and the ocean (especially with Mt. Fuji over sea: see Photo-1) as well as Diamond Fuji (see Photo-2) in early April and September. Please visit Hayama Campus frequently.
Note) From "My Resume (6)" (Nihon Keizai Shimbun, August 6, 2016 issue).
Photo-1) Hayama sea just after a typhoon has passed (taken in the evening on August 22, 2016).
Photo-2) Viewing Diamond Fuji from an observatory beside Hayama Campus
(taken in the evening on September 1, 2016).