Nagoya University Program for Leading Graduate Schools:
Graduate program for real-world data circulation leaders
Nagoya University Program for Leading Graduate Schools:
Graduate program for real-world data circulation leaders
Top > Past Event Reports > 2014 > 7th Leader Seminar
Seminar 2014.10.02
A Leader Seminar was held on September 26th with Dr. Eisaku Maeda, Director of NTT Communication Science Laboratories, on career planning for doctorate students. During this seminar, Director Maeda answered questions of Program participants, which were prepared beforehand.
Some questions included:
・What triggered you to switch your field to information engineering, and what were the reasons?
・What made you anxious about switching your field of research?
・How did you overcome that anxiety?
・What role should Ph.D. holders play in corporations?
・What kind of people do you look for from your point of view as Director of NTT Communication Science Laboratories? In particular, do you have fields where students in fields other than information engineering, such as biotechnology students, can work?
・I imagine corporations like NTT are planning their business and research activities ten or twenty years into the future. What sources of information do you use to plan ahead?
Director Maeda obtained his Master's degree in cell biology from The University of Tokyo. After joining NTT, he switched his field to information science and obtained his Ph.D. In the first half of the seminar, Dr. Maeda discussed his own career and provided insight into overcoming anxieties, especially when switching fields. His best advance was to conduct research based on personal interests and to attain a high level of research achievements in two or more fields while young. Ph.D. holders are treated as specialists who possess a high level of expertise in specific fields in corporations. However, it is even more important that the Ph.D. holders can adapt to different fields.
In the latter half of seminar, Dr. Maeda introduced books and videos about well-known figures that influenced him. He quoted from Clayton Christensen's book, How Will You Measure Your Life?, by saying "No one, including high achievers, can foresee what one is becoming in ten or twenty years from now." Dr. Maeda enthusiastically spoke of how difficult it is to predict if or when unique research will be successful. He sent a message to the Program participants by saying, "Do not think about the future that is possible; think about the future that should be, and that you want to make it to be. It is important that you are interested in many different fields and keep making efforts."
