I would like to report the recent internal and international events in the Graduate School of System Design and Management (SDM).
On March 29, the commencement ceremony was held on Hiyoshi Campus. Two students were awarded doctoral degrees and 49 students were awarded master's degrees. Almost all of the 17 master's degree students without previous work experience found jobs at their chosen companies and have started their careers. I would like to express my gratitude for your support, which has been instrumental in sending our inaugural master's degree students out into society. We welcomed 57 new students into the master’s program and 19 into the doctoral program in our entrance ceremony on April 7. All of the professors at SDM have embraced the challenge of providing the world-class education and research that we offer.
SDM aims to foster international and globally active leaders by adopting comprehensive approaches to design and to manage complex systems. International cooperation and communication in English have been our educational priority since the foundation of SDM, and we have strengthened our relationship with international universities such as MIT in the US and Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.
Since April 2010, we have increased the number of courses taught in English with the support of the Global 30 Program by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Now, international English-speaking students can earn enough credits to obtain a degree. We have recruited a native English speaking Professor, and are offering crash courses from professors in western universities. The contents of the Design Project class (Active Learning Project Sequence (ALPS)), which has been taught in English will be strengthened this year, and we are ready to accept international students. SDM’s activities with international universities will continue in May and onward. We are co-hosting a workshop with Delft University of Technology and co-hosting a workshop with Graduate School of Science and Technology, Keio University at the 2010 Renewable Energy International Conference. We are planning to co-host an international conference regarding flexible management with Stevens Institute of Technology in the US and Indian Institute of Technology in India.
I believe such events are great opportunities for students to communicate with other future leaders and to add to their awareness of and experience in international settings on their quest to become global leaders. I do appreciate your continued support.
Yoshiaki Ohkami
Director, SDM Research Institute
Dean, Graduate School of System Design and Management