This year, the III/GSII is celebrating the twentieth anniversary of its founding. As part of a series organized to mark this occasion, a Kick-off Event was held on the afternoon of June 20th. This online webinar also inaugurated “Open Lab Week”, held from June 20th to 27th. The contents were received by up to 233 people, many of whom were prospective applicants to the GSII’s degree programs.

The Last 20 Years and the Next 20 Years
In his opening address, Dean Koshizuka spoke about the history and significance of the III and GSII, specifically their foundation in response to the already rapidly developing information environment twenty years ago and their adaptation to the ongoing changes since then. He then outlined his vision for the institutions’ next 20 years.

Introduction to the Programs
The event continued with introductions by the directors of each of the GSII’s degree programs. There are currently six such programs: Socio-information and Communication Studies (SCS); Cultural and Human Information Studies (CHIS); Emerging Design and Informatics (EDI); Applied Computer Science (ACS); Information, Technology, and Society in Asia (ITASIA); and Biostatistics and Bioinformatics (BB).

Professor Niwa introduced SCS as a program that seeks to “understand an increasingly complex information society from diverse perspectives”. Professor Sakura described CHIS as “an intellectual jungle” emphasizing the problematization of disciplinary boundaries and the integration of “center” and “periphery”. Professor Yamanaka gave a direct demonstration of the EDI Program’s aim to integrate technology and art with the hand-drawing of a spiral image representing the 20-year history of the III/GSII. Speaking for the ACS program, Professor Rekimoto emphasized the importance and inevitability of interdisciplinary research in order to solve contemporary programs in the light of the recent information technology revolution. Speaking in English, Professor Hayashi pointed out the ITASIA Program’s strengths as a place for learning in accordance with global academic standards while promoting “diversity elevates academic”. Representing the GSII’s most recently established program, Professor Oba introduced the BB Program as a place for the training of specialists in the new field of biostatistics, providing details about the career paths of the program’s graduates.

Minitalk and Q&A Session
In the final part of the event, the speakers answered questions from the online audience. Examples of the questions received are the following: “What is your most memorable research achievement?” “Is it possible to combine study and work?” “Is there support for international activities, such as writing theses in English?” and “How do you want the III/GSII to develop in the future?” In response to this last question, even though each speaker gave his or her own unique response, aspects of a common vision did emerge. Professor Hayashi spoke of the need to increase diversity, including among the faculty. Professor Rekimoto said that he wanted to see full support for “outlandish people” who break the mold. Professor Sakura stressed the importance of the “power of youth” and hoped that students would take the lead, while Professor Yamanaka invoked the Bauhaus School as an example of the kind of historical legacy to which the III/GSII should aspire.

A Word from Professor Niwa
As the event’s lead organizer, Professor Niwa left the following comment:
“The first ‘Open Lab Week’ – held in the 20th anniversary year of the III/GSII’s founding – was a great success, despite the tumult of the Covid-19 pandemic. The online webinar turned out to be very much true to the image and style of the III/GSII, as an institution devoted to celebrating and exploring the new and exciting. Please look forward to our continuing series of anniversary events.”

Text: Maki Suzuki (Project researcher), Eunbyul Ahn (PhD student)
English translation: David Buist (Project senior specialist)