Graduate Course in Design and Media Technology

Interviews with Students

Interdisciplinary experience gained in graduate school will be an asset for the future.

FUKASAKA Mizuki

During my undergraduate years, I was enrolled in the information course of the Faculty of Science and Technology, where I studied computer graphics technology, information and communication technology, programming technology, and other computer-related topics, as well as probability statistics, Fourier analysis, and other mathematics. I also participated in an on-campus company, which is an initiative within the Faculty of Science and Technology, and worked on the development of IoT devices. There, I was in charge of producing software related to communication control between devices and functional control in general. The company I was a member of was small and I was not involved for a long period of time, but it was a fulfilling time for me.

When I entered university, I had planned to go on to graduate school. When I was assigned to a laboratory as an undergraduate, I enjoyed the research activities there and felt that I wanted to continue them for a longer period of time, which was the primary reason for my decision to go on to graduate school. Before entering graduate school, I was concerned about whether I would be able to continue my research activities and produce good results, but the support I received from the university and the laboratory, as well as the advice and cooperation of my seniors, helped alleviate my concerns.

Undergraduate study was centered on acquiring a variety of knowledge while taking classes, but in graduate school, the focus is on conducting independent research on a theme of one's own choosing. Although undergraduate students also engage in graduation research in their fourth year, I think the major advantage of graduate school is that students can engage in more advanced and full-fledged research activities.
In addition, there are many activities that are conducted jointly with people in other fields of expertise, such as collaborative productions in class and joint research in the laboratory. In these activities, communication and management skills are often tested, such as communicating one's own ideas in an easy-to-understand manner to people in other fields, and planning and organizing projects, and one can feel one's growth every day.

Currently, I specialize in research on image analysis and computer vision. My main focus is on interdisciplinary research, including joint research with the field of neuroscience on the relationship between periodic movements of the human body and neural activity in the brain, and joint research with the field of biology on the analysis of cellular images. Because research is conducted on real-world subjects, there are many times when experimental results do not turn out the way I had envisioned, but I find great joy in improving and overcoming such problems.

After entering a doctoral program, I plan to become a university faculty member. I would like to make the most of my past research activities in the doctoral program, and I am convinced that the interdisciplinary experience I gained in graduate school will be of great use to me in my subsequent activities as a researcher.

I believe that those who wish to actively acquire problem-solving skills and know-how not only in the classroom but also through research activities should definitely consider entering a graduate school or doctoral program. Various supports such as scholarships and tuition exemptions are available to support your study. It would be a waste to end your research activities after only one year, so I would like you to consider this as an option.

※Interviewed in December 2022.