I attended “Message to Next-Generation Leaders,” an event hosted by Kyoto University Leading Program on February 19, 2014. We were inspired to think about leadership in the 21st century through talks given by Prof. Barbara Kellerman, who teaches leadership theory at Harvard, and other corporate speakers. As opposed to the past, where leadership existed in the form of authoritative domination, modern leadership can be now be challenged by ordinary people. The basic concept of a leader is never fixed, and modern-day leadership seems to demand more consideration for followers. This has provided me with an opportunity to think in depth about what sort of “Ambitious Leader” I should aim to be in the future.

Kura Chiharu, first-year master’s student/program pilot student (at the time of report submission), Graduate School of Chemical Sciences and Engineering