The very first corporate seminar of this program was held at Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corporation in Kisarazu, Chiba, on March 4, 2014. I was both excited and nervous as I aspired for a career in corporate research. Through this seminar I learned the importance of obtaining reliable data from past research to understand simulation technique. My understanding about the role of mathematics had also deepened as a result. Furthermore, it was the first time I realized that Asahi Kasei had been active in a number of community services, including the installment of a recycling device for phosphorus discharged into a lake. Not only did I experience the inside of a corporation, but I was also able to witness the passion for research in students from other fields as this was the first time all students in the Ambitious Leader’s pilot program had gathered in one event.

Akio Nitta, first-year master’s student/program pilot student (at time of report submission), Graduate School of Science