Tokyo Tech Academy for Leadership holds opening workshop

Tokyo Tech's graduate-level students, faculty members, and staff celebrated the establishment of the Tokyo Tech Academy for Leadership (ToTAL) with a workshop on September 26, brainstorming the aspirations of the program's inaugural participants and the direction of the newly founded academy.

After a brief opening ceremony, an introduction of faculty and students, and an orientation session covering the offerings of the ToTAL program, the diverse group — representing seven countries and regions — dove straight into a bilingual speed dating-style discussion. Through eight two-minute rounds, participants shared thoughts on individual interests, leadership experiences, societal concerns, and future challenges, quickly developing rapport through open channels of communication.

Each participant then presented to the group the challenges he or she wanted to take on at ToTAL. These included:

• Creating networks to actively share aspirations
• Increasing understanding of cultural differences and communication styles
• Attracting people to the intersection of the humanities and sciences
• Executing global projects that create new value
• Advocating cross-border interactions
• Changing how people view science
• Writing policies that address social issues
• Nourishing symbiotic relationships
• Deepening knowledge of patents and marketing
• Promoting awareness and use of biomaterials
• Building consensus on nuclear waste disposal methods
• Producing unique output that promotes Tokyo Tech

At the welcome party that followed the workshop, participants continued to share ideas on approaches to leadership in different contexts.

What is ToTAL leadership?

ToTAL, established in academic year 2018, is an institute-wide education center and platform through which students with different majors, nationalities, and cultural backgrounds learn to harness leadership skills in integrated master's and doctoral degree programs. Through interdisciplinary curricula that combine the humanities and sciences, students are encouraged to develop their leadership and interpersonal capabilities by planting and nurturing in themselves "three seeds."

In addition to undertaking work required for standard Tokyo Tech master's and doctoral degrees, ToTAL students are expected to complete a rigorous five-year program that culminates in a three-month off-campus project. These projects — planned and organized by the students themselves — can be executed in Japan or abroad. While the current program is intended for Tokyo Tech students only, ToTAL expects to expand availability to graduate students of other universities in the future.

New program based on solid experience

While academic year 2018 marks the first year of the new Tokyo Tech Academy for Leadership, the Institute has been accumulating leadership program experiences for the past eight years. Components of the Academy for Global Leadership (AGL), which was established in 2011 and soon became a government-backed Program for Leading Graduate Schools, will be integrated into ToTAL together with expertise from the Institute for Liberal Arts.

• Tokyo Tech Academy for Leadership (ToTAL)