We have received a report from Professor Kazuhiko Kato, a faculty member of our school, who presented the first meeting of the Research Career Network.
Prof. Kato discussed how he shifted his focus from being a business person to being an academic, focusing on his 10th year in the workforce when he crossed the ocean to earn an MBA at Bond University in Australia, a Master's degree in International Studies at the University of Sydney, and then my Doctorate in Commerce at Waseda University after returning to Japan.
The audience was able to get an idea of what a doctoral degree is and how it can be obtained. Like many, Prof. Kato was enrolled in graduate school as a part-time student (doctoral program) while working for a company. At the time, he was working in the marketing department of the Japanese subsidiary of a foreign IT company based in the U.S., so while busy with teleconferences with the U.S. headquarters and meetings with partners in Japan, he was struggling to find time to present at conferences on weekends and write papers. He shared his thoughts on the topic based on his experiences and honest opinions.
In anticipation of the establishment of the doctoral program at the NUCB Business School, this network will be held as a place for those interested in entering doctoral programs at all graduate schools in Japan and abroad to exchange information. Our faculty members have the mindset and concrete vision to encourage our graduates to obtain their PhDs.