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Messages from the GIGA Program Graduates 2020

In light of ongoing infections with COVID-19 (coronavirus disease), it was decided to distribute a video feed of the Keio President’s commencement and welcome addresses in lieu of holding ceremonies for the September Undergraduate Commencement Ceremonyfor the 2020 academic year.

GIGA students who graduated in September 2020 received their diploma at SFC.

 

Students’ advice and comments for those thinking about applying to the GIGA Program.

  • SFC was an environment where I was able to acquire diverse field of studies. Although I belonged to a seminar that specializes in education and communication, in the past 4 years I was able to take variety of classes such as linguistics, law, and marketing.
  • In SFC there is no fixed curriculum so you are free to choose courses based on your personal interest. It is great for those who don’t know what to learn or your favorite field of research. You can try different things and decide your major later in the third year. Additionally, in SFC you are allowed to join a seminar from the second semester of your first year which is different from other campuses and universities. Taking seminar early will help you find out what you are good at and want to study.
  • Always keep yourself open to new opportunities. Join a kenkyukai as soon as you can, it’s okay to switch around till you find what suits you. Speaking english is a huge advantage for presenting research abroad. Try and go to conferences and get involved in the academic community, you won’t regret it! Grades don’t matter in the long run, but they are very important in getting scholarships – so try your best but it’s not the end of the world if your grades are bad, other opportunities will come around if you are open minded!
  • Don’t be afraid to take classes taught in Japanese, it will be scary at first, but the teachers are friendly and super understanding so don’t worry!
  • I can’t be grateful enough for the fact that SFC lets its students do whatever they want to do. SFC allows my interests to grow into many different directions, and on top of that, the students always have the opportunity to pursue them. I think this is why SFC is very unique.
  • There are a variety of student organizations and clubs in SFC for both Japanese and international students to join. Highly recommend everyone to join at least one club in your first and second year. You can make tons of friends and learn more about Japanese culture.
  • Circle activities are really important for learning Japanese teamwork values. While you may not think they are important for Job Hunting, being a part of circles is often asked as an interview question to determine how much of a team player the candidate is. The dance circles take up a bit too much time in my opinion, but the important thing is to find something enjoyable, that will distract you from the pedestrian nature of academics.

Related link
Keio News
https://www.keio.ac.jp/en/news/2020/Sep/3/48-74897/

AY 2020 September Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony (Video Stream)
https://www.keio.ac.jp/en/events/2020/Sep/18/47-74893/

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Fall Commencement 2019 Sees off the GIGA Program Graduates

On Tuesday, September 17, 2019, the Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony was held in the West School Building Hall at Mita Campus. There were 263 graduates in total, with 68 from the Faculty of Policy Management and 75 from the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies including 28 GIGA Students.

President Akira Haseyama gave a speech referring to Yukichi Fukuzawa’s ideas on human interaction, independence and self-respect, and practical learning. He described the importance of interacting with different cultures and individuals, and the spirit of independence and self-respect in the current situation of the world. He also explained that the application of practical learning will allow the students to be flexible and cope with change. President Haseyama stated that these values and the graduates’ experience at Keio University would forever serve them in their futures and wished them success and active roles in society.

A GIGA student receives his diploma representing the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies

A GIGA student was selected as the Graduate Speaker

A GIGA student who graduated in three years in the Four-year Bachelor’s-Master’s Integrated Education Program

Students’ graduation projects are described below along with advice and comments for those thinking about applying to the GIGA Program.
–If you are planning on applying to the GIGA program, you are on the right track to meeting great people and learning so much more than you could ever imagine. Coming to Japan after living in Guam my whole life was a huge step for me. It was a big change and involved a bit of culture shock even though I am Japanese and had been to Japan many times before. However, being in the GIGA program, I felt a sense of belonging and have made some very great friends. I used to feel confused on how to pick a faculty and study anything from there, but standing here now as a graduate of Keio SFC, I now understand just how beneficial it was for me to have taken classes on so many different subjects. So please, take my advice and open your mind to everything. The knowledge that you will take away from your years at Keio will be so beneficial to your daily life and future.

-The theme of my Graduation Project was U.S. Counterterrorism Efforts and Strategies. My thesis focuses on the threats that the U.S. has faced, how each president has dealt and is dealing with countering terrorism, and the laws that surround this issue. It begins by covering the pre-9/11 period from the late 1960s to September 11, 2001. As 9/11 marked the turning point for how the U.S. dealt and is still dealing with terrorism, part I of this dissertation focuses on the periods before and immediately after the event. Part II focuses on more recent times, following the Bush administration, with the Obama and Trump administrations as the focal point. Part III concludes the paper with a deeper look into counterterrorism law and what laws were put into place in order to explain why each presidential administration or federal agency acted in the way they did to solve the never-ending issue or terrorism. This graduation project concludes with the grim truth that because we live in a world with an impossibility of world peace, terrorism will never cease to exist. For that reason, it is important for each administration to learn from the last and keep national security at its top priority.

–The theme of my Graduation Project is “Authentication for the Web using Behavioral Modeling.” Consolidating methods to provide a comprehensive login system that can accurately determine whether an account login attempt is malicious or benign.

–GIGA provides doorways to many career paths and opportunities. It’s up to you to open the door and seize those opportunities.

–The courses provided at SFC are very diverse, which is perfect for people who want to explore multiple areas or try interdisciplinary studies. My recommendation (to those who are still exploring) is to try everything that interests you in the first two years and try to settle on a seminar in the third year, where you’ll be able to narrow down the scope and eventually find your research topic. Best of luck!

–Looking back at my undergraduate life, I believe my four years in the GIGA Program have shaped me into who I am today. The diversity of experiences and opportunities available in the program allowed me to find who I truly wanted to become.

-SFC taught me that people need to be active and not passive. We always thought about what the problems in our current society were and tried to find the solutions by ourselves. This skill will definitely help us once we start working. Although I couldn’t use it, SFC has the “3.5-year Early Graduation System” and “Bachelor’s—Master’s Four-Year Integrated Education Program,” which reward increased effort.

Related link
Keio News
https://www.keio.ac.jp/en/news/2019/Sep/25/48-63246/