#final lecture

March 18, 2026: I visited Kyoto University for the first time in a while to attend the final lecture of Professor Tetsuo Kitani, who has been teaching Innovation Management Science (IMS) and will be retiring this March. I had the opportunity to hear highly insightful perspectives on the challenges of fostering entrepreneurship in Japan, grounded in his many years of practical experience. Professor Kitani is an old acquaintance of mine, and I have fond memories of delivering a lecture at Kyoto University at his request on the global expansion of Japanese Monozukuri culture.

The Growth Strategy Headquarters of Kyoto University, newly established to integrate the functions of research outcome utilization and fundraising, seeks to create new value by serving as a strategic interface between the university and society.

March 15, 2026: I attended the final lecture of Professor Takahiro Ohno of the School of Creative Science and Engineering at Waseda University, who will retire this March.

The lecture was held at the Ibuka Memorial Hall at the Waseda University International Conference Center. Approximately 450 people attended the lecture. Every seat in the hall was taken. It is rare for this hall to be filled to capacity, which shows how highly Professor Ohno is respected.

It was a wonderful lecture filled with the spirit of Waseda. As Professor Ohno said, Waseda graduates absorb the spirit of the university by singing the alma mater, which has been sung for more than 100 years. In striving to realize ideals for the happiness of people, the first verse emphasizes innovation, the second globalization, and the third diversity.

After the lecture, a grand celebration was held at the Rihga Royal Hotel Tokyo, attended by more than 300 alumni.

Professor Ohno is a leading figure in the field of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering in Japan and a highly respected leader with great personal integrity. Since my student days, he has supported and guided me both professionally and personally.

I had a wonderful time reconnecting with many familiar faces.

This class has given me a lot of insight on the profession outside of a classroom setting and for that I am extremely grateful. This class being required by first years instead of third years is a good move. I feel much more prepared for the kind of work companies expect of me and how to spend my next three years preparing an appealing portfolio and resume.

I found the two day a week class layout a good digestible way to teach the class. I didn’t feel overwhelmed with information or that I was wasting my time during any of it. I also found the lecture content very interesting. I particularly liked talking about contracts and how construction documents are made and what they look like. This was all very practical knowledge that I will remember when I leave school. I do think the final assignment should be split up into smaller assignments to be done as we discuss contracts. It was a good assignment but I feel that I would have gotten more out of it had I been exposed to it over a longer period of time. We also could ask questions in class on better ways to find this information.

The guest lectures were relevant and went over a wide range of career paths this degree can open up to us. I felt that a lot of the people we spoke to had Harvard degrees so it was a bit disappointing to not have many outside that school. I would have liked to have spoken to more people in the public/nonprofit realm. It was a very interesting and different perspective that I really enjoyed listening to.

Lecturer: now very few of you have had a tutorial with me before so this is how they tend to go

Lecturer: I set some work that I expect people to engage in and contribute to

Lecturer: the students invariably fail to do so

Lecturer: I get very passive aggressive with the lack of participation

Lecturer: and in the back of my mind I start to regret the various life choices that ended me up in this position

Lecturer: so that's what we're doing today :)

Lecturer: that's a tutorial

Lecturer: *you* chose this

Lecturer: we could have had a summary lecture

Lecturer: or we could have had a pub quiz

Lecturer: where we all brought some drinks and summarised the material that way

Lecturer: but 90% of you chose this tutorial

Student at the back: awwh :(

Lecturer: I know :(

Lecturer: but you were being *responsible* at that point *shrug*

...

Lecturer: (after handing out mock exams)

Lecturer: Feel free to talk to your neighbour

Lecturer: don't do that in the exam

Lecturer: but lets have 10 minutes to replicate real exam conditions, and then go through it together

Lecturer: *opens youtube*

Lecturer: *starts playing Pressure*

Song: *finshes*

Crafts were good! I was a little over optimistic about what all we'd be able to get done, so I still have a lot of stuff sitting in a corner waiting to be turned into pumpkins or something. Whatevs, it'll be there and I can use it to give myself more sanity later.

Today is my last lecture. Last lecture of nursing school. I can't even feel excited about it because I am JUST SO TIRED. And so strapped for cash. I started donating plasma, there are a couple of donation centers that pay for it and that's what I'm doing. I kind of feel lame and morally questionable by getting paid for this but... Ugh. Not going down that rabbit hole.

I administered my first suppositories the other day. Word to the wise, double-glove it. (I did, no horror stories here, but I can only imagine...) There were two suppositories to give and the patient was obese and I couldn't visualize their anus. Oh man. I have no idea who that was more awkward for.