Five students have received the 2022 Tokyo Tech Award for Student Leadership. Awarded annually since 2002 to students in the second, third, or fourth year of their bachelor's program, the award aims to encourage highly motivated students with extraordinary intellect, humanity, creativity, and energy to continue with their studies and work towards becoming global leaders.
Four 2022 Tokyo Tech Award for Student Leadership winners (from left): Fujiyama, Matsumura, Ikeda, Yanagase
2022 Tokyo Tech Award for Student Leadership winner Iwashige
At the awards ceremony held at Hisao & Hiroko Taki Plaza (Taki Plaza) on October 25, four of the students received a certificate and prize for their efforts from President Kazuya Masu, and then discussed their achievements and future plans with the head of the Institute. One of the students was unable to join the ceremony as she was in France attending the International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition (iGEM).
2022 Tokyo Tech Award for Student Leadership recipients and award-winning activities
Yuta Fujiyama
3rd year, Systems and Control Engineering
- Represented Japan as part of Team Leopard with two high school students at RoboCup 2021 WORLDWIDE, a global autonomous robot contest, in June 2021
- Won the RoboCupJunior League Open category at the above contest despite restricted in-person activities amidst the COVID-19 pandemic
I am honored to receive the Tokyo Tech Award for Student Leadership. Since a young age, I have been working hard to improve my technical skills in order to achieve my childhood goal of winning the RoboCup WORLDWIDE championship. Naturally, I have focused on honing my engineering skills through trial and error, but receiving this award has made me realize that I have also unknowingly acquired the skills of a leader who can guide a team to achieve its goals. It can be challenging to lead a group and I sometimes lose confidence, but this award has provided me with plenty of encouragement. I would like to continue my activities with more confidence so that I can be active on the world stage in the future.
Kenya Ikeda
4th year, Materials Science and Engineering
- Despite the cancellation of most competitions due to COVID-19, took on the role of leader at the Kyudo Club and focused on building a foundation for the team and managed club activities with the goal of "forming a team that develops the next generation of archers"
- Was rewarded for these efforts after the generation below him achieving second place at the Tokyo regional athletics meet for public universities
Thank you very much for this prestigious award. I would like to express my gratitude to all those people who have supported me in various aspects surrounding this award. As I reflect on the year in which I served as the captain of the Kyudo Club during the COVID-19 pandemic, I realize that I have learned how to organize a team to solve problems and respond to issues flexibly, and I want to utilize these skills in my future activities and research. I will do my best to live up to the award I have received, and ask for your continued support for the Tokyo Tech Kyudo Club.
Hinako Iwashige
3rd year, Life Science and Technology
As the leader of iGEM Tokyo Tech, an official Tokyo Tech student club, constructed a team that participated in the International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition (iGEM) in Paris while collaborating with external parties, firmly guiding teammates, and maintaining a high level of awareness of the team as a whole
Thank you very much for this honor. I would like to thank my fellow team members, lecturers, and staff for their support in helping me receive this award. When I first joined Tokyo Tech, I lacked self-confidence and often viewed things in a negative way. However, through various group work activities, I have been able to grow as a leader. Particularly during our iGEM activities, times were often tough and things did not go smoothly, but I gained so much from these challenges. In the future, I will strive to apply what I have learned to my research activities. Thank you for your continued support.
Kei Matsumura
4th year, Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Amidst the instability caused by COVID-19, was chief liaison for communication with the Student Support Division for Chor Kleines, Tokyo Tech's choral group and official student club, and was in charge of choir rehearsal halls and training camps
- After working hard to secure and adjust rehearsal space for the choir, represented the Tokyo metropolitan area in the university youth category of the 72nd National Choral Competition, and won the silver prize
I am very pleased to receive this distinguished award. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my peers, and to the Tokyo Tech faculty and staff who have supported me. Amidst the pandemic, we have been thinking about how to keep our choir activities alive. I am proud of the fact that we were able to take over the club and achieve results in an environment where in-person activities were not possible, and which our predecessors did not experience. I am planning to study abroad in France next academic year, and I will make the most of what I have learned through our activities in my future activities and research.
Risako Yanagase
3rd year, Transdisciplinary Science and Engineering
- Leader of the Taki Plaza Gardener (TPG) group, a student-run organization which has provided an open environment that allows students to be active immediately after joining the group
- Despite the obstacles created by COVID-19, guided students representing more than 70 countries and regions, and planned and organized international exchange and other events at Tokyo Tech
Thank you for selecting me as a recipient of the Tokyo Tech Award for Student Leadership. I was not a strong leader in the past, but thanks to the support of those around me, I have been able to gain many valuable experiences, and I am very pleased to receive this award as the culmination of these experiences. I could not have received such an honorable award without the help of the people around me. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all.
Until now, my activities have been focused around Taki Plaza, but I will continue to broaden my horizons so that I do not become a frog in a well that knows nothing of the sea.
