Japan’s
Keio University launches Graduate
School of System Design and Management
New
school inspired by MIT/ESD’s
SDM program
January
3, 2008
To
celebrate its sesquicentennial (150th)
anniversary in 2008, Keio University
will launch its new Graduate
School of System Design and Management
(SDM) in April of this year. Patterned
after MIT’s highly successful
SDM program, the school’s goal
is to educate engineers to be more
capable of designing and managing
highly complex systems in a rapidly
changing environment.
Keio
University is Japan’s oldest
and one of its most prestigious private
universities. It was founded in 1858
in Edo (now Tokyo) by Yukichi
Fukuzawa, whose vision to help
awaken Japan after centuries of isolation
defied established norms by creating
a system of modern education and research
. Fukuzawa believed that Japan's only
choice for catching up with the West’s
technology and social organization
was to "always strive for progress
and enlightenment, and provide the
academic and moral education needed
to create a generation of wise and
capable leaders."
Today,
Keio University continues to provide
intellectual leadership that addresses
the issues facing Japan. And Fukuzawa’s
contributions are still revered by
Japanese society, as evidenced by
the 10,000 Yen bill, which prominently
features his portrait.
Preparations
for the new school are nearing completion
and include construction of a new
campus building, curriculum development,
and the hiring of 12 professors with
significant experience in system architecture,
design, and management. The first
incoming class of 77 master’s
students and 11 doctoral students
has been selected. Most students have
both a strong academic background
and significant industrial experience
in product and system development.
In
terms of curriculum development, Keio’s
SDM program was inspired by, and is
closely patterned after, MIT’s
System Design and Management Program.
Similar to MIT’s SDM, Keio’s
graduate curriculum in system design
and management follows the “V”
model of systems engineering.
In the early part of the program (on
the left side of the “V”)
students are immersed in systems architecting
and system design. The latter part
focuses on effective management of
large scale systems and projects as
well as on operations (on the right
side of the “V”). An important
part of Keio’s program is not
only technology, but also concurrent
consideration of the management and
social aspects of innovation. The
program’s vision is to provide
a “melting pot forum for fusion
of different generations, fields,
social status regardless of educational
background”.
In
terms of international engagements,
Keio’s SDM program will maintain
strong linkages with other universities
that are leaders in systems engineering.
As part of this international exchange
and collaboration, Prof.
Olivier de Weck, Associate Professor
of Aeronautics and Astronautics and
Engineering Systems, will teach a
project-based product development
course together with Prof.
Kosuke Ishii from Stanford University.
“Japanese
students are extremely hard working,
collaborative, and eager to integrate
their knowledge from multiple disciplines
into a working whole,” said
de Weck. “Keio University is
leading the way in Japan with this
first-of-a-kind program in system
design and management.”
Keio’s
SDM program is led by Prof. Yoshiaki
Ohkami who maintains strong ties to
MIT, where he spent the 2005/2006
academic year as a visiting professor
in the Field Robotics Laboratory in
the Department of Mechanical Engineering,
hosted by Prof.
Steven Dubowsky.
Professor
Ohkami's association with ESD includes
attending ESD functions, various interactions
with inidividual faculty members and
a visit to ESD as a member of a delegation
from the Japan Aerospace Exploration
Agency (JAXA). In addition, Pat Hale,
Director of MIT/ESD’s System
Design and Management Program, delivered
a keynote presentation for a symposium
held as part of Keio University’s
21st Century Center of Excellence
Program, sponsored by the Japan Ministry
of Education in 2004.
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