Policy Making and Social Innovation(PS)

Cultivating Leaders Embodying the Principle that Knowledge Demands Action

SHIMIZU, Yuichiro
Professor, Program Chairperson

The PS Program produces qualified professionals who can generate innovative solutions to social issues and drive change. Program participants strive to turn knowledge into impact by addressing real-world challenges through extensive fieldwork, drawing on existing knowledge and using action research and various other methodologies.

Climate change and energy transitions, development and coexistence, poverty and inequality, technology and ethics, aging populations and sustainability--the issues we face today defy solutions through conventional approaches limited to individual policy domains, businesses or government. Their solutions involve incorporating multifaceted dynamics and competing values. To develop solutions that improve people's wellbeing, efforts are underway around the world to design resilient social systems and adaptive institutions and services.

Building on these initiatives, our Program collaborates with a wide array of organizations, including government agencies, to create policy in its broadest sense. We foster transformative innovation through policymaking, that is, creating new value that integrates social and economic systems, technology, and other interconnected domains.

As ICT accelerates the diversity, complexity, and interconnectivity of our world, local solutions must be rooted in global awareness, and economic and technological frameworks must be informed by social and cultural insights. In this Program, we transcend disciplinary boundaries with more than 25 faculty members across diverse fields, including policy studies, politics, economics, and sociology. With us, you will create the synergy that fosters innovation and shapes a better future through research and hands-on projects.

Affiliated Academic Projects

List of Academic Project

Faculty Members

Member List（PS）

Possibilities after Graduation

The PS Program fosters students' creative energy to tackle real-world issues while helping them develop practical skills in utilizing IT and other essential resources. We also nurture future entrepreneurs. Graduates go on to pursue diverse career paths in international organizations, developmental consulting firms, national and local governments, private think tanks, venture capital firms, investment advisory groups, financial institutions, journalism, educational organizations, human resource development, career support services, NPOs/NGOs, and entrepreneurial ventures.