How serious is Fujitsu's "commitment" to developing and nurturing its doctoral talent?
The first person to ask a question during the panel discussion was Professor Masaki Satoh of the Yokohama National University SRL (affiliated with the University of Tokyo). After highly praising Fujitsu's initiatives to cultivate doctoral talent, such as the "Fujitsu’s WISE (World-leading Innovative & Smart Education) Doctoral System for Mature Students"(Note 1), he posed a question that probed the corporate "level of commitment" not just to development, but also to the active roles and careers for this talent: "What are Fujitsu's thoughts on career plans for researchers after they obtain their doctorates?"
Seishi Okamoto answered, explaining Fujitsu's stance of respecting researchers and supporting their careers: "At Fujitsu Research, we expect doctoral talent to thrive as research professionals. We are creating a system where each researcher can aim high while maintaining their own principles. While we understand if someone leaves, because they can't pursue what they want at Fujitsu, there are also cases where people leave and then come back. It is our job to create challenging themes and environments." And emphasizing Fujitsu's "commitment" to talent development, Naotaka Saimei, the Head of Research & Development Human Resources Division, who was in the audience, added, "We prioritize the researcher's own career ownership. Our alumni community is also well-established, and if someone who has gained experience elsewhere wants to contribute to Fujitsu again, we can always provide a place for them to succeed."
In addition, Vivek Mahajan delivered a powerful message about the importance of human resources, stating, "The core technologies that support Fujitsu's future depend on its people. Technologies like AI, computing, and quantum are only made possible by doctoral talent and researchers in fundamental academic fields such as mathematics and physics."
This message made a strong impact on the university professors. High expectations were expressed by Professor Sato, the original questioner, who commented, "That was a very insightful explanation. I hope the SRL will develop as a prototype for industry-academia collaboration and have a major impact." We also heard from a participating mathematics professor who said, "The professor sitting next to me and I were both delighted at the response, saying, 'This is a comment that will encourage the mathematics and physics communities.'"
Moreover, Professor Keisuke Fujii of the Osaka University SRL expressed his hopes from the perspective of the university-company relationship, stating, "A system like this, which understands the need for doctoral talent development, could change the way job hunting is done. It would be beneficial for both sides if students could gain sufficient research experience at university before joining a company."
(Note 1) Fujitsu’s WISE (World-leading Innovative & Smart Education) Doctoral System for Mature Students is a program where Fujitsu partners with universities, recruiting promising masters’ students who, upon mutual agreement after interviews and other discussions with Fujitsu, become Fujitsu employees (working professionals) while pursuing their doctoral studies. This allows them to receive a salary while remaining at the university and simultaneously engaging in research for their doctoral program and work-related research at Fujitsu.
