Messages from current students and graduates
MESSAGE FROM CURRENT STUDENTS ?
The appeal of the Faculty of School of Business is that you can find your own learning style. I learned about the essence of corporate activities through a company's supply chain*.
I chose to major in Department of Business Administration in School of Business because I had always been interested in the field of business. Moreover, having been involved in sports throughout middle and high school, I was also interested in sports management and team management, and I thought that studying business would be useful in the future.
First, I studied the fundamentals of business administration from various angles until my second year, and then in my third year, I began studying "supply chain management," which was a new discovery for me. I am still continuing this in Professor Takeda's seminar, and after researching it, I found that it is indispensable for corporate activities. Being able to learn its essence through practical experience, such as projects with people from companies and input from the professor, has been very meaningful for me.
The most memorable experience was a six-month collaborative project between industry and academia with a company that supports the logistics of a certain foreign-owned food and beverage manufacturer. The theme we were given was "How to create a supply chain that ensures high customer satisfaction."
I visited actual stores and warehouses that manage vegetables, and observed the logistics firsthand at the point of product delivery. This allowed me to get a real feel for what specifically satisfies customers. Finally, I presented my research findings to the person in charge and received a positive evaluation, which boosted my confidence.
What I want to convey to everyone is that the appeal of our faculty lies in the fact that you can deepen your learning from the basics to practical application throughout the four years. In the first year's Management Fundamentals course, you can learn thoroughly through lectures, but you can also learn in a fun and practical way through a game-like format that makes it feel like you're actually involved in running a company. From the third year onwards, there are a wide variety of seminar options, so it's easy to find what you want to do, and I would say it's really recommended for people who want to master their studies.
I encourage you all to find a learning style that suits you in Aoyama, a hub of cutting-edge trends. And don't just focus on studying; sometimes venture out into the city and experience all sorts of things!
Daiki Tsuji
Daiki Tsuji
Department of Business Administration
The appeal of Department of Marketing lies in its practical and hands-on programs taught by a diverse range of professors.
What image comes to mind when you hear the phrase "university lectures"? In Department of Marketing where I belong, in addition to basic lectures, we have many practical classes from the first year, such as group work and presenting projects in collaboration with companies. These kinds of programs are one of the attractions of Department of Marketing and have greatly changed my image of university lectures.
I decided to aim for Aogaku when I was in junior high school. I learned about Aogaku through its ekiden (long-distance relay race) team, and after taking the entrance exam, I entered the high school division. When I was deciding which university to attend, I was strongly drawn to the field of "marketing" within School of Business, as it allows me to connect with people's hearts, and I decided without hesitation to Department of Marketing.
Marketing is actually a very profound field of study. I feel that by learning it from an academic perspective, I can acquire skills that can be applied to my future work. One of the attractions of Department of Marketing is that you can learn from professors with diverse areas of expertise, gaining knowledge from various angles. In lectures, there are plenty of opportunities not only for input but also for output, which I think is an ideal environment for solidifying knowledge.
For example, in the "Marketing Workshop" I took in my second year, we worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to consider how to promote American products in Japan. Also, in "Marketing Theory," we learned from real-world company case studies, gaining valuable experience in understanding the essence of marketing.
I am currently a member of Professor Tsuchihashi's "Consumer Behavior" seminar. Up until now, I have studied marketing from a corporate perspective, but from now on, I would like to deepen my learning by focusing on the consumer purchasing process and the changes in people's psychology within that process, and by focusing on "people."
Everyone! I believe that studying marketing will significantly change your perception and perspective of the world you see. Why not consider studying marketing at Aoyama Gakuin University?
Reina Date
Reina Date
Department of Marketing
MESSAGE FROM GRADUATES ?
What I gained from the seminar is the ability to communicate using numbers and grit (the power to persevere), skills that are still useful in my work today.
Actually, I attended Aoyama from elementary school, and influenced by my older sister, I played the trumpet in the brass band from elementary school through high school. At the time, I seriously thought I would make a living from music and wanted to go to a music university. But I ended up failing the entrance exam, and along with that, my passion for music cooled down. So I decided to go back to my roots and study normally at Aoyama Gakuin University, and that became the beginning of my serious studies.
So why did I choose School of Business? Well, that's also related to music. When we held concerts, the attendance was always incredibly low. With the soccer club or baseball club, we could attract a lot of people, even those who weren't normally interested, but nobody came to watch our concerts. Seeing that, I vaguely wondered how we could get more people to come, how we could revitalize the club, and that's when I realized it was all about marketing.
The diverse curriculum of School of Business is what makes it so enjoyable. In the first two years, you learn the basics through lectures, and in the third and fourth years, you study specialized subjects, and that knowledge gradually develops within you. For me, the process of digesting and absorbing each assignment and the content of each class suited me very well.
Also, my experience in Professor Tsuchihashi's seminar was very significant. I joined his seminar because I was interested in consumer behavior within marketing theory, which is based on consumer psychology. There, I not only pursued and mastered specialized academic subjects, but I also feel that I gained GRIT (the ability to persevere).
In my first year, I worked on a group paper presentation with about five people in my seminar, and experienced the disappointment of failing at an inter-university research presentation. In my second year, I wrote my own full-fledged graduation thesis. I feel that these experiences gave me the strength to persevere and never give up, no matter what.
Actually, after graduating from Aogaku and starting a job, I had some thoughts and decided to go to graduate school at another university. After gaining experience there, I joined Shiseido in 2018. At the company, my job involves data science, data analytics, and essentially reporting on various challenges faced by the brand team using data. Specifically, this might involve analyzing what kind of purchasing path customers of a particular brand are likely to follow to become loyal customers, or predicting the market size of cosmetics for the next 10 years based on past trends and demographics in the cosmetics market. Furthermore, I use X-data to create agents with personalities and memories by employing various statistical methods, and then conduct qualitative and quantitative research on them, for example, "people with children in the lower grades of elementary school," and analyze the results.
The statistics I learned in my seminar are incredibly useful in practice here. When I speak with numbers instead of just words, I feel like I can communicate on an equal footing at work. I really feel that what I learned in that seminar is paying off in my current job.
When I was in university, a student in the same seminar was from Hokkaido, and she said that the area around Aoyama was an incredibly stimulating place for her. Seeing the city change year after year, I've come to realize that there are marketing influences there as well, and I've come to feel that the area around Aogaku is indeed a "secret" place.
I believe that many students at Aogaku are those who cherish their interests, build their individuality, and break out of their shells to forge their own careers. Just observing the changes in Sibuya due to development and the frequent changes in advertising in Omotesando is incredibly educational. To all of you who are about to take on new challenges, I encourage you to cultivate your careers through the management experience at Aogaku!
Kyosuke Sugata
Kyosuke Sugata
Graduated Department of Business Administration in 2013.
Shiseido Co., Ltd.
Market Information Department
School of Business offers many "learning stages," and all of them are things that will be useful once you enter the workforce.
I chose to Department of Marketing because, ever since I was a child, I've dreamed of making many people smile as a marketer in the food industry. I decided to enroll in Department of Marketing because I thought I could learn both marketing and business administration there.
Among the many curriculum options, I often find myself realizing that the foundational subjects I studied in my first and second years, such as "Marketing Theory" and "Basic Accounting," provided knowledge and skills that I can now apply in practice, especially now that I'm in the workforce.
From my third year, I joined Professor Takeda's seminar. In the seminar, we collaborated with logistics companies, allowing us to learn through practical experience and providing opportunities to visit their factories and logistics warehouses. In particular, being able to learn about logistics and supply chains from scratch was an extremely valuable experience.
Currently, I work in marketing at Asahi Breweries, Ltd., and it is thanks to what I learned there that I am able to work in collaboration with the logistics and production departments from a broad perspective. In addition, the experience of collaborating with companies in my seminar, as well as taking Professor Kamesaka's "Securities Investment Theory" class and Professor Miyazaki's "Sports Management" class, allowed me to acquire diverse knowledge during my time at university. This broadened my options during my job search and has been a great asset in my actual work in society.
I envy the current students, as I'm sure they'll have many fascinating classes to take. I often hear from friends who have graduated from other universities that "there aren't many places where you can learn as broadly as Aogaku 's School of Business." For example, securities investment theory is often covered in College of Economics, and apparently there aren't many universities where you can learn about supply chains and accounting in such a broad way. At Aogaku 's School of Business, you can not only learn a wide range of fields systematically, but if there's a topic you want to study in more depth, you can also specialize in it and research it in a seminar. I'm realizing once again what a fortunate learning environment I had.
I myself dedicated myself to practicing six days a week in the men's volleyball club at the university's athletic association while also striving to balance my studies and part-time job, and I was able to receive an academic excellence award in the Faculty of School of Business. Looking back now, the experience of pursuing both academics and athletics over those four years is a great asset to me.
After joining Asahi Breweries, I spent three years in business-to-business sales before transferring to the marketing department. I then worked on the "Smart Drinking" brand, and currently I am in charge of the "Asahi Zero" non-alcoholic beer-flavored beverage brand.
Through promotions such as events and commercials, we are constantly striving to find ways to encourage customers to take action and say, "Let's try it!" and leave with a smile on their face saying, "It's delicious!" We would be delighted if you would pay attention to Asahi Zero when you see it in restaurants, stores, or in commercials.
The library at Aoyama Campus was recently renovated, wasn't it? It's huge, and the collection of books is extensive; I really envy the environment. I hope that all the younger students will make full use of the fortunate environment, including the campus location and surrounding area, and enjoy not only their studies but also various experiences such as club activities, extracurriculars, and part-time jobs.
Aogaku 's School of Business offers an environment where you can challenge yourself with a wide range of studies and numerous opportunities to broaden your potential and choices. We encourage you to find your own goals and dreams, enjoy yourself to the fullest, and have a fulfilling university life.
Masaki Yamaguchi
Masaki Yamaguchi
Graduated Department of Marketing in 2021.
Asahi Breweries, Ltd.
Marketing Division, SmartDri Marketing Department
The words that made the biggest impression on me were, "The very act of being alive, the way you are, is advertising itself."
When I was in high school, I was impressed by how sports can bring people together while watching a World Cup match. Hoping to do something with sports as a starting point, I envisioned a future in sports business and majored in School of Business. After graduating, I got a job at a J-League club team, which was my dream, and now I work at the Nippon Foundation Parasports Support Center to realize a diverse and inclusive society through sports.
I felt that School of Business not only allowed me to gain a wide range of knowledge, but also offered many options for my studies. Professor Yasuhiko Kobayashi's seminar on "Advertising Theory" was a place where free presentations and exchanges of opinions were accepted, and I was able to gain a perspective on society as a whole and the ability to foresee the future. I remember his words, "The very act of being alive, the way you are, is advertising itself."
In Professor Junichi Miyazaki's "Sports Management" class, people active in the field of sports business, manufacturers, sports teams, media sports stations, etc. are invited as guests each time, and I was able to hear "real-life business" stories such as how they faced and solved difficulties and challenges. This helped me understand the skills and abilities needed in the field and was very helpful in deciding my own career path.
During my time at university, I worked as a staff member for the All Japan University Football Federation, where I was responsible for running the soccer league. I would put what I learned at university into practice in the field, and if I failed, I would go back to what I learned and put it into practice again. It was a daily cycle of feedback and compensation.
What I learned through these activities is that an organization cannot function if everyone is unique, and that a facilitator is absolutely necessary to bring together people with unique characteristics and further develop their skills. And I feel that this is the role that is most needed in today's diverse world. The value of having an abundance of options, and the diverse talents of my classmates who shine through their tireless efforts in these situations. The role of facilitator, which I developed in the favorable environment of School of Business, is what I now consider to be "my way of being."
?
Noriko Kageyama
Graduated Department of Business Administration in 2010
Nippon Foundation Parasports Support Center
Promotion Strategy Headquarters Project Leader
What helped shape who I am today were the goals and experiences I had in the seminar, which was to "surpass the past."
Looking back on my student days, the most interesting thing was Professor Nakauchi's seminar. As we studied business strategy and organizational theory, the seminar had the concept of "surpassing the past." Whether it was a graduation thesis or a presentation, I worked hard with my classmates, knowing that I had to create something that surpassed my previous seniors and my past self.
What made me want to participate in Professor's seminar was learning about business case studies such as "The 100-Year War Between Coca-Cola and Pepsi" in the Business Strategy Introduction course in my first and second years. I've always loved history and read corporate histories and documentaries, but the case studies that Professor introduced were like detective novels, with plot twists and turning points leading up to the final conclusion. I found them fascinating and wanted to learn more.
The seminar mainly consisted of group discussions after reading a casebook that contained examples of successful and failed corporate management. The operation itself was left to the students, so it was an environment where they could simultaneously input and output what they learned in organizational theory. I found it rewarding and enjoyable to serve as the seminar leader. The students in the seminar were also friendly with each other, so we often had dinner parties after the seminar.
Currently, I work in a trading company-like department at Canon, and recently there have been more opportunities to start B2B businesses in Japan together with overseas manufacturers from Taiwan, China, and other countries. What I learned in the seminar at the School of Business has been useful in terms of what kind of leadership is required when multiple organizations work on business as one team, how to communicate, and how to manage.
What I want to tell my juniors is not to assume what they can do. During my university life, I met many different people and environments, and I was passionate about many things that I had never thought about before. Through these experiences, I feel that the number of things I can do has increased dramatically. I hope that you will take on various challenges, not just in your student life.
?
Rin Yamakawa
Graduate Department of Marketing in 2021
Canon Marketing Japan Inc.