I took a different bus from the one I had taken before, in the direction of the Natural Science and Technology Area and got off at a different place. I am sure that the scenery I will see will change in various ways as I enter this new stage of my career. I will do my best.

I mentioned that I was leaving Faculty of Arts and Science on March 31, but I will actually be transferring within the university in April, and Kyushu University has newly established Data-Driven Innovation Initiative (also known as the DX Promotion Division), which was newly established by Kyushu University. There was an open call for applications, and I wasn’t sure what to do, but my family and the people who have helped me gave me a push and I decided to give it a try, and I was hired. It was not easy to make a final decision, and I kept wondering if I could really do it. Dr.Rin-ichiro Taniguchi, Director of the Learning Analytics Center and Vice President of Data-Driven Innovation Initiative, who has also assisted me in my research, told me that everything would be fine. But I assume Human Resources has a dark side as well….

The new position will be in the Digital Society Creation Division within the DX Promotion Headquarters. I have been engaged in research on learning analytics and educational engineering, but in the context of digital society, I will be integrating not only research approaches in intelligence informatics and data science, but also research in the humanities and social sciences, while promoting research on the ideal digital society, its development, and its implementation in society. The graduate school will also be called the Graduate School of Human Environment Studies. The Graduate School of Human Environment Studies will maintain the same educational technology laboratory as before, so our main research will continue to focus on learning analytics and educational technology. We will continue to advance our research in collaboration with various professors and practitioners both inside and outside of the university. I would like to advance research findings and applications in various fields, not limited to education, and do my best to create a case for the realization of a digital society.

Also, my position has promoted from Associate Professor to Professor. I am now a professor, which is a big promotion for me, and I am very proud of this. However, I intend to carry out research that will make everyone happy in the congenial atmosphere that we have maintained in our laboratory up to now. I intend to have fun.

Thank you for your continued support.