Job description (entire company, your department, etc.)
The company as a whole is a leader in Japan and the world as a manufacturer of complete vehicles. We are involved in many other businesses besides manufacturing and selling automobiles. The Environment Department is considering "strategies for the environment for the future" as part of the environmental initiatives set forth in the "Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050. In the Accounting Department, we are discussing how Toyota should be carbon neutral in the future, for example, in terms of both timing and cost, based on mid- to long-term management strategies and profit plans.
How does your study at Shibaura Institute of Technology apply to your current profession?
At the Laboratory of Materials Science for Energy and Resources (now the Laboratory of Resource Recycling Engineering), Professor Tsuyoshi Arai, I was conducting research to separate, recover, and recycle rare metals from urban mines. What I learned here is extremely important in considering the environment in my current work. When considering the recycling of batteries, the design concepts I learned in materials engineering and the concepts of recovery and reuse of nickel and cobalt for battery cathode materials are directly applicable, and the schedule management and system construction and management are also very useful in my current work efforts. In addition to the direct knowledge I gained from the Team Birdman Trial, I also learned the importance of collaboration, which I am now applying to my current work.
What are you actually doing as a cross-disciplinary society, or what do you need to do to cross-discipline?
In the construction of a recycling-oriented society and system, it is necessary to have knowledge of the environment and the ability to consider environmental impacts and factors. However, in a society, it is not enough to be good for the environment to realize a business, so it is necessary to think across many fields, including materials, resources, chemistry, manufacturing, and economic factors, in addition to the environment. I have been continuously working in environment-related fields since I was a student, and furthermore, I believe that it is in the area of cross-disciplinary thinking that I can see the environmental efforts and conditions in other countries through my overseas experience, as well as understand and think about environmental measures and profit. If each of these experiences is considered a "point," the ability to connect the dots to form a "line," which is the direction we are aiming for, is truly the strength of cross-disciplinary work.
Message to Shibaura Institute of Technology Students
We hope that you will challenge yourself in many things and try your best to do what interests you. Your experiences, including your failures, will help you in the future. It will also help you to understand yourself through your experiences, which is good food for thought about your future career path and work. I think it is a good idea to think of working abroad as part of your experience and to actively consider language study and study abroad. Finally, treasure your friends. They are your most valuable asset.