Ritsumeikan Academy
Competency Framework Special Website

I never studied economics before. But now when i got enrolled in Economics, I had to cover a lot of basic concepts. Most of the course was totally new for me. I didn't give up and challanged myself to keep working hard. I wasn't quite satisfied with my grades in 1st semester but I took it as goal to get better grades in 2nd semester. I set goals and timelines to achieve those goals. And I did pretty well in 2nd semester. This is how I think I gained competence in taking initiative and fulfilling them.

When I first got into AISLab, I had to decide which research topic I would work on. That includes learning about my preferences, my abilities, and my future goals. I made the plan and proposed it to the professor, and received some feedback; the whole process involved me being very proactive in defining the tasks and goals. I reflect on that goal constantly to keep everything on track. I achieved 2 papers published after one year in the master's program; I think it mainly reflects how I took the initiative.

Over the past year at the Intelligence Computer Entertainment Laboratory, I've grown significantly in my ability to set and pursue goals independently. During our lab seminars led by my professor, I consistently pushed beyond assigned tasks. I began proposing my research ideas, designing experiments, and working late into the night to see them through. When faced with setbacks or unexpected results, I didn't give up. Instead, I adjusted my approach and kept going. This self-driven attitude led to several breakthroughs in our game AI projects. My initiative caught the attention of my peers and my professor, who encouraged me to present my findings at a conference. This experience taught me the value of self-motivation and perseverance in academic research.

As a student pursuing a doctoral degree, we were required to think proactively, identify problems around us, and propose effective solutions. Being a Doctoral Student automatically positioned me as a "senior" student in the laboratory, making it essential to become a role model that students from other levels could look up to. With limited time and the high expectations of producing novel research, I often had to take the lead in starting discussions and setting clear goals right from the start. When discussing research topics with my professor, the conversation dynamic shifted from directives like "You should do this to obtain this" to more collaborative conversations such as "What do you think we should do to obtain this?" this kind of approach consistently challenged and strengthened my initiative mindset.

I am currently pursuing my PhD, and throughout my research, I have faced numerous challenges, including many failed experiments. Living abroad and dealing with the pressures of research, along with concerns about the future, has often left me feeling frustrated. During these difficult times, I have been fortunate to have the unwavering support of my professor, assistant professor, and administrative staff. Their encouraging words and moral support have been invaluable, helping me navigate my research and motivating me to achieve my goals, making life in Japan much easier.

I learned that without taking the initiative and dedicating time and effort towards something you want to achieve; you won't ever succeed. I learned to sacrifice short-term gains and pleasurable activities (e.g. wasting time watching TV/YouTube, playing video games, hanging out with friends) for meaningful pursuits, such as my PhD, my job, and the skills I wanted to work on. If you want to achieve something, you just have to work hard at it, every day, and you have to give up the things that would otherwise take up that time.

In APU there are a lot of group projects and group projects can either break or make friendships. I had to initiate the group to do things that they may seem not interested in. Giving constant reminders, initiate meetings, set a goal and set a schedule for the team. All these teamworks are tiring but it made me hone my leadership skills. I got the opportunity to get out of my comfort zone to initiate discussions and be a facilitator. I can safely say managing people is one of the hardest things to do. I had a really bad experience for my marketing class last semester where I had to talk on a lot of leadership roles when it is a group project where everyone is supposed to also take their own fair share of initiatives. However, in the end with much patience, continuous push the team managed to do well and I got an A plus as my grade. I am truly grateful for it.