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Expectations for the Graduate School of Frontier Exploration in Earth and Space

Takenaka Corporation

We expect the interdisciplinary approach spanning science, engineering, and management to cultivate talent equipped with both expertise and flexibility.

Tatsuho SATO

Takenaka Corporation
Task Force on Space Architecture, Technology Division
Leader

* Affiliation and position current as of the time of the interview (March 2026).

COMPANY PROFILE

Company Profile

We are engaged in research and development of space architecture with a high quality of life (QOL) as we approach an era in which not only selected astronauts but also ordinary people will travel to space. By applying terrestrial construction technologies, our design, construction, engineering, and technology development divisions work together to develop design and construction technologies for comfortable, safe, and functional space architecture, with the goal of realizing comprehensive design-build services for clients seeking to conduct business in space.

As a company, what value or appeal do you see in the Graduate School of Frontier Exploration in Earth and Space's approach to talent development?

In business, there is growing demand for practical manufacturing rooted in providing solutions to social issues and new forms of value. Achieving this requires both expertise and flexibility. From that perspective, the Graduate School of Frontier Exploration in Earth and Space, which allows students to learn design, manufacturing, and experimentation in a unified manner with its educational program that integrates science, engineering, and management, represents an optimal educational environment for cultivating interdisciplinary talent capable of combining expertise with flexible responsiveness.

Whether in terrestrial architecture or manufacturing in space, real-world work is wrought with contradictions. Projects must be moved forward while balancing sometimes conflicting factors such as technology, schedule, and budget. We are also attracted by the fact that participation in actual missions will help cultivate this kind of practical sensibility.

What kinds of roles or positions within your company do you believe graduates of the Graduate School of Frontier Exploration in Earth and Space would excel in?

Areas where we expect graduates could thrive include positions in the following divisions:

・Construction Division, Construction Engineering Department
・Engineering Division
・Research & Development Institute

We believe that individuals who have learned about the space sector through project-based work on real missions will be able to succeed anywhere in the construction industry.

What kinds of knowledge and skills would be particularly useful in those roles and positions? Please provide some detailed examples.

・Skills that can be used in the production technology division
Both management and communication skills are essential because the work involves tasks like ensuring safety and schedule management at construction sites, building quality in collaboration with other internal divisions and technical partners, overseeing partner companies, and delivering presentations to clients.

・Skills that can be used in the manufacturing engineering division
An understanding of cutting-edge manufacturing processes and the ability to apply that knowledge to facility design are required.

・Skills that can be used in the technical research division
Particularly in the area of spatial value creation, the work includes geotechnical research and experimentation, precision environmental control research, urban-level environmental analysis using tools like GIS, and support for applying these technologies to actual construction projects. Because the Graduate School of Frontier Exploration in Earth and Space offers project-based education that takes students through the full cycle from design to data analysis, we expect graduates to hit the ground running not only in space-related fields but in construction as well.

MESSAGE

Message for prospective students of the Graduate School of Frontier Exploration in Earth and Space

What makes the Graduate School of Frontier Exploration in Earth and Space so attractive is that, instead of a curriculum focused on a single discipline, it has project-based educational mission that integrates science, engineering, and management. In social infrastructure businesses such as construction and plant engineering, it is necessary to bring together people with a wide range of specialized expertise, so we need people who can fully understand and integrate that expertise and who possess the management skills needed to move an entire project forward. I would be very pleased if students could develop these kinds of basic strengths at the Graduate School of Frontier Exploration in Earth and Space.

Rather than pursuing only one narrow aspect of a laboratory topic, students who understand the big picture—asking themselves why something is necessary—and who acquire broad knowledge related to space through actual missions and projects will be able to thrive both on Earth and in space. Through the education and research offered by the Graduate School of Frontier Exploration in Earth and Space, I hope students will develop strong practical skills and go on to play active roles on the front lines of society.

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