ICT Innovator Course
Masterʼs Degree Program

Graduate School of Information Technology,
Kobe Institute of Computing
Department of Information Systems

Into the KIC Diversity
Our Diverse Environment

where students from over 80 countries* and territories create a collaborative learning environment.
We are living an era when not only company employees but also fresh graduates opt
to enroll in professional graduates in order to sharpen and upgrade their skills tomatch the new business opportunities.
So far, many employees in both the private and the government sectors in various
parts of the world have successfully completed the Innovator course at KIC andfound valuable opportunities with their new skills.
Wouldn't you like to be like them and rapidly broaden your knowledge in the ICT
sector and consequently gain higher value as a human resource? KIC diverse environment is the place where you can achieve your ambitions and reach your targets. The
language of instruction and guidance of the Innovator course at KIC is English, but
you will have the opportunity to use other languages while chatting with ourstudents from 64 countries and territories.

*as of April 1st, 2022. Including short-term training.

Acceptance from African countries

1
2 Republic of Angola
2●
3 Republic of Uganda
2●
4 Arab Republic of Egypt
1●
5 Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia 17●
6 Republic of Ghana
4●
7 Republic of Cameroon
1●
8 Republic of Kenya
8●
9 Republic of Cote d'Ivoire
4●
10 Republic of Zambia
2●
11 Republic of Djibouti
1●
12 Republic of Zimbabwe
2●
13 The Republic of the Sudan
3●
14 Republic of Senegal
3●
15 Federal Republic of Somalia
1●
16 United Republic of Tanzania●
19
17 Republic of Tunisia●
1
1 People's Democratic Republic of Algeria●

2
19 Federal Republic of Nigeria
8●
20 Republic of Namibia
1●
21 Republic of Niger
1●
22 Burkina Faso
1●
23 Republic of Botswana●
9
24 Republic of Madagascar 2●
25 Republic of Malawi
9●26 Republic of Mali●
2
27 Republic of South Africa 5●
28 The Republic of South Sudan 2●
29 Republic of Mozambique 10●
30 Kingdom of Morocco
5●31 Republic of Rwanda●
42
32 Kingdom of Lesotho
2●
33 Republic of Sierra Leone 1●
34 Republic of●1

Acceptance of ABE initiative studuents ：26 countries

1

Kobe Institute of Computing

34

18 Republic of Togo●

students *as ofcountries

177

students

1730*as of

1

26

4

21

14

1, 2019

13

11

22
19

9
33

6

5

28

7

3

18

15

8

31
16
2

25

10
12
20

23

27
1, 2019

32

29
24

Message

Why do you learn ICT?
Is it for yourself in order to make your living? Thatis fine, but we believe you could achieve much morethan that. KIC's motto is "Social Innovation by ICT
and yourself," which means you come up with ideas
for solving issues in your society utilizing ICT, andtake leadership in implementing these solutions foryour community, for your country for society as awhole. We believe technology should be used forsocial good, not for evil.
In order to achieve this, every KIC student learn"Tankyu Practice," our original method to findissues, come up with solution ideas, and improve theideas through verification processes. Students from64 countries have learned this method and found itvery useful.

Graduate School of Information Technology, Kobe Institute of Computing
PRESIDENT / PROFESSORSUMITANI, Toshiki

ProﬁleCompleted a masterʼs degree in physics from the Graduate Schoolof Science, University of Tokyo
Visiting Professor at the Kenichi Ohmae Graduate School ofBusiness (Business Management, Problem Solving)
Managing Director of the Learnnet Global School

By learning Tankyu Practice, you are more likely to
succeed in your projects.
KIC has more international students than local Japanese students, which is very unique as a Japanese
university. Highly motivated and talented students
from various countries learn from each other, as well
as from our experienced faculty members.

Let's learn together, explore (TANKYU)
together, grow together, and contribute to
the realization of a sustainable society
We provide learning opportunities to students of ICT skills andknow-how to utilize ICT to solve social issues. It is indeed the mostsought-after fundamental abilities that modern society is requiring for.
For that purpose, it is crucial to carry out self-improvement withinterest in the latest technology daily and to hone the curious mind of"why?"
Above all, it is necessary to take these as "jibingoto (Your Issue)" andtake the initiative to take on the challenge of solving problems.
Let's learn together, explore (TANKYU) together, grow together, andcontribute to the realization of a sustainable society.
ProﬁlePrior to assume current position, served as Senior Advisor, Director for ICT at JICA.
Program Manager at the World Bank.
A member of Internet for All, WEF.

Graduate School of Information Technology,
Kobe Institute of Computing
VICE PRESIDENT / PROFESSORNAITO, Tomoyuki
Kobe Institute of Computing2

Educational Concepts
山路を登りながら山路を登りながらSocial innovation by ICT and Yourself
山路を登りながら

The Power of“Tankyu Practice”

To be active as
an engineer who
has ICT skills

Achieving goals in the realworld through the repetitionof hypothesis testing.

“3 Skills”
and“2 Images of Human
Resources”
in KIC
Know-how, Skills,
and Development
experiences of ICT

To be active as abusiness leader who
can make the bestuse of ICTʼs talents

Ability of utilizing
ICT more eﬀectively
for business andsolving problems

The master's course program
which increases your value as human resources, and broadens your active ﬁeld
Kobe Institute of Computing (KIC), Graduate School of Information
Technology, is an educational institution aiming to produce experts
who have ICT skills as well as business skills. At KIC, you will acquire
expertise necessary to introduce services and solutions utilizing ICT for
education, medical services, industry, agriculture, ﬁnance, and manyother ﬁelds. You will be able to support governments, companies, aswell as individuals. We are living an era when not only company
employees but also fresh graduates opt to enroll in professional graduates in order to sharpen and upgrade their skills to match the new
business opportunities. Many ambitious foreign students from diﬀerent
background including companies and national governments in theworld have joined our program. It is advantageous environment toactively acquire business senses and communication skills required forthe global market in the future.

3

Kobe Institute of Computing

Technical College
Business college

InternationalCollege

You will learn and practice the 3 elements.

KICʼs original “Tankyu Practice” program

which is based on the problem solving procedures from world-famous consulting ﬁrms
Our program targets,■“Tankyu” chart (A hypothesis of Problem solving/Value creation)
1. Find social problems by yourself,
Providing additional values
The awareness of problem
2. Improve and utilize your strength,
3. Practice system development in real-world, try to
How do you change?
solve problems with testing the hypothesis over and How dissatisfactions do you try
How values do you provide
to solve in the present situation?
for people who beneﬁt?
over.
You will acquire the expertise of adopting the methods
and behavior patterns necessary for solving social probThe necessary things for making values
lems through practical training. Our “Tankyu Practice”
was ﬁrst adopted to innovation programs at home and The sources of money The skills/know-how The human resources
abroad; but in recent years, training programs at internaThe human resources
The providers and
The skills and know-how
tional agencies have also started utilizing it. There is anfor providing values
reasons(nominal)
for providing values
increase in its value as a method of ﬁnding a solution toa given problems.
■Flow chart of “Tankyu Practice”

Setting problems

Testing the hypothesisby 3 points of view

1

Testing the hypothesis

Does it make users to be pleased?
Do the users who get services use it
satisfactorily, and realize the value of it?

山路を登りながら

Planning a hypothesis

Testing the hypothesis

2

Does it have originality?

Does it have superiority of cost performanceand something compared with the existing
services or future services which will be
expected to provide?

Testing the hypothesis

3

Does it make the accounts to show a proﬁt?

Does it make even up accounts?
Whatʼs the plan of accounts in each ﬁscal years?
What risks and solutions does it have?

Do■Curriculums
By teachers who have enough business experience

Covering from Social Development (ICT4D) to Venture Business

Teachers who have long business, development, and management experiences in ICT and Electronics ﬁeld prepare and deliverlectures starting from the foundation stage.

We train the human resources to be able to decide what things
are necessary for a speciﬁc solution of a social problems and forproviding new services through utilizing ICT.

You will learn the principle of computer and application operation through OSS innovative teaching materials, and then try tosolve problems through project for study activities.

Experienced teachers who are well versed in variety of problems
deliver lectures that include practical activities from case studies,
excises, projects, and prototype development.

ICT ﬁeldAI

IoT
Cloud Computing

Big Data

Smartphone App
Web Development

Business and Social Development ﬁeld

ICT for
ICT for Disaster ICT for Urban Social
Agriculture Prevention Development Development
Business Analysis

Requirements Analysis Business Modeling

Kobe Institute of Computing

4

Image of Human Resources and Activity Fields

To contribute as both engineer and leader combined in one person who has high-level skills
We train human resources on a wide spectrum of skills ranging from system development to sustainable management. Regardless of
your current major/study, you will obtain the know-how and experience on diﬀerent subjects covering the foundations and advanced
subjects in ICT and management in the 2 years you are enrolled at KIC. *(The system allows an extension for this period up to 4 years).
KIC graduates are considered human resources with diﬀerent applicable images including 'ICT Specialist', 'ICT Architect', and 'ICT ProjectManager'.

■The image of human resourcesHigh ICT technical expert

ICT Specialist

ICT Architect

ICT Project Manager

The human resources who can analyze
the needs of users and have the skills
and know-how about utilizing ICT for
creating and developing Application,
Software, Product, and Service.

The human resources who can deﬁne
ICT solution and System requirements
based on strategy, combine the mostsuitable technologies to design wholearchitecture.

The human resources who canmanage projects and carry out tasks
such as planning, performance
analysis, and result evaluation to steer
the project to success.

■The places for employment and promise of employment in recent years■Nomura Research Institute■The Japan Research Institute■Kanden System Solutions■Japan SGI■YAHOO■ NTT Software■ NEC Personal Products

■Sky

■SONY

■ NTT COMWARE■ NEC System Technology■ JR WEST IT SOLUTIONS■ SRA■OGIS-RI■ SonyEMCS■Nissei Information Technology■Mainichi Communications■TRI-AD■YAMATO SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT

etc...

To be active as a leader of coming change and business entrepreneur
We train ICT human resources who can plan solutions to social by utilizing ICT and further implements their solutions and help in solving
problems in cooperated by ICT technicians.
We welcome students from developing countries and Japan who aim to contribute to the world welfare and who have various visions
to be enrolled in our programs. Al courses at KIC are oﬀered in English and this means that you can broaden your active ﬁeld to become
the whole world.

■The image of human resourcesHigh ICT utilizing expert

Business Innovator

Process Innovator

Social Innovator

The human resources who can planbusiness strategies such as marketingand production, and create newservices and business chances byutilizing ICT. And the human resources who can steer the business reform
to success as a leader.

The human resources who cananalyze user requirements andbusiness problems, and improve thebusiness process by utilizing ICT. And
the human resources who can steer
the process improvement to successas a leader.

The human resources who canresearchandanalyzesocialproblems, and architect a new
infrastructure by utilizing ICT. And
the human resources who can steer
the reform of social infrastructure to
success as a leader.

■Organizations and careers of KIC students who are active in the world after completion
Japanese students

International students●Middle East Embassy: Staﬀ in Japan●International Organization: Staﬀ in foreign●Think Tank of IT ﬁeld: Consultant

5

Kobe Institute of Computing

etc...

●Administrative organ:
Africa liaison oﬃcer in Japan●Ministry of ICT: Assistant Engineer in Asia
●Ministry of Mines and Petroleum:
Engineer in Middle East

●Urban Development Corporation:
Urban Environmental Designer in Middle East
●Ministry of Finance: Staﬀ in Africa●Air Company: Supervisor (Finance) in Africa●IT Company: Software Developer in Africa

etc...

FinTech
FinTechRetailTech
RetailTech

金融
Finance

小売り・
Retail物流

× ×
ICT ICT× ×
ICT ICT

AgriTech
AgriTech
Agriculture
農業× ×
ICT ICTInﬁnite chances
×Techで∞に広がる活躍のフィールドof active involvement for persons by “X-Tech (Cross Tech)”
×Tech（クロステック）とは既存産業とテクノロジを組み合わせて、"X-Tech(Cross Tech)"means trying to generate new values,
新たな製品やサービス、
services,
products ... by価値を生み出そうとすること。
combining technologies and existing
KICではあらゆる産業でICTの開発や利活用を実行できる
industries.
汎用性の高いスキルを身に付けることができます。

At KIC, you will acquire the skills necessary to master ICT development and utilization in all industrial ﬁelds.

EdTech
EdTechTransportTech
TransportTech

教育
Education

交通
Transport

MediTech
MediTech

LegalTech
LegalTech

医療Medical

法律
Legal

× ×
ICT ICT× ×
ICT ICT× ×
ICT ICT× ×
ICT ICT

AdTechAdTechAdvertisement
広告× ×
ICT ICT

GovTech
GovTechGovernment
政府× ×
ICT ICT

Kobe Institute of Computing

6

Course Oﬀering* The Course Oﬀerings may change in the future considering educational eﬀects.
* All class of ICT Innovator Course are conducted in English in principle.

Foundation Subjects

Core Subjects

Foundation of Computer Systems

Linux Applications

In a civilized society, as human intellectual activity increases, more information is generated. How to eﬃciently
collect, organize, and use this information depends on how
well the computer system is used. This lecture aims tounderstand the basics of the hardware elements that makeup a computer system as well as the network and operating system and software to use it. At the same time, we
introduce computer systems used in various situations
today, and consider future usage forms and availability.

Fundamentals of Computer Programming
Programming is the foundation of every other subject in
ICT. By becoming proﬁcient in programming, students will
be able to actively participate in projects involving systemcreation. Programming is also necessary for testing ideas,
constructing and maintaining networks and servers, and inmany other areas. The course ﬁrst reviews the fundamentals of procedural programming through experimental
exploration, using the dynamic, interactive, object-oriented Python.

Fundamentals of Database Systems

This course covers database design and use in applications.
It does NOT cover the design of database engine design.
The course begins with a description of the relationalmodel and continues to cover SQL statements. There will
be a programming project which covers database design,
management, and utilizations. In this projects students
show the skills they acquired in the course. SQLite(http://sqlite.org/) is the database engine accompanying
this course. It has been selected for its ease of installation,
popularity, and support for diﬀerent platforms.

Fundamentals of Software Engineering

Software is playing an increasingly important role in theevolution of ICT systems. However, developing software ontime, on budget, and on target is very diﬃcult. Manysoftware projects fail or end with challenges. This classprovides a comprehensive and interdisciplinary learning
opportunity for software practitioners to solve various
problems in software projects and ensure their success.

Fundamentals of Information Networks

In this course, students learn concepts, schemes, features,
structures and behaviors of computer networks. Learn the
protocols from the physical layer, the network layer, thetransport layer, and the application layer, and understandhow the Internet and network applications are working.

Engineering Ethics

Engineers are part of the society hence need to reﬂect the
ethical standards of the profession itself while working
with others which categorically includes resources withtechnical and non-technical background. This course will
enlighten the students regardless of their major with thestandards Engineers need to comply in a nontechnicalmanner hence compatible to all disciplines. The course willbring in on the ground ethical issues with an invitation to
open discussion within the time frame and deliverables toaccomplish.

7

Kobe Institute of ComputingThis course is a Linux primer for beginners. Unlike Windows
and Mac, Linux users can enjoy its full performance byusing various commands including shell and ﬁlters.
Also users should understand the model of process,memory, ﬁle system of Linux. This course will provide aknowledge and skills of using basic Linux commands andalso a basic idea of the internal structure of Linux.

Web Application Development

This course introduces the way the web operates and thedesign of web applications using the popular programming languages Java and JavaScript. It starts with an
introduction to the HTTP (and maybe FTP) protocol andnamespace of the web, and then continues to cover thedesign of web web application for the client side (HTML,
CSS, and JavaScript) and server side (Java). The course also
covers the deployment of web applications in Apache
Tomcat HTTP server. The course includes a project tocomplete by its end.

Data Structure and Object Oriented Programing
This course introduces the students to the Object Oriented(OO) paradigm in general and to the data structures usedin it. It is NOT intended as an introduction to programming.
The course utilizes the popular programming language
Java to introduce the concepts of programming in OO andthe implementations of diﬀerent data structures in it suchas the arrays, lsists, queues and trees. The course serves asa base for any developer who intends to use Java indeveloping web, mobile, and desktop applications.

IoT Development

IoT (Internet of Things) is an important area of programming for both developed and developing countries, which
belongs to the general ﬁeld of embedded systems, also
called dedicated computers. It can help solving a wide
range of technical and social issues. Some examples
include wireless sensor networks for remote data collection or disaster prevention, RFID for inventory control,
human body sensors for remote medicine etc. When
compared to common PCs, IoT and embedded systems
use diﬀerent hardware and software platforms, and to usethem require understanding of special concepts like direct
hardware I/O (input-output), interrupts, real-time control,cross-development environments etc. By ﬁnishing thiscourse, the student will be able to recognize opportunities
of eﬀectively using IoT systems to solve ICT4D issues, andto propose and initiate projects, based on concrete experience with working with such systems.

Information Security

In this course students learn basics of information security,
in both management aspects and technical aspects.
Students will understand of various types of security
incidents and attacks, and learn methods to prevent,detect and react incidents and attacks. Students will also
learn basics of application of cryptography which are oneof the key technologies to implement security functions.

山路を登りながら山路を登りながら
Project Management

Today, various projects are undertaken from softwaredevelopment to providing social services. In this class, thestudents will learn the fundamental concepts of project
management from both managerial and technical aspects
through lectures. They will also learn how to apply the skills
required for project managers through group discussions
and exercises.

Advanced Software Development

This course serves as an introduction to Cloud Computing
environment. It is designed to show how diﬀerent technologies are used in to realize Cloud Computing and how to
use this environment for hosting web applications. This
course implements PBL as an instructional approach. It
includes several practical activities on building a Cloud andon utilizing Cloud services provided in the public domain.
The course also introduces a project on designing anddeploying an application in the Cloud.

Advanced Information Network

In this course the students study the advanced technologies for constructing and operating computer network on
the Internet infrastructure. The aim is to gain an understanding and knowledge of the Internet technologies. The
course consists of lectures along with the layered network
technologies that are the essential structure of the Internet
technologies and changing of them in future. The lecturescontain the content about the link technology, IP/TCP/UDP
technologies, some network applications and investigation how they are changed in future.

Software Development Experiments

This course includes a number of exercises that require thestudents to use the skills and knowledge they acquired tocomplete. For each exercise, a problem description isprovided and every student is required to design,
prototype, and test a solution. At the end, the students, ingroups or individually, will have to work on a system thatinvolves all the prototypes developed in the earlier exercises. This course DOES NOT include lecture slides, the lecture
time will be spent on developing the requirements andwriting code. Each student is required to complete bothdesktop and web applications in the programming
language he/she is comfortable with.

Requirement Analysis and Design

This course intends the students to comprehend allprocesses of information systems, and to understand the
upstream processes, requirements deﬁnition, and systems
architecture design, using case study. According to a casestudy,class begins from receiving the RFP(Request for
Proposal).

Information Network Exercises

The students expeience the technologies for constructing
and operating computer network and communication
functionalities in programming. The aim is to gain anunderstanding and knowledge of the Internet technologies. The course consists of workshops along with the IP
technologies on routers that are the essential technologyof the Internet. Moreover, students will experience how to
employ communication function on the Internet in theirprogramming, such as Socket and HTTP.

Requirement Analysis and Design Experiments

This course intends students to acquire the practical abilityof knowledge and technique on "Requirement Analysis"and "Architectures Design" by practicing through playing
rolls of acquirer and supplier. Each member belongs to ateam, and the team will play the rolls either acquirer andsupplier in the class.

Core Subjects (Tankyu)
Tankyu PracticeThis course will cover the concept and process of “Tankyu
Practice”, which is the basis of the whole ICT innovator
program. Students will identify social issues in developing
countries, build possible solutions, verify them from threeperspectives, and make presentations on the solution
ideas in group work settings.

Speciﬁc Theme Study A

This subject is taught in research activities. Students will
have the opportunity of ﬁnding a research subject topursue. The topic selected during this course will be
continued in the 2nd year in “Speciﬁc Theme Study B”.

Speciﬁc Theme Study B

Using the Tankyu practice framework and based on theknowledge & skills learned in Speciﬁc Theme Study A,
students work on their research project to design andimplement the proposed system. Finally, the result issummarized as masterʼs thesis and is presented in the ﬁnal
presentation.

We oﬀer other various courses
Practice of Creativity Development
International Development Cooperation
ICT for Developments
Urban Planning
ICT Business Development
ICT Business Exercises
ICT4D Project Exercises
ICT4D Special ExperimentSocial Development
Leadership Development Exercises
International Development Cooperation
Public Relations

etc..

*Course oﬀerings are subject to change inconsideration of educational eﬀectiveness.

Kobe Institute of Computing

8

Main Faculty Members

MARKON, Sandor

SHIMA, Hisato

PROFESSOR

ProﬁleBudapest Technical University, Department of Electrical Engineering,
Doctor of Engineering (Kyoto University).
ICME Society councilor, IEEE full member.

MessageI can say with conﬁdence from my experience at companies, research institutes,
and at the university, that the shortest way to enter the IT world is by “making
things” with our own hands.
Here the “things” are not limited to physical devices, but also include softwaresystems and services; the important thing is, to make something that actuallyworks and is useful to people.
It will, of course, require a variety of knowledge and skills to make things, butpeople who have the drive to speciﬁc goals, rather than vague study, will makefast progress. It is always more eﬀective to search for knowledge that will be used
to solve the issues needed to create something.
Another important point is that youʼll need to love these techniques. For example,
my area of teaching responsibility is programming, and if I were not liking it, Iʼmsure I would feel it a very boring work. Having to remember countlessconventions and rules, exposed to a severe world that do not allow even one
letter of mistakes, it would be nothing more than pain.
But for me, programming is also a hobby, and it is also a way to reach a powersurpassing the “ﬂesh and blood” thinking ability of the human mind. For thatreason, it becomes fun to learn a new programming language, and ﬁghting
mistakes in a program (“bugs”) becomes a challenge like solving a puzzle.
The educational system at our graduate school is designed to support suchlearning. Students learn a systematic knowledge in lectures and exercise courses,
but they get the chance of such “making things” in the “Special Theme Research”
that leads to the masterʼs thesis. This is a too important opportunity to be passed
over, I sincerely recommended that you leverage it fully. Both the outcome thatyou reach, and the road how you reached it, will become the treasure of a lifetime.

as needed.

PROFESSOR

ProﬁleMaster of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering, Osaka University, Japan.
Master of Science in Computer Science at Stanford University, USA.
Engaged in the development of home network products
and related industry standards at Sony Corporation.
Member of IEICE, IPSJ, IEEE.

Message
Understand the background of technology
If you just learn a new technology as knowledge, you can only use it as it is. Since
the progress of technologies are very rapid, the latest technology learned in thegraduate school also will eventually become obsolete.
It is important to understand the background of the technology, and how various
challenges been resolved. By doing so, when you face a new challenges, you will
be able to design a new solution by applying the knowledge you have learned.
Prosperous world using the network technology
In recent years, equipment and devices work together and people communicate
with each other by using network technologies.
Network applications, such as Web Services and SNS, etc. has become commonplace. The combination of smartphone and services on cloud enables us todevelop a new innovative service easily.
On the other hand, security and privacy of the computer networks have become
an issue. These negative impact should be minimized using the appropriatetechnology.
IT technology has been developed to enrich the lives of people. By providing new
functionalities and convenience, a new business can be created.
I expect students to challenge the new possibilities by studying in our graduate
school.

ITO, Mamoru

OKUDA, Ryosuke

PROFESSOR

ProﬁleM.S. in Instrumentation Engineering, Kobe University, Japan.
Engaged in the development of information and communications devices,automotive software, CAD/CAE systems and so on at Panasonic Corporation.
Member of IEEE, PMI®, PMAJ, and the Society of Project Management.
Certiﬁed as PMS (PMAJ) and PMP® (PMI®).

Message

Be a professional engineer
We can say that professional engineers are those who will grasp market demands
properly and be able to realize the demands in a realistic manner. However, theengineers cannot meet various market demands only by use of their own
technical knowledge and skills. It is important for us to share our wisdom andexperience with the people of the world and think logically and with ﬂexibility inorder to achieve customer satisfaction. Letʼs work together to aim to be a true
professional engineer.
Create Innovations
If market demands are clear, we can obtain customer satisfaction by developing
products according to the demands. But the market demands are actually
becoming vague and ambiguous more and more. It is required by society not to
wait for requirements of customers but to create new values by innovations thatmove the customers. ICT is a powerful tool to create innovations. Please join us tocreate innovations with courage.

9

Kobe Institute of Computing

PROFESSOR

ProﬁleBachelor's degree and Ph.D. degree in electronics engineering, Kyoto University.
Joined Mitsubishi Electric Corporation in 1990.
Involved in R&D of semiconductor products, including design automation,
SoC for mobile phone and digital TV, and embedded software for MCU and DSP.
Joined the Graduate School of Information Technology, Kobe Institute of Computing in 2015.

MessageI have found engineering to be diﬃcult through my experience of working in theindustry for 25 years. New technology may become more conventional according
to a change in social and industrial needs. Therefore an engineer should be readyto change his or herself according to the change in society and markets. In orderto do so, I think it would be very important to have a general technologicalknowledge as well as knowledge in a specialized ﬁeld.
Have an interest in all matters, please spend your student days meaningfully.

YAMANAKA, Toshiyuki

TSUCHIDA, Masayuki

PROFESSOR

PROFESSOR

ProﬁleProﬁle
PhD, International Public Policy, Osaka University, Japan.
Master of Esoteric Buddhism, Koyasan University.
Master of Business Administration, Business Breakthrough University, Japan.
Master of Philosophy, University of Cambridge, UK.
Bachelor of Law, University of Tokyo, Japan.

MessageLetʼs gather to innovate the societies through ICT
I believe that KIC Innovator course is a wonderful place where many leadersgather to innovate the societies through ICT. I am going to deal with not only withpractical skills but also ethics in my lecture. I experienced a very diﬀerent culturein Egypt at the age of 23, as a diplomatic trainee, when I lived with an Egyptianfamily. There was a huge gap between the rich and the poor, about Islamic
culture, and the way of thinking of Arab people. Even though I had already lived
with an American host family for a short time, the experience in Egypt aﬀected
me to a great deal. After the career at Ministry of Foreign Aﬀairs and a consultancy. I started my own business. I have visited more than 90 countries and discussed
various issues such as innovation, leadership and global issues with global
leaders. I look forward to meeting you.

Ph.D. in knowledge science
Japanʼs national certiﬁcation: Professional Engineer (IT),
Small and Medium Enterprise Management Consultant, Career Consultant
Bachelor and Master degrees in Applied mathematics and physics,
Faculty of engineering, Kyoto university.
Joined Panasonic Corporation, and researched design automation CAD systems at R&D section.
Moved to Human resources development section,and in charge of MOT (Management of Technology) and engineers training in Panasonic Group.
While working for Panasonic,
got a doctoral degree from JAIST (Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology).

Message

In the rapid evolution of ICT, Developing or mastering new ICT is important, andmaking use of it eﬀectively to help society is also important. It is required to createcustomer values or social values through developing business or solving social
problems using technologies eﬀectively.
It becomes more and more important to understand both “ICT” and “value
creation”, and to move action of (1) value creation using existing ICT, or (2) new
ICT development for customers or social value creation. I expect you to think
deeply about them and get the skill and knowledge of developing new businessor new technologies.
I would like to try to research about “value creation using ICT” with lab members,
through learning the way of thinking about value creation as well as mastering
ICT.

LUKUMWENA, Nsenda

HIRAISHI, Teruhiko

PROFESSOR

Proﬁle-Born in the D R Congo. Received the degree of architect and Master in
Architecture, Institut du Bâtiment et Travaux Publics, DR Congo.
-Master and Ph.D. degrees in urban planning and design, city planning andregional development from Osaka University, Graduate School ofEnvironmental Engineering.
-After working with a few architectural ﬁrms, in Japan and abroad, established
own architectural, design, planning and consulting ﬁrm-designatelier-da in2010 in Ashiya.
-Taught architecture design at Kwansei Gakuin University for 15 years before
joining KIC.

Message

KIC is multicultural environment and a place of passive encounters that are likely
to bear transformative eﬀects on each and everyone, and more importantly on
students whose two years may feel long at start and short as we approach to endof the cycle.
Whether you are familiar or not with urban planning and smart cities you all will
be able gain and to further extend your knowledge into how transformativetechnologies such as ICTS will help shape eﬃciently cities of tomorrow̶SMART
CITIES. My familiarity with experiential cultural diversity will sure be a two-way
avenue between you and me during your two years journey through the wondersof KIC and KOBE. WELCOME TO KIC WELCOME TO KOBE, a UNESCO DESIGN CITY.

PROFESSOR

ProﬁleOsaka Prefecture University Graduate School of Engineering(Master of Engineering).
In Panasonic Corporation, Research and development of information systems,
Development of image processing algorithm, Development of embedded systems
Responsible for software-related training.
Member of Japan Information Technology Service Industry Association,
Requirement Engineering Promotion Working group.
Member of Software Engineers Association
Evangelist of practical management philosophy

Message

Challenge
Always challenge yourself. Donʼt be afraid to fail. You may ﬁnd it is more
important to fail through challenging yourself than to do nothing at all.
Act
If you donʼt act, you canʼt discover many new things. However, if you act
spontaneously, you may ﬁnd that your ability to solve issues is limited.
Don't Struggle Alone
If you are in trouble, donʼt struggle alone. If you have a strong desire to solve a
problem, someone can always help you out.

Kobe Institute of Computing

10

Main Faculty Members

KOYABU, Yasushi

TAKAHARA, Toshiro

ASSOCIATE PROFESSORSPECIALLY APPOINTED PROFESSOR

ProﬁleProﬁleGraduated from the Department of Commerce, Kansai University
Engaged in the development of social infrastructure and so on at Panasonic Corporation (PC)
After this, taught about project management in human development section of PC
At the same time, build an e-learning platform system and launch a scheme for operationand management of this.
Project Management Professional, certiﬁcated by PMI
Application Systems Engineer, certiﬁcated by IPA

Message

To be top-notch in the ﬁeld of business, it is important to keep learning.
I hope that you will become aware of the interest in learning at our school and theimportance of continuing to learn, then you will continue to maintain yourintellectual curiosity and become a person who will continue to be at theforefront as a business person.

Master of Science in Information System, Graduate School of Information Technology,
Kobe Institute of Computing, (First badge of Innovator Course)
After obtained Bachelor of Visual Arts at Osaka University of Arts, I went to Senegal as
JICA volunteer and worked in National Park Service. Since then, I worked with JICA invarious African countries such as Niger, Benin and Djibouti. I obtained Master of KIC in 2015,
and started working as Special Appointed Professor from December 2018.

Message

The principal nature of this world is diversity: many diﬀerent cultures and various
way of thinking. ICT can connect all these people and it enables us to live
together. But the principal actor is always human, as well as the subject to learn.
Letʼs make a breakthrough to the status quo of common sense by questioning
why and search a better way to make a good change. Only human interaction anddialog make this possible. It is an intellectual adventure.

YAMANAKA, Atsushi

SPECIALLY APPOINTED PROFESSOR

SUN, YiASSISTANT PROFESSOR

ProﬁleGraduated from Kobe University Graduate School of Intercultural Studies, Ph.D.
Member of Japan Society for Educational Technology,
Information Processing Society of Japan and China Computer Federation.

MessageCT technology is a knowledge developed in order to solve practical problems. If
you want to learn ICT technology, not only to learn the theory of knowledge but
more importantly, learn how to use this knowledge to solve practical problems.
But, if you just have the desire and the idea of how to solve the problem, but you
donʼt have the skills to implement it, then everything you say is nothing morethan an empty talk. At KIC, under the coaching of experienced professors, you canlearn the eﬀective ICT techniques in a combination of theory and practice.

ProﬁleMA, International Political Economy, The American University (Washington DC).
BS, Physics, Rensselear Polytechnic Institute (Troy).
ICT for Development professional experiences include UNDP, WHO, CSO, Private Sector,
and ICT.
Advisor at Government Institution of Rwanda - supported by JICA.
Currently holding position as Senior ICT Advisor at Ministry of Youthand ICT (MYICT) of Republic of Rwanda and Executive Advisor of Rwanda Private
Sector Federation ICT Chamber (PSF ICT Chamber).

Message

We expand the boundary of ICT for Development from JapanI am extremely honored to be able to join the KICʼs dedicated professionals who
would expand the boundary of ICT for Development from Japan.
I have chosen my professional career as an ICT for Development practioner andhave devoted more then 15 years of services with various International Organizations, Private Sector, and Civil Society Organizations. My interest in this ﬁeld
started during my graduate study, when I learned the power of ICT in a very
personal manner during the calamity of Kobe earthquake in Japan in January
1995. During the disaster, diﬀerent ICT tools helped coordinate, mitigate, andprovided critical support information to the aﬀected people, including my family.
This personal experience led me to realize the power of ICT and gave me
conviction to concentrate my study, and eventually led to my professional career.
Since that time, I have been supporting, both directly and indirectly, over 100
countriesʼ clients. The experience of witnessing ICTʼs tangible impacts in theclient countries provided me with substantive understanding of challenges andemerging opportunities of using ICTs in the developing countries which I would
like to share with the prospective ICTD practioners. I am conﬁdent that the
professional guidance and ﬁrst-hand knowledge that you will receive at the KIC
from the professional team will be instrumental for your professional growth andcareer prospective as an ICTD practioner.

11 Kobe Institute of Computing

Main Faculty Members

TAKAHARA, Toshiro SPECIALLY APPOINTEDPROFESSOR

TAKADA, Hiroyuki

VISITING PROFESSOR

Laboratory
Introduction

Laboratory
D - CUBE
Diversity - Development - Design
Outline of the lab

ProﬁleAfter graduating university, worked as a sociologist for a rural development
project in Zambia as JICA volunteer. During graduate school student, stopped
school for two years and worked as project coordinator for JICA volunteersʼ ruraldevelopment project in Indonesia.
Thesis topic was Rural Development Policy in Indonesia and gained an MA forInternational Development.
After graduating the school, joined JICA in 1997.
Since then, worked as Director of the training program in JICA Tsukuba, Deputy
Chief Representative of JCA Turkey, Director of TICAD and Planning Division in
Africa Department, Chief Representative of JICA Rwanda and others.

Message

We are lived in the 4th industrial revolution and 5G era whether one likes it or not;the new wave is going to cover the world.
In such big evolutional era, the role of ICT has become much important than everto solve challenges as described as SDGs.
KIC targets to encourage students to ﬁnd their challenges and to propose apractical and original solution for them through Tankyu practice and ICT.
The students of KIC come from not only Japan but also Africa and around theworld. It provides KIC divert environment to discuss the issues of the world andcontributes to improving humanity of the students as of the school mission.
Based on the over thirty years of working experience of international cooperationin developing countries, I would like to work with you to solve the challenges forbetter future for all.

ICT4D is my main ﬁeld of interest. We live in a world of a great
cultural diversity, and how we can use ICT to live better? To
answer this question, we should design a solution by deepening the understandings of our own way to perceive the world,
then collaborate with others, share our knowledge to achieve
the common goal.

Main research topics

ICT4D, HCI (Human Computer Interaction), UX (User Experience)
By combining various level of ICT and methods of social
development, I am devoted to create a good service/ productdesign which contributes to make peopleʼs life better. Multidisciplinary is the key of the research method.

Methods of instruction and research

The principal nature of this world is diversity: many diﬀerent
cultures and various way of thinking. ICT can connect all thesepeople and it enables us to live together. But the principal actor
is always human, as well as the subject to learn. Letʼs make abreakthrough to the status quo of common sense by questioning why and search a better way to make a good change. Only
human interaction and dialog make this possible. It is anintellectual adventure.

TAKEUCHI, Tomonari
VISITING PROFESSOR

ProﬁleBA in Political Science, Keio University, Japan.
MSc in ICTs for Development, University of Manchester, UK.
After working for an IT company in Japan, participatedin JOCV (Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteer). and worked as an IT teacher in Ethiopia.
Embassy of Japan in Ethiopia.

JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency).

ABeam Consulting Ltd.

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd.

Message
When I was an IT teacher in Ethiopia as JOCV, satellite network distance learning
system was introduced in high schools all over the country by Ethiopian
government. It inspired me to work for ICT4D. Afterward, I worked for various
kinds of ICT4D projects in JICA such as projects for ICT infrastructure improvement
and projects utilizing ICT as a tool for development in developing countries. ICT isa powerful tool for development as well as business. Along with newly emerging
technologies such as IoT, Big Date, AI, and Block Chain, in addition, it is required toconsider broader aspects such as national development plan, legal framework,
culture and ethics, etc.to make the best use of ICT. However, there are not many
experts who understand both development and ICT. This course provides avaluable opportunity for you to acquire knowledge and skill in the both ﬁelds.
Such a Master Degree course is very few in the world. In my lectures, based on myextreme experiences as an IT teacher in Ethiopia, seeing the reality in the ICT4D
project, as JICA staﬀ, managing many development projects, as a constant,
implementing ICT4D projects, I would like to share my broad knowledge and skills
which will be fundamental for you to design and implement ICT4D projects.

We have more great members
Kobe Institute of Computing

12

Laboratory
Introduction

MARKON, Sandor PROFESSOR
Professional conﬁdence comes Laboratoryfrom creating things!
Outline of the labProf. Markon has worked at the research and development
division of a leading elevator manufacturer for about 30 years,
and was one of the ﬁrsts who have succeeded in incorporating
Open Source Software into manufacturing in Japan. In addition,at the same company he has produced a “world ﬁrst” control
technology, originating in Japan, as an achievement in theapplication of IT technology. His goal is helping to develop aunique education for professional graduate schools, based on
manufacturing ﬁeld experience and on enthusiasm forprogramming. To share the feeling of “making things move”
with the students in the laboratory, the lab is always ﬁnding
new research challenges, with students and faculty working
together. In addition, there are interns and joint researchers
from other universities, also researchers of companies, witheveryone working together in an eﬀort to contribute to society.
More recently, there are African students assigned to thelaboratory, embarking on research and development ofapplying technology in their country.

Main research topics

The main theme of the past few years is research and development of Human - Computer Interaction (HCI). A new technology called "ﬂoating image” can project display screens in the air
without any physical screens, so that users can touch it andinteract. We are developing both the basic technology andpractical uses for it. One of the applications that has received
much attention is the visualizing complex medical information,
like for example MRI or CT scan data, in a natural form. The goal
is to avoid the risk of misunderstanding of such diﬃcult
information by health care professionals. Other applications
include game and amusement, various visualization applications, digital signage, etc. Another theme, studied at a longterm, is improving both the eﬃciency of development andsoftware reliability in embedded systems, by software
construction techniques. In addition, we are working in collaboration with universities in Turkey and Germany in order torevolutionize traﬃc handling in buildings by the development
and commercialization of linear motor elevators. We areadvancing the basic research steadily, but the prospect ofpractical application requires the solution of many remaining
challenges.

Methods of instruction and research

By always challenging the leading-edge technology, students
get guidance and help to proceed step by step, to grow while
reaching it. To nurture independence, and the strength toconfront problems, they are given the chance to experienceproblem-solving, and to taste the joy of ﬁnding the solution.
The goal is to reach a point in the second half of the second
year when they have the autonomy and self-conﬁdence to say,
“I have nothing more to ask from my professor”. As a rule,
students present their research results at international conferences, research meetings and in academic journals to getevaluated properly. They are given the opportunity of interaction with as many researchers as possible by joint research withother universities, companies and research institutes.

CT scans displayed and manipulated A working model of a linear motor elevator,
in ﬂoating images
developed jointly with a Turkish university

13 Kobe Institute of Computing

SHIMA, Hisato PROFESSOR
Laboratory

Research of network applications
and its security
Outline of the lab / Main research topics

In our laboratory, we research for a variety of applications
through collaboration of cloud servers and devices.

We also research technologies for the security of such applications.

Recently, many equipment works in conjunction with theservice on the cloud via the Internet, various innovative
services has been introduced. The servers on the cloud,combined with high-performance smart phones, various
network applications can be developed easily.

In addition, various sensors connected to the Internet, which iscalled IoT (Internet of Things) enhance the new possibility of
network applications. We propose an application to solve avariety of issues by using these technologies.

We are also interested in ICT4D(ICT for Development) whichuses the network services to solve the social issues, such as

those in developing countries. Recently, smart phones havebecome popular and everyone has access to Internet. By

combining applications on the cloud mobile phones, we canprovide various services such as banking and health care

Network security becomes an important issue as variety ofservices and equipment are connected. Therefore, we study

how the combination of techniques, such as authentication,ﬁrewalls, or cryptography can be used to make a secure service.
Based on my experience in developing many leading network-ing products and security technologies, I would want to tell themethod to develop a useful equipment and services for society
and business.

Methods of instruction and research

Our goal is not simply to study the technology as a technology.

I expect our members to be a person who can actually develop
useful equipment and services to solve social issues or to create
a new business. For that aim, we discuss issues in society andthe business and their solutions and communicate with relatedcompanies and users. Students and supervisors are jointly
study to develop a practical and balanced system to solve theissue.

In addition, we believe the hands-on experience of developingof software and conﬁguring server yourself. Students in my lab
develops working system of your own using various programing language and system depending on the purpose.

In our laboratory, students of various nationality are joined. We

welcome students who are interested to work with students
from Japan and many other countries.

ITO, Mamoru PROFESSOR

Laboratory
Introduction

OKUDA, Ryosuke PROFESSOR
Laboratory

Laboratory

Co-creation of social value
through ICT innovations

Let's jump into the world of IoT
and Ubiquitous Computing

We call ITO laboratory as i-lab. “i” stands for intelligence,

Invention of internet in 1980s enabled highly reliable commu-

laboratory provides every student with an opportunity tounreliable and cheap network. As a result, services of mail,

Outline of the lab

innovation, and international, which we think highly of. This
conduct a project to create practical and innovative solutions
for social issues, utilizing various ICT technologies. Throughproject execution, the students can improve their skills on
system design and service design as well as project management.

In this laboratory, we aim for Tankyu-based ICT practitioners

who are actively engaged in social innovation. The students
will be able to:・Build up problem ﬁnding skills to identify social issues

・Find and develop own strengths to apply them to solve theactual issues

・Enhance creativity to produce innovative solutions

・I m p r o v e d e s i g n a n d m a n a g e m e n t s k i l l s t h r o u g h p r o j e c t
execution

Those who can share the basic concept of the value of thislaboratory are largely welcomed.

・Respecting each other as an independently thinking individual
・Acting on the studentʼs own initiative like a project manager

・Cultivating an untrapped mind to see things as they really are

Main research topics

Outline of the lab

nication between the computers of all over the world using

telephone and retail sale were replaced by internet. Further
new services such as SNS was enabled. However there still

remains a restriction that computer terminal is needed to enjoy
services. A technology expressed in a word as IoT (Internet ofThings) or Ubiquitous Computing is the technology which links
a thing besides the computer terminal to the internet, andrealization of newer service is expected by this. The elemental

technology with which IoT is supported is studied at ourlaboratory as well as achieving new service to prove the validityof the elemental technology.

Main research topics

IoT and Ubiquitous Computing is based on various elementary
technologies such as communication, security and calculation
resources. Our laboratory focuses on sensing, recognition andWeb based application.

Sensing: A visible problem to achieve IoT is small device size,communication and long life power supply, however those arein a trade-oﬀ relation with the precision and frequency of thesensors. For most of use-cases, we do not know the precisionand frequency of the sensors are suﬃcient or not until actual
experiments are executed.

Recognition: Sending all the data gathered from the sensors to
the server is not realistic in the aspect of the communication

channel capacity. Therefore processing of recognition which

Society is made up of various individuals who live and work

extract meaningful information from the raw data would be

globally. We pick up social problems in real life which includes

Web Application: "Sensing" and "Recognition" are just elemen-

and wider societal problems to provide useful and realistic

usefulness.

together, which create many problems and issues locally andimportant.

personal problems, interpersonal problems, and community

tary technologies. They require application to prove theirsolutions. The followings are examples of the research projects
we tackled.

Methods of instruction and research

In the theme of sensing, actual small hardware composed of a・Public transport management and ticketing

set of sensors and a microcomputer and communication

・Driving license management and online veriﬁcation

the performance of the current sensing technology and the・Disseminating personalized agricultural knowledge

method is developed. The purpose is to know the gap between

・Preventing traﬃc accidents caused by young drivers

requirement of an assumed application in the point of sensing

Methods of instruction and research

A project is a temporary and worthwhile attempt undertaken to
create a unique product or service. We take a project based
approach as follows:・Form a project team with the other students

・Collaborate with the external organizations and/or the otherlaboratories

・Take up an actual problem or need as our joint project theme

precision and frequency.

In the theme of recognition, algorithms which recognize

extract meaningful information from the raw sensing data suchas image or position of objects. Further those algorithms would

be implemented on Linux machine to be validated theireﬀectiveness.

In the theme of Web application, a web application system isdeveloped combining the elementary technologies achievedby the sensing and recognition in order to show the total
eﬀectiveness.

・Break down the problem for role sharing among the students
・Work together as a team for achieving the project objectives

Be professional and innovative together for better life andbetter society.

Kobe Institute of Computing

14

Laboratory
Introduction

YAMANAKA, Toshiyuki PROFESSOR
Laboratory

TSUCHIDA, Masayuki PROFESSOR

Leadership & Entrepreneurshipfor Social Innovation

Value Creation using ICT

Outline of the lab

Outline of the lab

The lab focuses on creating new business which leads to socialry.

＜Special Theme Study focusing on creating new business＞

innovation. The students discuss various issues such as
economic and political movements in the world, new trends of
ICT and newly-developed marketing methods. The students

learn various points through interactive discussions. The
students spend a lot of time learning how to improve presentation or how to write academic thesis, too.
＜One to One meeting＞

In order to deepen the understanding of social issues, it is
crucially important to have one to one meeting between thestudents and the professor. Therefore, the lab put a premiumon one to one meeting.

＜Outing to companies and institutions which are related to
studentsʼ concerns＞

There are many opportunities of outing such as companies or
facilities in which the students are interested.

Laboratory

We do researches on “Value Creation using ICT” in our laboratoFor value creation using ICT, we have mainly two approaches;(1) New value-added business development or social problem
solution using existing technologies.

(2) New technology development for customers or social value
creation.

Both approaches are important. Our research ﬁeld includes
both approaches and it is interdisciplinary and integrated.

Main research topics

For subject setting (identifying issues), the most important

point is working out how to create value (who will be happy
and how? ) and how to take advantages using our strength.

Under the above viewpoint, we promote our researches on new
business development or social problem solution.
Examples of research output;

Main research topics＜Leadership & Entrepreneurship＞

The lab focuses on developing knowledge and skills as

entrepreneur. Entrepreneurial leadership needs both visionand inﬂuence. The students learn skills through discussions at
the lab and various events.

＜Marketing ＆ Innovation in digital era＞

Marketing and innovation in digital era is diﬀerent. In the lab,
the students study Marketing 3.0. In addition, the students(1) Creating business plan based on social research such as
customers questionnaires or interviews.

(2) Developing value-added technology or a prototype system.
(3) Integration of above bothetc. Various types of outputs could be possible.

Student is expected to have the subject he wants to study, but
if he does not have it yet, letʼs start to create concept ofresearch subject together.

spend much time on discussing how to introduce “Tankyu” into

Methods of instruction and research＜Area study in Africa and Middle East＞

Practice”. The main ﬂow isreal business plans.

In order to solve social problems in Africa or the Middle East, it

The process of research activities is mainly based on “Tankyu

is crucially important to know about the real situation in these(1) Identifying issues

facilitates the discussions on Africa and the Middle East.

(3) Hypothesis veriﬁcation

areas. Toshiyuki Yamanaka who frequently visits these areas(2) Hypothesis building(4) Implementation(5) Analysis and improvement

Methods of instruction and research

It may be diﬃcult to do them all perfectly. But we try to do thepeople＞

new business development or social problem solution in thevisiting various facilities and interviewing many people.

cases and make a hypothesis and verify it. It is a student that

＜Data Analysis＞

At a meeting the discussions among students are highly recom-

quantitative analysis such as data analysis and experiment by

individual idea and involve stakeholders is also very important.

＜Creative Thinking＞

a meeting, the student will learn the skills of logical thinking＜Visit many places and discuss various issues with various

research together.

As mentioned earlier, the students deepen their thoughts byﬁeld we study in our laboratory. It is important to think various

Armchair theory must be avoided.

promotes a research, and teacher is a guide.

The lab emphasizes not only the qualitative analysis but alsomended. In social life, having the human skills to explainusing device.

Through making eﬀorts to explain the individual idea clearly at

The students spend much time on strengthening creativity or

and presentation.

insight by various types of discussions.
＜Book on innovation＞

Read books on innovation and discuss how to achieve social
innovation.

15 Kobe Institute of Computing

There is no absolute right answer such as

山路を登りながら
LUKUMWENA,
Nsenda PROFESSOR

Laboratory
Introduction

HIRAISHI, Teruhiko PROFESSOR

Laboratory

Innovation and smart cities using
ICT in developing countries.
Outline of the lab

This Lab investigates ways in which ICT4D can be utilized tobring about socially innovative and resilient delivery inLaboratory
Based on the supervisorʼs experience of productdevelopment and training to engineers in a company,
members of the laboratory work on a practical study,
through requirement engineering, software engineering,project management embedded system development,
and so on

urban and peri-urban areas ̶ this year special emphasis

Outline of the lab

Students are encouraged

and software.

goes to social infrastructure in developing countries.

In today's society, you cannot imagine a life without system

physical arrangement of the urban area in which they reside

In addition, it is easily supposed that considering the progress

respective cities, in countries of origin.

ded systems, scale, complexity, and further quality level are

to read and interpret the space

during their research time as a reference for improving theirof IoT, not only for enterprise systems, but also for the embed-

The Lab has four (M1 ABE & PEACE) students, two fromrequired at diﬀerent level.

Afghanistan and two from Mozambique.

cover various subjects.

Environmental

Their researches

They include solid urban waste,

Impact assessment

Remote Sensing, ﬂood managementof Mining with GIS

with emphasis on

prevention; and urban agriculture to deal with food security

This lab is culturally diverse, it is also pluridisciplinary,creating an environment that aﬀords all the students anopportunity to take back home a trans-borderknowledge that KIC can be proud of.

body ofabilities(1)Ability to establish essential social issues and their solutions
Based on data, logical thinking, statistics, and veriﬁcation, we

foster the ability to ﬁnd the essential social issues and theability to ﬁnd eﬀective solutions.

(2)Technical skills to solve the social issues

We focus on fostering the ability to learn “the ability how to
study by yourself ”, to prepare for rapid technological advances,or to open up new technology, not only to learn the speciﬁctechnology necessary to solve the problem.

Main research topics
Main research is Reading, Analyzing and Interpreting theSpace Physical arrangement in urban and peri-urban areasusing ICT4D for smart Delivery.

(3)Work as a member of a project

Main research topics

To develop products, through technologies such as requirement engineering, software engineering, embedded system

Main Topics include

・Urban solid waste management in and around Kabul city
・Environmental Impact assessment of Mining with GIS

development technology, etc., you learn related technologies

such as quality control, statistics, electric / electronic engineering, information communication technology.

Remote Sensing

・Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture Model Based on Transit

Oriented Development (TOD) to Ensure Better Quality ofLife (Qol), Food Security and Nutrition in MozambiqueThrough these activities you will challenge to solve the issues
which you established by yourself.

Methods of instruction and research

In our laboratory, we promote the research by project activity.

(Inhambane Province ‒ Inhambane City).

・An Integrated Information System for ﬂood Management inMozambique (Web-QGIS)-Case

In our laboratory, we mainly focus on the following three

Study Zambezia Province.

Members are responsible to accomplish their roles in the
project.

Members can experience the meaningfulness of accomplishing

Methods of instruction and research

great outcomes through project activities that you cannot

・Basically,

In laboratory, in the ﬁrst year, we focus on theme setting for

instruction is achieved through a Triangilar

Learning approach‒Instructor
student, Students to Instructor.

to student, Student to・Literature review provides for referential data, the use of
ICT4D and Tankyu Practice learned at KIC provide thestudents with the needed technologies
survey provide

questionnairefor (i) quantitative

while the ﬁeld

data throughand qualitative through interviews by the

researcher in the country of origin.

complete by yourself alone.

social issues, hypothesis setting, veriﬁcation and planning forsecond year.

In the second year, we ﬁnalize to establish the theme and thesolution. And then we develop actual products for veriﬁcation.
Finally based on these activities, we write the thesis.

Through these activities, our lab intend to foster not only
technological ability, but also ability as a member of society.

・The combination of the above makes up the framework of
the research.

End note

Given the cultural environment found at KIC, it is my belief
that, at completion of the research program, each student

will take back a body of knowledge going beyond bordersof a list three countries, a trans-bordersthat KIC can excellently oﬀer.

knowledge,

one

Kobe Institute of Computing

16

Laboratory
Introduction

KOYABU, Yasushi ASSOCIATE PROFFESOR
Laboratory

SUN, Yi ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
Laboratory

Get problem-solving skills using ICT,and improve practical business skills.

A really useful system will be invented
byfocusingthenewtechnologyfromuserʼsperspective

Outline of the lab

Outline of the lab

Information systems utilizing ICT technologies are alreadybeing used in various areas of society and have become an
essential part of social life.
However, in order to eﬀectively utilize ICT to solve various
problems occurring in society, it is required to "grasp theessence of the problem," "grasp the core of the issue to besolved," "select the most appropriate technological elementswith optimum cost-eﬀectiveness," and "select the most appropriate technological elements" in a sophisticated combination.
We are engaged in research that enables students to understand the essentials of the elements listed here, and to mastereverything from the thinking style that captures the problem tothe optimal use of technology.

Main research topics

The following two are the foundations of our research- Creation of new problem solutions by combining cloudtechnologies.
- Establishing a software development methodology that
achieves a balance between time, cost, and eﬀectiveness byutilizing NO-CODE programming.

Methods of instruction and research

Based on the above basic policy, each student in our laboratorychooses a topic of his/her own interest, makes his/her own
plan, and proceeds with his/her research.
Basically, we value the students' independence in proceedingwith their research.
In particular, we value the aspect that allows students to gain
insight into "how to approach problems," "narrowing down
issues to be solved," "selecting technologies to be applied,"etc., through exchange of opinions in the laboratory as a whole.
We also provide opportunities for students to practice giving
numerous presentations, and value the opportunity forstudents to acquire the "ability to explain = ability to makepeople understand," which is important for businesspeople.

17 Kobe Institute of Computing

Recently, ICT has made a great progress in solving real life
issues in diﬀerent disciplines. Sun-Lab challenges talented
students to use their creativity, critical thinking, innovativeskills and abilities to tackle a broad range of social development issues in their developing countries.

Main research topics

Main research themes to this track include, but are not limited
to the eﬀective use of ICT in education, HCI (Human Computer
Human‒computer interaction), Web/Mobile Application
Development and Data Analysis<Themes>・Gamiﬁcation in education Case study: history e-learning
context frame work design.
・E-portfolio system to keep study activities for VETAʼs Students
in Tanzania.
・Mobile E-learning support system for secondary school in
Nigeria.
・A Tool for Collaborative Java Programming and Program
Visualization for novices on Android smartphone.

Methods of instruction and research

The Lab provides the skills, knowledge and attitudes toeﬀectively deploy ICT project for long-term sustainability. The
lab sessions are comprised of lectures, discussions, andhands-on laboratory modules. Students work in multidisciplinary teams on their projects, closely collaborating with local
community partners, ﬁeld practitioners, and experts in relevantﬁelds.
We have a Lab meeting every week, and if you have the needsof your research, you can request a personal meeting at any
time. At the lab meeting, you need to present your study &research situation to the Lab members and get the advice fromall of them. The technology skill study will base on self-study
E-learning course. We focus on Cloud-Computing, Web
Application, and Mobile Application. If you have some problem
or some question of your study, please ask for help from yourclassmates and professor.

Students voiceCharles Joseph Nyahucho（From United Republic of Tanzania）

The lab is creating a convenient environment in raising leadership, Innovation and Business management

skill. On weekly basis there are interactive discussionsaﬀecting businesson world news on business trends or any news

We attended several visitations to companies which connect us with them, gave us understanding of newtechnology and exposing us to advanced business practices. There are enough session of One to One

meeting with the Prof. Yamanaka where we discuss our progress in thesis and theme studies.

I enjoyed to be part in this lab because of extensive knowledge the professor shared with us which stems from his international
and local consulting experience.

KIC has brought breakthrough in my professionaland excellence.

Musa Nanahawau

life. It has been a remarkablejuncture of discovery.Is

is a center of inﬂuence

Torera（From Federal Republic of Nigeria）

I am a determined, and detail oriented lady, pioneer in social innovation and entrepreneurship, using
available ICT solutions to foster Social Development.
Tsuji's Lab deals with actual Project Management where students are exposed to project planning,
designing, implementing and managing using a real life project and scenario in Africa.
We collaborate with both private and public organizations to ﬁnd a common issue. Students set a
common goal through the supervision of the Professor and using the PCM (Project Cycle Management)
and PDM (Project Design Matrix) which are the main tools in Project Development to achieve the set goal and objectives.
We welcome students who can “Try Together, Think Together, Work Together!!!”Cliﬀord Otieno Ochieng（From Republic of Kenya）

Participants of the lab come from diverse and culturally rich backgrounds i.e. Asian, Middle Eastern and
African as well as academic and professional backgrounds including Architecture, Urban Planning, Civil
Engineering and ICT. Consequently, interactions in the lab are rich in perspective of the developing world.
nlLab conducts discussions through triangular approach (Instructor to students, Student to student,
Students to Instructor)
My research intends to examine Streetlights as a cyber-physical social system, a platform, an enabler ofSmart Social cities. Through the research, I purpose to re-think the place of the streetlights as part of a continuously evolving
and increasingly networked urban infrastructure that can enable cities to improve the quality of life of City-zens, address realneeds with eﬀective and long-term quality services.

Hamayun Abdul Rahimzai（From Islamic Republic of Afghanistan）
Our lab is collaborative project Management using ICT to support studentʼs startups exploring innovationand creativity at any stage. It provides open co-working space and Self-motivated working style to ﬁnd thesolution for the social issues based on the "Tankyu practice".
Our lab aim is to combine a Development issue with specialist technical knowledge, enabling us toanalyze, design, validate and implement ICT systems in its operational context since ICT has the potential
to improve our learning outcomes and eﬀectiveness.
ICT is considered as central to the overall learning process. ICT provide engaging experience to improve our skills in decision
making and leadership.
Our University has very supportive environment and if we are passionate about something they will help us out.

Mohammad Nazim Kabiri（From Islamic Republic of Afghanistan）
I have been working as an assistant lecturer at one of the public universities in Kabul, Afghanistan. It was
my dream to do my master study in a well-developed country where I could learn not only at theuniversity but also from the environment and society. Fortunately, my dream changed to reality when I
came to Japan, the land of technology, through JICAʼs PEACE Program in 2015. I selected Kobe Instituteof Computing (KIC) as my favorite university because it is focusing on Information and Communication
Technology for Development (ICT4D) which I was looking for. Based on my research interest in the use of
ICT in education, I conducted a research on the utilization and evaluation of cloud computing for
e-learning in Afghan Higher Education under the supervision of Dr. Muhammad Wannous in Inﬁnity ( ∞ ) Lab. The Lab isequipped with state of the art facilities and it provides a professional environment for its students to try new technologies, work
together and learn from the experience of each other. It mainly focuses on the use of Cloud Computing, Web and Mobile
Technologies in various ﬁelds, especially education.

Kobe Institute of Computing

18

Sanyo Shinkansen

Shin-Kobe station

Kitano-Tenman Shrine
The house of Kazamidori

ANA Crown Plaza Kobe
Ijinkan-Gai

Ijinkan-Gai

Keycee Court

Kitano St. (Ijinkan St.)KITANOKITANO Sanbonmatsu
CHAPELGARDEN FudoinFudozaka
TempleAve.

Kobe Electronics
Vocational School

Yamamoto St. (Ijinkan St.)

Kitanozaka
Ave.

PoliceStation

UNIZO INN Kobe Sannomiya
Family MartSATORI

Minato Bank

Kokutai road

Green Hill Hotel

Kobe Institute of Computing (KIC)

IjinkanInformation oﬃce

Kanocho 3-chome
LawsonLawsonYamate Kansen

FlowerRoad

Doutor Coﬀee

Matsumoto Kiyoshi
Drag store

McDonalʼs

Taxi stop

Plaza

HankyuKobeSannomiyastation

To Himeji/Akashi

JR Sannomiiya station

To Osaka

Sannomiya station

Hanshin Kobe Sannomiya station
Port Liner
Port Liner Line

Kobe Airport station
Kobe Airport

10 min. walk from Sannomiya station and Shin-Kobe station

18 min. from Kobe Airport station to Sannomiya station by Port Liner● Department : Department of Information Systems● Established Type : Professional Graduate School● Degree : Master of Science in Information Systems (professional)● Term of Study : 2 years● Admission Capacity : 55 students

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Kobe Institute of Computing (KIC)

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Kobe institute of Computing (KIC)
Graduate School of Information Technology〒650-0001 2-2-7 Kano-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, JAPANTEL+81-078-262-7715 FAX+81-078-262-7737
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