Shino Kinoshita
Japan
CAREER Enrolled in April 2013; Completed master’s degree in March 2015
I finished my undergraduate program at the Faculty of Letters in 1991 and returned to Keio University to enroll in KMD at the age of 45. For the 10 years before my return I designed corporate training programs for large companies. While working, I sometimes felt stifled by the hierarchical structure of large Japanese organizations and the seniority-based business culture that still persists in them. These observations woke me up to the importance of empowering individuals within companies.
That was when I came across KMD. I was really drawn by the fact that the program didn’t confine itself to the academic world, but rather viewed research as a starting point to branch out and find new ways to solve problems.
After graduating, I used what I learned at KMD about how to draw out the skills, abilities, and talents of various individuals and piece them together to solve problems. This allowed me to start HIKIDASHI (lit. “draw out”), a Japanese “snack bar” where diverse individuals can connect through corporate workshops and after-hour mixers. One of the most important things I learned at KMD was the importance of forming connects across generations and genders so that people can share their unique abilities (and perspectives).
(This article was written in March 2023.)