On 30 October, Kanazawa University Strategic Project for Development of Doctoral Students and Research Promotion (HaKaSe+) held the “Door to a different field 2023 – Exploring issues through cross-disciplinary interactions -”. Approximately 140 students selected for HaKaSe⁺ and project teachers took part in this event.

HaKaSe⁺ are focusing on nurturing and producing doctoral talents who pioneer the future with a broad perspective based on deep expertise.

The participating students were divided into 23 groups, transcending research fields, grades and nationalities, on the basis of five themes on social issues: Food problem/security, Energy problems, Global environmental issues, Pandemic and Information society. In each group, students introduced his/her research and discussed with each other. Through group work, the students brought their specialized knowledge, identified social issues, and explored ideas for solving social issues through interdisciplinary research utilizing imagination and creativity.

After the event, students commented that they were able to gain new perspectives on their own research through discussions with researchers from different fields, and that they were motivated to work even harder on their research by seeing other doctoral students working diligently on their research.

Group photo of participating students and project teachers

Students rack their brains and came up with various ideas to solve social problems

Students divided into 23 groups and having group discussions