Department of Economics
Department of Management
IREP Co., Ltd.
Yosuke Higashida
March 2013
Completed Master’s (Doctoral) Program in Management at Sophia University Graduate School of Economics
- What was the most memorable experience you had in the courses and research during graduate school?
- I think graduate school classes have meaning only when students participate proactively. Classes conducted in case study style were the most memorable for me, as explaining and digesting the newest topics in marketing brought theory to life.
For my master’s research, I conducted empirical research into how corporations’ active responses to complaints affect consumer trust based on quantitative analysis and more. It was an invaluable opportunity for me to experience the difficulty and satisfaction of establishing new knowledge and insights.
- How do you leverage what you learned in graduate school in your current work?
- After graduate school, I joined an advertising agency. My primary responsibility is to guide our clients’ marketing activities to success by creating strategies for programmatic advertising, with digital marketing based on search advertising and more. Academic knowledge of overall trends in the economy and market, demand factors, and consumers’ buying patterns and processes has proved useful in providing clients with the best solutions. In addition, I believe the persistence and commitment required to identify true issues from ongoing communication with the client and produce results based on that are something I developed through my research in graduate school.
- Message to current students
- While learning in undergrad is focused on input, I made a conscious effort to focus on creating new values in my graduate school research. I can say with confidence that I dedicated myself to research for those two years, and this experience is still a source of strong confidence and pride for me. My experience as a teaching assistant and the lectures I conducted with my classmates and underclassmen at frequent study sessions helped me develop the ability to analyze things from multiple points of view. I strongly encourage you to be active, go out, and involve others in your activities. Producing results that meets your expectations in a limited amount of time can be difficult at times, but I believe that approaching research with a focus on output will serve you well in the future!