From engineering to nursing

I originally started studying engineering when I entered university, partly because I had been involved in robot contests in junior high school. As I advanced in my studies, I decided to change my major. I attended a lecture by a professor of nursing that was so fascinating. This inspired me to pursue a career in health sciences and nursing. I think this is a somewhat unusual path, but I believe this choice led me to develop a unique research approach that combines nursing and engineering.

I went on to pursue a doctorate and conducted research under a professor who was a pioneer in nursing science and engineering, which is an interdisciplinary field spanning nursing and engineering. Through my experience of research in graduate school, I came to realize that the social implementation of technology requires corporate resources such as capital, sales channels, and development expertise. Before long, I found myself aspiring to become an industry researcher. It is also true that the prospect of stable income and employment was a major factor in my decision.

What led me to choose NEC over other companies was my experience as an intern. While I was in the doctorate program, I took part in an internship at an NEC laboratory. I joined a data science competition held at my university. There, I met a researcher at an NEC laboratory and he offered me an internship at Data Science Research Laboratories (currently Knowledge Science Research Laboratories).

The atmosphere I experienced there was similar to that of a university laboratory, and I remember thinking how nice it was that the Super Flex System offered a unique degree of freedom. For example, there were a senior colleague who came in late to work because he was up late the previous night writing a conference paper.

In addition, NEC had already begun to position the medical and healthcare fields as growth areas and was beginning to make full-fledged efforts in those fields. The company had also made changes to its articles of incorporation and obtained a license to manufacture and market medical devices, so I thought I would have the opportunity to work on subjects closely related to the research I had been doing up to that point. This led me to apply for a position at NEC.

In the interview stage, I asked whether it would be possible to hold a concurrent position at a university, because I wanted to continue pursuing my research even after completing graduate school. Fortunately, I learned that many people at NEC held concurrent positions with universities, and I was able to join the company without any problems. Even now, I am continuing my research at university as a visiting researcher and part-time lecturer.

Encouraging proposals from younger employees to supervisors

I think NEC offers a comfortable working environment with ample employee benefits. One thing I often hear from people who joined the company as a mid-career hire is that they are impressed with how easy it is to make proposals from the bottom up. Some even say it is "unbelievable." Indeed, employees are encouraged to propose new research themes and business ideas to their supervisors, and this is even one of the factors considered in performance evaluations. In addition, the laboratories are home to professionals who have been active on the front lines of business development. When younger employees seek their advice, they carefully teach them anything from how to conduct surveys to the overall process of business development. Through back-and-forth discussions, they help younger employees develop the logic needed for presenting proposals to their supervisors, so even those with no prior knowledge of commercialization can learn from the ground up. I think this approach reflects NEC's corporate culture of trying to accelerate the path from R&D to commercialization.

Another unique characteristic of NEC Laboratories is the diversity of talent. I myself hold a nursing license, and there are also researchers who have license and experience as physical therapists. This may be the result of NEC's approach of hiring based on individual potential. NEC has an extensive track record of hiring researchers who have no previous knowledge of AI or coding, but who are highly valued for their outstanding expertise in a particular area of specialization such as mathematics or physics. In fact, many people from such basic science backgrounds are playing an active role in AI development. I think NEC is a very interesting workplace that is wide open to a diverse range of people.