<div dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-28148e0f-7fff-ea12-6f35-561186b4019d"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:11pt">I’m excited to share that Chiba Institute of Technology is launching a new international graduate program: the Graduate School of Design & Science (SDS)—officially opening in April 2026.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">As global challenges grow more complex and interconnected, SDS responds with a bold vision: to cultivate professionals who can navigate the intersection of emerging technology, ethical design, and interdisciplinary thinking. Our fully English-language programs (Master’s and PhD) welcome students from around the world. Funding opportunities are available.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">SDS brings together a truly antidisiplinary founding faculty including:</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Joi Ito (antidisciplinary institutions), Catharina Maracke (digital governance), Daum Kim (digital culture), Hiroki Kojima (life & information), Ira Winder (emergence & complexity), Joe Austerweil (cognition & machine learning), Mizuki Oka (artificial life), and Sputniko! (speculative futures).</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Rooted in Japan and shaped by global collaboration, SDS emphasizes design and science as mutually reinforcing tools for understanding and shaping the world. Students will engage deeply with topics that reflect both local insight and global relevance—from AI and systems design to digital law and neurodiverse learning.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">📅 </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Pre-applications open from June 2nd to July 14th, 2025. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Virtual interviews will follow shortly after, with final candidates notification at the end of July.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">🔗 Learn more and apply: </span><a href="https://sds.chibatech.dev/" style="text-decoration-line:none"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;text-decoration-line:underline;vertical-align:baseline">https://sds.chibatech.dev/</span></a></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">We’re building a new kind of graduate school—antidisciplinary, international, and future-facing. </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(14,14,14);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">If you’re interested—or know someone who might be—please don’t hesitate to apply or forward this message.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-variant-alternates:normal;vertical-align:baseline">Best Regards,</span></p><p style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.6667px">Joe Austerweil</span></font></p><p style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><font color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.6667px">Chiba Tech</span></font></p></span></div>