aiESG Inc. is a Kyushu University startup established in 2022.
A society where happiness is linked and no wrinkles are left behind." With this vision, we provide our clients with optimal solutions to their various ESG assessment issues through the world's first comprehensive ESG analysis at the product and service level, based on our cutting-edge AI technology and solid research achievements.

In this article, we introduce Mr. Iwamoto, who is active in the Research Supply Chain Department!

Iwamoto Misa
After graduating from a technical college, he transferred to Kyushu University for his junior year. At Kyushu University, he earned a master's degree in research on sustainability assessment of electric power sources. He joined aiESG in his second year of master's program and has been engaged in joint research with universities utilizing the aiESG analysis platform and in the management and operation of the analysis platform. He has received the Kyushu Branch Director's Award from the City Planning Institute of Japan, the Young Scientist Presentation Award from the Plasma and Fusion Society of Japan, and other awards.

While working as an active aiESG member, Mr. Iwamoto is also working hard on his Ph. When writing his thesis at university, he ate too much chocolate in the middle of the night and ended up with three cavities. This interview with Mr. Iwamoto, who has a playful side, was a full-blown Iwamoto-style interview!

When I was a junior high school student, I was interested in urban development.

When I was studying environmental issues in my junior high school science class, I was shocked to see images of air pollution. I grew up on an island rich in nature, so I thought that this kind of thing was happening in some parts of the earth.... Since that time, I have longed to work in urban development.

My mother knew someone who worked in the civil engineering field, and she told me that I could learn specialized skills at a technical college from an early age, so I decided to enroll.

Decided to transfer to a university after a torrential rain disaster hit his hometown.

At the technical college, I majored in civil engineering and studied structural mechanics for building roads and bridges. I was interested in the field, of course, but the cool name of the department, "Department of Environmental and Urban Engineering," was also a deciding factor in my decision to enroll (laughs).

Colleges of technology have more freedom than regular high schools and offer a different kind of fun environment, but I was the type of person who studied hard rather than enjoying freedom, so I thought, "I want more time to do what I like" and "I want to try being a college student" without worrying about grades a little more.

It was around this time when a torrential rain disaster occurred in my hometown. I remember looking for an evacuation site based on a hazard map and feeling anxious as we evacuated. This experience made me think that I would like to be involved in disaster prevention measures that would allow people to live in peace. Disaster countermeasures and restoration of damaged structures were the fields of civil engineering that I was studying at the college of technology at the time. I entered the college of technology with a yearning for urban development, but I also wanted to learn more about disaster prevention, so I decided to transfer to a university.

University life at Corona Disaster

In 2020, when I transferred from a technical college to the Kyushu University Faculty of Engineering, Department of Global Environmental Engineering, Construction and Urban Engineering Course, Corona was just becoming very popular in Japan... I transferred from my third year, so I was studying and job hunting at the same time, but online classes and online job hunting were the norm. It was not the university life I had envisioned.

When choosing a laboratory in my fourth year, I was interested in the laboratory of Mr. Umanaki (Professor at Kyushu University and co-founder of aiESG) in the environmental field when I first transferred, but I chose another laboratory in the disaster prevention field because I wanted to learn a little about the field of disaster prevention and also because I could conduct research in a group of senior and junior students. Since it was a corona disaster, I also based my decision on the active communication in the lab at that time. After being assigned to the lab, I did research on predicting the rebound waters of a real river through inundation simulation.

For me, the beauty of university is not only the classes, but also the opportunity to be entrusted with projects in the laboratory, to collaborate with fellow students on projects, and to help professors with their research. as a third year student, I was not in a laboratory, and I felt that a year of activities was a little insufficient for me, and in addition I decided to go to graduate school because it was not the university life I had envisioned with the Corona Disaster and I wanted to enjoy my student life a little more.

In graduate school, in Managi Laboratory - encounter with aiESG

After studying the field of disaster prevention as an undergraduate, I joined the Umanaki Laboratory of Environmental Studies in graduate school, hoping to learn how to create a system for a society where the environment and people can coexist in harmony, which I had envisioned when I was in junior high school.

aiESG was founded in July 2022, when I was in my first year of my master's program, and at the time I was job hunting without any particular involvement. In my job search, I was looking at consulting and METI jobs related to decarbonization, and it was during that time that I was introduced to aiESG by Mr. Keeley (Associate Professor at Kyushu University, Director and CR of aiESG) and Mr. Takeda (Associate Professor at Kyushu University, Chief Scientific Advisor of aiESG). This was my first encounter with aiESG. I was originally interested in think tanks, but they advised me that it was possible to get a job even after obtaining a PhD and that it would be good experience, so I decided to gain business experience at aiESG while studying for my PhD and joined the company in April 2023.

Career vision - to be familiar with the changes in society.

My career choices to date have been in pursuit of what I wanted to do at the time. To be honest, I am surprised even by myself that I am working in the private sector while enrolled in a doctoral program (laugh).

I am still in the process of exploring what my future will be, but I would like to be involved in both academia and business. If I stay in the laboratory, it will take time before I get a real sense of how society is changing as a result of my research, but if I am also involved in business, I will be able to feel the changes in society at close hand. I would like to be in a position to deepen my learning while feeling close to the changing society.

At aiESG, there are many people who are working while earning their doctorate or continuing their research. Therefore, the environment at aiESG is very good for me, as they understand how to balance my PhD and business. I hope to contribute to aiESG's business while pursuing my doctoral degree.

Interviews and employment opportunities are also available on Wantedly.
https://www.wantedly.com/companies/company_9232529/post_articles/966920