I was finally able to visit the University of Edinburgh. I had long been curious about this university because my undergraduate advisor, Professor Tamio Arai (Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo), is an alumnus there, and many of my seniors who went on to pursue doctoral studies had also studied there.Professor Arai established the Service Engineering Research Division while serving as Director of the Center for Artificial Object Engineering at the University of Tokyo, and later founded the Japan Society for Service Engineering, serving as its first president. Although my own research has strayed from Professor Arai’s field since graduation, I’ve been hearing his name frequently lately as KMD promotes service design, which fills me with a sense of nostalgia and joy.

The building housing the Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI), established by the University of Edinburgh in 2022, doesn’t feature a futuristic design befitting its name; instead, it has a stately, historic presence.Upon looking into it, I found that it is a renovated and repurposed version of the former Royal Hospital of Edinburgh, and it reportedly won the Prix Versailles architecture award in 2024. Just as I thought! It was a truly striking piece of architecture. I love their approach of advancing cutting-edge research while cherishing tradition!!!

I hear that EFI is a hub for industry-academia collaboration that tackles complex social issues through a data-driven approach, and the name of the department is “Interdisciplinary Futures.” That sounds really appealing.

My visit coincided with Welcome Week, and I was particularly impressed by the vibrant atmosphere on campus, filled with the energy of the new students.

So Maxwell and Graham Bell were from there, too. I felt as though I had been able to trace the footsteps of these great scientists who had a decisive influence on the advancement of science and technology.