The Dean of the Information School at University of Washington visited the Kasuga area of University of Tsukuba.
On May 2, 2025, Dr. Anind K. Dey, Dean and Professor of the Information School at the University of Washington, USA, visited the University of Tsukuba and gave a distinguished lecture.
The Information School at the University of Washington is known for its strong information studies research, ranking second in the world (first in the US) in the Library and Information Science field in the QS rankings, and its master's degree program is also ranked first in the US in the same field in the Best Graduate School rankings. Like our university, it is also a member of the iSchool, a global organization made up of information studies education and research institutes at research universities around the world.
On the day, Professor Atsuyuki Morishima, Dean of the Institute of Library, Information and Media Science, and Professor Kenji Suzuki, Dean of the Institute of Systems and Information Engineering, exchanged opinions regarding the future of the iSchool and international AI research, after which Dr. Dey gave a distinguished lecture in the Media Hall.
The lecture, titled "Using Everyday Routines as a Resource for Understanding Behaviors and Making Recommendations," discussed the possibilities and challenges of technology that can help understand and change human behavior through the analysis of habitual human behavioral data. More than 50 students and faculty members attended, and a lively question-and-answer session was held.
Afterwards, Dr. Dey visited the Digital Nature laboratory (Associate Professor Yoichi Ochiai）, the Communication Understanding laboratory (Associate Professor Yohei Seki) and the Integrated Intelligence Design laboratory (Professor Atsuyuki Morishima/Assistant Professor Hiroyoshi Ito), where he received explanations from faculty and students about the research being conducted at each laboratory.
For the students, interacting with researchers at the forefront of their fields was a very meaningful opportunity.
It is hoped that this visit will deepen the collaboration in education and research between our university and the University of Washington based on the iSchool and lead to the development of international academic exchange in the future.
Left: Prof. Dr. Anind K. Dey | Right: Prof. Atsuyuki Morishima
Scene from the Distinguished Lecture