Event Report

On Wednesday, July 23, 2025, the “1st Interdisciplinary Research Matching Workshop – 100 minutes to create new collaborations at the intersection of AI and the humanities and social sciences” was held at Waseda University’s Building 121.

This workshop was organized by the Center for Research Strategy with the aim of discovering new research possibilities and approaches to social issues through the fusion of different fields of knowledge: AI, the humanities, and social sciences.
Approximately 30 faculty members and researchers from the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences of the university gathered for the event.

■ Scenes from the workshop

First, ten researchers gave three-minute pitch presentations.
The presentation topics were diverse, including autonomous driving, information processing, control engineering, multimedia information processing, AI ethics, security, robot philosophy, environmental economics, political communication, law and AI, and modern Japanese literature. Each presenter introduced their own research from their own unique perspective, as well as explained what fields they would like to collaborate with and what kind of needs they have.

In the group discussions that followed, all participants shared their own research and challenges, as well as the perspectives and technologies they would like to see from different fields, and there was a lively exchange of opinions, making use of each other’s expertise.
The structure in which knowledge from different fields responds to real needs such as “I don’t understand this” or “I want this kind of technology” is the very essence of the dynamism of interdisciplinary collaboration, and participants commented that it was an opportunity to look at their own research objectively, and that it revealed possibilities for collaboration that they had never imagined. URA (University Research Administrator) faculty members from the Center for Research Strategy joined each group and facilitated the discussion.

A networking session was held at the end of the event, allowing participants to continue their dialogue across the boundaries of position and expertise.
As AI technology advances, the need for interdisciplinary dialogue is greater than ever as we are now faced with the need to address social implementation and ethical and legal issues. This workshop was a major step forward in sharing awareness of these issues and sowing the seeds of new collaboration.

The Center for Research Strategy will continue to promote interdisciplinary research, with a view to collaborating with government ministries, local governments, and companies, in order to create connections between researchers and promote the formation of knowledge networks that respond to social issues.

Overview

Date and time: Wednesday, July 23, 2025 17:00-18:40
Location: Waseda University Building 121, 1F common space (next to Tully’s)
Format: Face-to-face
Target: Faculty and researchers at the university
Organized by: Waseda University Center for Research Strategy (Research Innovation Center, Research Strategy Section)
Event Information (Japanese Only): https://www.waseda.jp/inst/research/news/81133