Nomin earned a degree in economics in 2021. After graduation, she went to work as an IT recruiter and sales representative at a personnel services firm in Tokyo. She excelled at that work, repeatedly exceeding the benchmarks for key performance indicators. Entrepreneurial aspirations were welling up in her soul, prompting her decision to seek an MBA degree.

“My employer was generously flexible in allowing me to work on a part-time basis after I entered Waseda Business School in October 2023. So I continued working through most of my first year at Waseda, though I ultimately needed to concentrate full-time on my dissertation.”

Nomin’s choice of topic for her dissertation emerged from her personal experience and from her core study at Waseda. She took a seminar (zemi in Japanese) on entrepreneurship led by Professor Iriyama Akie. Iriyama exemplifies three qualities that Nomin admires in the Waseda Business School faculty: a wealth of real-world experience; a pleasant informality in the classroom that nurtures dialogue; and attentive, practical support for students in researching and writing the dissertation.

“I couple my academic duties at Waseda Business School,” explains Iriyama, “with positions on the boards of companies. Among my colleagues here are former partners at prominent consultancies, venture capitalists, and—like me—corporate board members. Thus can we share with students real-world insights into management that transcend anything they could ever get from textbooks. My colleagues and I also draw on our business-world networks to enrich our curriculum with guest appearances by business figures from Japan and overseas. Also of note is the annual Waseda Meeting. In that event, the business school invites dozens of executives to hold discussions on business issues with faculty members over the course of a week. That infuses the faculty with insights and understanding that reinforce the school’s value to students.”

“I asked to write my dissertation as a business proposal,” Nomin explains. “My idea was to draft a business plan for a venture that would help overcome difficulties I had experienced in Japan. Although I spoke some Japanese when I arrived, I struggled nonetheless with logistical, language, and cultural barriers. I felt really lonely. The thought occurred to me that other individuals from overseas who take up work or study here surely experience similar issues. I set out to envision a business venture that would function as a platform for sharing mutually useful information and advice.

“Professor Iriyama agreed to my idea for structuring the dissertation as a business proposal and was extremely supportive. He enriched the proposal with striking new ideas that hadn’t occurred to me. Professor Iriyama also introduced former students who had tackled similar kinds of startups.”

Nomin earned Iriyama’s attention, the professor reports, with impressive dedication to her studies and with sterling promise. “She is a pretty high bar for anyone to emulate,” he comments, “but her modest demeanor and the way she sparked friendly relationships with classmates warrant attention. Our students in the International MBA Program hail from more than 20 nations. They are incredibly talented and, of course, extremely diverse. Nomin set a good example in regard to making the most of the program by making a lot of friends.”

Just as the faculty strengths underlay a big part of Waseda Business School’s appeal for Nomin, she also valued the student interaction highly. She earned her degree in the International MBA Program, a two-year program taught in English, and lauds the stimulus imparted by the cosmopolitan mix of students.

“We came from diverse backgrounds,” recalls Nomin, “studying together, eating together, and sharing our daily lives. All of us gained incredibly stimulating input from the interaction.”

Waseda Business School also offers in English the Waseda-Nanyang Double MBA Program. That is a 14-month dual-degree program that begins in Singapore at Nanyang Technological University and ends in Tokyo at Waseda. In addition, the school offers the Master of Science in Finance Program, a two-year program taught in English, along with two MBA programs conducted in Japanese: a one-year daytime program and a two-year evening program.

Besides the Waseda-Nanyang Double MBA Program, Waseda Business School offers a weeklong intensive course each August in Singapore. Nomin participated in 2024.

“Our study trip to Singapore,” remarks Nomin, “was a highlight of my time at Waseda. The participants numbered nearly 40 and included students from the English and Japanese MBA programs. That redoubled the student interaction that enlivened study at Waseda Business School.

Nomin maintains a medium-term plan for translating her dissertation into a business. She decided, however, that she should acquire more business experience before setting out on her own. Nomin gained firsthand insights into different career paths through the support of the Waseda Business School Career Management Center. Through career counseling, job market updates, and guidance on employment opportunities, the center helped her gain a better understanding of the Japanese job market and evaluate potential career paths. Such support can be especially valuable for international students who are eyeing careers in Japan. Ultimately, Nomin took a job in marketing after completing her studies.

Nomin is emphatic in her suggestions about how MBA candidates can make the most of their time at Waseda Business School. She stresses the importance of taking advantage of Waseda’s offerings in Japanese language education and extracurricular activities.

“The Japanese program here is superb,” notes Nomin. “I saw students come in here knowing no Japanese and attain basic functionality in the language. The Japanese course I took here was extremely valuable in extending what I had already learned. As for extracurricular activities, I couldn’t take part because I was working part-time during the first year and was concentrating on my dissertation in the second year and then on my new job. But I could see that they were really beneficial for the students who participated, and I definitely would try to find a way to take part if I could do it over again.”

Another facet of the appeal of Waseda Business School that Nomin cites is the host city. She speaks passionately about the breadth of Tokyo’s appeal.

“People of any persuasion can find something here to capture their imagination and fulfill their interests. Tokyo offers an immense range of offerings in sports, culture, cuisine, and much more. It is an absolutely fantastic place to pursue whatever suits your fancy.”