Kyoto College of Information Graduate School (KCGI), part of the Information University Educational Foundation, celebrated the 23rd anniversary of its founding on November 1, 2026. On Friday, November 13, a commemorative ceremony was held in the Grand Hall on the 6th floor of the KCGI Kyoto Station Satellite Campus and the Kyoto Computer Gakuin (KCG) Kyoto Station Campus.At the commemorative ceremony, Shigeo Yamada, Principal Researcher at the Comprehensive Technology Research Institute of BIPROGY Co., Ltd.—a leading IT services company that operates the “Future Environment Lab” in collaboration with KCGI and KCG—delivered a lecture titled “From Computers of the Past to AI of the Future: Knowledge Exploration and Creation Pioneered by Next-Generation Digital Archives.”KCGI will change its name to “The University of Informatics” in 2025 and open its first overseas satellite campus in Athens, Greece, in April 2026.and this fall semester, it is launching a new specialized field in Space Science IT, which aims to foster a scientific understanding of space and equip students with the fundamental knowledge and skills of space science and engineering. In this way, the university continues to grow both in name and in reality.The students and faculty members who attended the commemorative ceremony, keeping the KCG Group’s founding philosophy—the Pioneer Spirit—close to their hearts, vowed to make even greater strides.
Senior Researcher Yamada is leading research at the Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology on intelligent systems based on human-AI collaboration, collective intelligence, and the nature of intelligence.I specialize in researching mechanisms through which humans and AI complement each other to generate new knowledge, as well as the social and technological foundations that support a sustainable cycle of knowledge.He is also the proponent of the “Reviewing the Past, Exploring the Future Project,” which is being carried out in collaboration with KCGI and KCG. He is working to build a next-generation environment for knowledge exploration and emergence that leverages digital archives and knowledge graphs, and is taking on the challenge of creating new knowledge from both academic and practical perspectives.
In 2017, the KCG Group and the Comprehensive Technology Research Institute of BIPROGY Co., Ltd. (then Nihon Unisys, Ltd.) signed an industry-academia collaboration agreement to establish a partnership in academia and research.Based on this, the “Future Environment Lab” was established on campus to facilitate mutual exchange between our university’s students and researchers from the Comprehensive Technology Research Institute, and to foster ongoing collaboration on various academic and research projects.It serves as a forum for industry-academia collaboration where BIPROGY’s leading researchers, our university faculty, and students with fresh ideas work together to advance joint projects.
The “Exploring the Past, Envisioning the Future Project,” undertaken by the “Future Environment Lab,” is not merely a digital archive; rather, it aims to “connect the memories of past computers to the creation of future knowledge” and to utilize knowledge graphs to generate new experiences in exploration and knowledge creation.In his lecture, Senior Researcher Yamada introduced the potential of next-generation digital archives, focusing on KCG’s efforts to preserve and pass on to future generations the historical materials—such as computers—and technological knowledge held by the organization.Going beyond the traditional framework of “storage and search,” the presentation focused on new experiences in knowledge exploration and creation that leverage knowledge graphs and AI. Using concrete examples, it provided a clear and accessible explanation of topics ranging from the significance of studying past computer technologies to the approaches to knowledge utilization required in the AI era, and the vision of a future where humans and AI collaborate to create new value.He went on to say, “It is (human) curiosity that shapes the future.”Here at KCGI and KCG, I have wonderful memories that spark my curiosity."Each and every one of you will pass those memories on to the future and generate new knowledge," he said, encouraging the students.
Inheriting the pioneering spirit of KCG—Japan’s first computer education institution, founded in 1963—KCGI opened its doors in 2004 as Japan’s first professional graduate school for IT.The Graduate School of Applied Information Technology has established Majoring in Web Business Technology Program, specializing in two areas: information technology and management, and upon completion, students are awarded a Master of Science in Information Technology (Professional Degree), the highest degree in the field of IT applications.In addition to the newly established Space Science IT program, the specialized subject clusters include: ▽ Artificial Intelligence; ▽ Data Science; ▽ Web System Development; ▽ Network and Security Management; ▽ Global Entrepreneurship; ▽ ERP; ▽ IT Manga and Anime; ▽ Tourism IT; and ▽ IT Entertainment.Space Science IT offers a curriculum that emphasizes practical application by leveraging IT—such as the effective use of vast amounts of satellite data.This can be described as our university’s center for space frontier research, carrying on the tradition of the Department of Astrophysics at Kyoto University, where the current president of KCG studied.In addition, the following industrial subject groups have been established: ▽ Finance ▽ Agriculture ▽ Marine Sciences ▽ Healthcare and Wellness ▽ Education.In addition to Japanese students, KCGI attracts many international students from Asia, Europe, the Americas, and Africa—in part because it offers numerous courses taught in English—who are studying to become highly specialized professionals who will lead the global IT industry.