Professor Tsuyoshi Kato’s laboratory of the Faculty of Informatics at Gunma University continues its impressive progress. What is the secret behind their success?

Since his graduate school days, Professor Kato has focused on refining AI theory—work that he often managed to complete entirely on his own. 

The turning point came in March 2015. He had a student who had helped him with his research present their findings at an academic conference, and unexpectedly, the student won an award. This made him incredibly happy, and he became "addicted to awards." Since then, he has adopted a peculiar style of conducting research with students as much as possible, prioritizing awards at academic conferences for their presentations. 

His lab now secures numerous awards every year. "I believe the number of awards we receive is quite high for an AI-related lab managed by a single faculty member," he says.

Over the years, he has accumulated a wealth of instructional expertise—knowing how to stimulate student motivation, unlock their latent potential, and teach effective presentation skills. Professor Kato is truly a "Best Teacher" in every sense.

Fueled by his students' energy, he continues to tackle large-scale projects in collaboration with corporations and researchers from other universities.