Dialogue with a Senior Officer from UNDP

Graduate School of Public Policy (GraSPP) and GSDM hosted a Brown-bag Lunch Seminar with a senior officer from United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on October 24, 2014. The guest speaker was Mr. Takeshi Kohno, Special Adviser & Senior Programme Adviser, Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy at UNDP. The speaker's introductory lecture titled “UNDP's Operational Focus and Career Opportunities” was followed by discussion with graduate students from various academic backgrounds on how to overcome global challenges by making the good use of interdisciplinary knowledge. Mr. Kohno also provided insights into global leadership based on his own professional experience and advised participants on future career opportunities in international organizations.

Discussion with Mr. Takeshi Kohno, joined by Prof. Toshiro Nishizawa

The Global Leader Program for Social Design and Management (GSDM) is an interdisciplinary doctoral program to train top leaders leading a global society, involving 21 departments of nine graduate schools at the University of Tokyo. The program trains potential leaders?advanced doctorate holders capable of taking the driver's seat of the world or a country in the near future?who can correctly identify global issues faced by society in their early stages according to high ethical views and resolve them by integrating diverse expertise and organizing social resources, and who also possess excellent communication skills.

Mr. Kohno is responsible for fund raising for UNDP's initiatives and the overall management of more than 100 Japan-funded projects. He was the Head of the Political Section in the Embassy of Japan in Timor-Leste from April 2009 to August 2011. Mr. Kohno has held several positions in the Japanese Government's consultation committees in the Ministries of Education, Science and Technology, Foreign Affairs, Land and Transport, and the Prime Minister's Office. Mr. Kohno graduated from Doshisha University's Law Faculty in Kyoto and also holds degrees from Ohio University's Center for Southeast Asian Studies. He earned his PhD from Ohio State University's Political Science Department.