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Today, we invited Ms Emi Wakita from Kaihatsu Management Consulting, Inc. to talk about the consultancy profession, which is of great interest to students. Ms Wakita had just returned from business trips to Thailand and Senegal, but kindly agreed to an online interview with the students.

First, Mr Wakita gave a basic explanation of Japanese ODA. 

She then talked about what consultants actually do, explaining to the students that Ms. Wakita 

herself is currently mainly working on projects commissioned by JICA, and that she often travels overseas to monitor the progress of these projects.

 She also shared with the students the real joy of her job, which is to advise on improvement measures through local monitoring and take the project to the next stage. 

The students asked questions about what is particularly required of a consultant, how to prepare all required skills, and received specific advice from Ms. Wakita.

Ms. Wakita spoke about her background in becoming a consultant,

 telling that her interest in tourism and culture led her to study at postgraduate level in France, 

where she obtained her degree in French. 

This enabled her to work in French-speaking parts of the African continent, 

such as Senegal, and the students seemed to have learnt that the consultancy profession offers 

a wider range of options. The students also learnt that it is possible not only to work as an individual 

consultant, but also to set up a company in collaboration with other consultants, 

depending on one's ability. The workshop was a dream-expanding experience for the students.