FUTI is pleased to announce the launch of The Prof. Ito Memorial Lecture Series: Featuring Early-Stage Professionals, a new online lecture and dialogue initiative. This series aims to spotlight promising early-stage professionals and to provide younger generations of FUTI alumni with opportunities to learn from their work, perspectives, and career experiences. Through open dialogue and intellectual exchange, the series seeks to inspire, connect, and strengthen the FUTI community across generations and disciplines.
FUTI currently operates several programs that support early-career scholars and foster engagement among international alumni. Since 2022, the FUTI Fireside Chat Series, hosted by FUTI Director of International Alumni Programs, Geeta Mehta, has offered a welcoming forum for international alumni of the University of Tokyo to share their professional journeys. In addition, FUTI’s Travel Award program has played a key role in supporting emerging researchers at critical stages of their careers.
Building on these initiatives, the FUTI Event Team has proposed a new annual lecture and dialogue series to further advance FUTI’s mission. This series also honors the legacy of the late Prof. Takatoshi Ito, whose career was marked by a deep commitment to mentoring and supporting young professionals and scholars. By highlighting early-stage professionals across diverse fields, The Prof. Ito Memorial Lecture Series will complement existing FUTI programs while expanding opportunities for alumni engagement and inspiration.
(For more on Prof. Ito’s legacy, please see: https://www.friendsofutokyo.org/en/in-memoriam-former-futi-director-prof-takatoshi-ito/
With more than 300 scholarship recipients, FUTI alumni represent a rich and diverse pool of potential speakers. The inaugural lecture will feature Dr. Yuki Haba, an award-winning evolutionary biologist and Leon Levy Scholar in Neuroscience at Columbia University’s Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute. Scheduled for January 23, 2026, Dr. Haba’s talk will officially launch the Prof. Ito Memorial Lecture Series.
While FUTI alumni will form a core group of speakers, future participants need not be FUTI award recipients.
Speaker recommendations may be sent to us from members of FUTI’s Board of Directors and Advisory Committee, as well as from other supporters. Candidates need not be researchers. Professionals from a wide range of fields including humanitarian work and international organizations such as the United Nations, ILO, or WHO, will also be considered.
Through this lecture series, FUTI aims to celebrate excellence, promote cross-generational learning of UTokyo and FUTI alumni, and carry forward Prof. Ito’s enduring commitment to nurturing the next generation of global professionals.
FUTI Event Team
