“Backing the Unproven: What Makes an Early-Stage Founder or Innovator Worth Believing In?” Drawing on more than 25 years of experience supporting early-stage founders and his experience as an early investor in EF Polymer, Rishabh Verdia will share what he looks for when evaluating unproven ideas and founders, and what helps young ventures become investable and scalable.

DISCOVER THE LEAN STARTUP METHODOLOGY Learn to identify commercial opportunities that come from your academic research. Apply the Lean Startup methodology to real OIST technologies, guided by instructors from the NSF I-Corps™ network. Teams (2–3 people) will conduct interviews, validate their ideas, and explore real-world commercialization.

National holiday

National holiday

National holiday

"Visiting Program Coffee Hour": informal discussions and getting to know each other, in the Visiting Program (TSVP) area in Lab 5 EF03

Bring your own lunch and join us to make new connections and enjoy some fun conversations!

Introducing graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in Japan with some of the knowledge and tools needed to start thinking about and planning personal finances effectively.

Dr. Saahil Achariya is an OIST Graduate and now a post-doc in the Kusumi Unit

Four sessions over two Fridays, October 9 and 16 from 0900-1200 in L4E01

DEI Lunch Seminar: open communication across cultures. Details to be added later

National holiday

Introducing graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in Japan with some of the knowledge and tools needed to start thinking about and planning personal finances effectively.

Dr. Saahil Achariya is an OIST Graduate and now a post-doc in the Kusumi Unit

Four sessions over two Fridays, October 9 and 16 from 0900-1200 in L4E01

Short Talks & Elevator Speeches

In this webinar, we will discuss the most important components of scientific storytelling, namely: how to make a talk focused and engaging; how to present the appropriate amount of data with appealing slide design; how to make the talk personal, memorable, and aid future collaborations - useful tool for conferences and proposals. The webinar is highly interactive so students should come prepared to share selective ideas of their work.

Long Talks and Dissertations

This webinar is dedicated to the skill of holding an audience’s attention for longer periods of time, such as during dissertations, defenses, or critical job talks. Special attention will be given to long-form storytelling, using consistent and repetitive imagery and connecting data to the larger theme, while stressing skill sets and novel contributions to the field. Other topics include delivery techniques for long talks, and how to demonstrate knowledge, pride, and commitment with humility and grace.

National holiday

The PCD Team will host the OIST Career Fair 2026 on November 9th and 10th, 2026. This will offer OIST students a unique opportunity to engage directly with companies across Japan and explore diverse career paths beyond academia.

Digital AgTech Europe–Japan Meetup brings European agricultural technology to Tokyo. Hear how farms in Spain and Cyprus are using sensors, drones, and automation today, see short pitches from companies working in the field, and meet others across Japan's agriculture sector.

National holiday

National holiday

National holiday