Introduction

Ikeda Lab is looking for students who are interested in game AI or AI techniques.

JAIST is a graduate school without undergraduate programs, and many of you may not know very well.
This page aims to briefly explain about admission and answer some frequently asked questions.

Basic Information about JAIST

We only provide brief descriptions here. For more details, please visit the official website of JAIST.

[About Campus]
　・JAIST has Ishikawa Campus and Tokyo Satellite (for working professionals).
　・Most of the students in Ishikawa Campus live in the dormitories.
　　Including utility and Internet bills, it costs about 15,000 JPY per month, which is cheap.
　・There are almost no shops within walking distance, thus it will be convenient to have a car or friends who have cars.
　・Even so, there are a convenience store inside the campus and supermarkets which can be reached by free shuttle buses.
　　Therefore, the most basic level of life can be guaranteed.

[About Education Program]
　・JAIST provides master’s programs (2 years) and doctoral programs (3 years).
　・For master's programs, JAIST also provides Mα programs, where students graduate in 2~3 years.
　　The tuition fee for such a program is still the same as that for 2 years.
　　If you are unsure about your skills or want to produce good results, it is recommended.
　・Similarly, for working professionals, there is a rule called Extended Study Period for Completion.
　　With paying tuition fees for 2 years, you can study for at most 4 years.
　・JAIST offers many kinds of scholarships.
　　Especially, many doctoral program students receive the Doctoral Research Fellow (DRF) scholarship.

[About Entrance Examination]
　・Both April admission and October admission are possible.
　・Entrance examinations are usually held three or four times every year.
　　Besides, there are Examinations for Admission on Recommendation for Overseas Residents.
　・Laboratory assignment is NOT decided at entrance examinations.
　　"Usually", after enrollment, you will be asked to propose candidates of desired laboratories.
　　The assignment is then decided based on the grades in term 1-1, the interviews with professors, etc.
　・At one time, it was easy to pass the entrance examinations of JAIST.
　　However, in recent years, you need to be well prepared to pass the examinations.

[About Course]
　・You can graduate with only English or only Japanese.
　・Quarter system is applied, where there are 2 semesters per year and each is separated into 2 terms.
　　Each term lasts for 8 weeks, and the same class is given twice per week.
　・If you are not good at mathematics, you may have difficulty obtaining credits from classes.
　　Studying in advance or selecting the Mα program may be meaningful.
　・In addition to major research at Ikeda Lab, "minor research" at another laboratory is also required.

Basic Information about Ikeda Lab

[About Laboratory Assignment]
　・Usually, 4~6 students are assigned to Ikeda Lab every year, and the number is relatively high in JAIST.
　・Under the standard procedure, you may not be assigned to the top wish of laboratory because of competition.
　・For this, it is also possible to apply for Informal Laboratory Assignment Prior to Enrollment.
　　Irrelevant to the grades in term 1-1, you will be promised of assignment to Ikeda Lab.
　　Since Prof. Ikeda would like to have discussions on fitness and hold extra examinations,
　　if interested, please contact us as soon as possible after passing the entrance examination.

[About Necessary Skill]
　・It is better if you have programming skills, which are required in many cases.
　　If you are less experienced, it may be meaningful to practice before enrollment or select the Mα program.
　　In rare cases, students can graduate with research topics that do not require programming skills, though not recommended.
　・With regard to programming languages, usually C#, C++, Python, Java, etc. are used, and it is nice to be good at any of which.
　・At the time of enrollment, you are not required to know AI techniques.
　　However, it would be helpful to read introductory textbooks as preparation.
　・You must be good at one of English and Japanese at least.
　　By good at, it means that the language can be used in academic discussions at least.
　・International students are not required to be able to speak Japanese.
　　However, in seminars and meetings, both languages are used, and it is a good chance to get used to it.
　　Also, Japanese is used in many cases of daily conversations.
　　If you can speak Japanese, you may enjoy the stay more.
　・Basic skills as a knowledge worker (e.g., giving examples, generalization, various viewpoints, and understandable presentations)
　　are considered very important.

[About Research Topic]
　・Basically, Prof. Ikeda respects students' willingness and decides research topics after discussions on feasibility.
　　The approximate range of research topics can be inferred from Publication List (mixed with Japanese and English).
　・You can work on brand-new topics or expand past research.
　　It should be decided while considering interest, time, and ability.
　・Since the goal of our research is NOT to "make games",
　　it is not recommended to work on games where the environments are hard to prepare.
　　Especially for master's students, simple games or games with existing environments are better.
　・Before graduation, you will be asked to present your research outside JAIST, e.g., academic conferences.
　　(a kind of guarantee for the quality of the work)
　・If the papers are accepted, you can attend even international conferences, and the number of times is not limited.
　　About half of the students publish their research as international conference papers.
　
[About Career]
　・About 45% of the international students from JAIST work in Japan after graduation.
　・Many of the alumni from Ikeda Lab work as system engineers, programmers, data scientists, etc.
　　Some alumni work at game companies but are relatively rare.
　・In Ikeda Lab, students are relatively free to undertake job hunting activities.
　　It will be impossible that you cannot undertake job hunting activities due to research.
　・In addition to Career Support Section, Prof. Ikeda can also assist in CV revision, interview practice, etc. on request.

[About Culture]
　・About languages, both Japanese and English are used.
　　It is okay to speak English only, and it is also possible to practice Japanese.
　・Reports, communication, and discussions are considered very important.
　　If you want to work alone, you are not suitable for Ikeda Lab.
　・Many of the members like games, and sometimes it is also good to play games together.

About Visit and Internship

Deciding which graduate school to go and which laboratory to join is fairly crucial.
You may have anxieties about whether the research can be carried out well,
whether the interested research topic can be approved,
whether the selected topic is really interesting,
whether the professor and the members are nice, etc.

Under such a situation, what you need is not just courage.
To reduce the risk that "I tried but failed", it is better to investigate in advance or contact professors.
Prof. Ikeda will honestly reply if you make sincere inquiries, even when you are thought unfit.
Thus, please feel free to contact Prof. Ikeda, and if you want to enroll, please also include the following information about you.
　・University and major
　　For universities in China, please also specify whether it belongs to 985, 211, or 一本.
　　It is not a problem if the university belongs to none of the above.
　・Transcript or GPA
　・English proficiency: For non-native speakers, please provide scores of TOEIC, TOEFL, IELTS, etc.
　　Japanese proficiency: For non-native speakers, please provide if you have, though not required.
　・The paper(s) of Ikeda Lab that you have read and are interested in
　・A research proposal of 2-3 pages including the followings where figures and examples are also desired
　　- Research title
　　- Background
　　- The type or name of the target game
　　- Related research and dissatisfaction with current work
　　- Proposed approaches
　　- Methods to evaluate the approaches
　・Programming skills, and what kinds of projects you have done, if any, with what kinds of programming languages

After thorough investigations, if you are really interested in Ikeda Lab, it would be very meaningful to visit us.
Through the visit, you may have more senses about the atmosphere between other students, the location of JAIST,
whether the facilities are good, whether Prof. Ikeda seems to be suitable, etc.

Moreover, if you can stay 1~2 weeks for an internship, it would be even more meaningful.
Through even only part of research on game AI, the judgment on fitness can be made more accurately.
Generally, only students who want to join Ikeda Lab are accepted. If you are interested, please consider it.