What Should We Learn in an Uncertain World? with Dr. Jun Suzuki (Part 1)

“Honestly, it’s more fun when things are going well. But looking back, many of the biggest opportunities came when things weren’t going well.”
— Dr. Jun Suzuki

Hello everyone, Thomas and Craig here. Our first year of college has officially come to an end.

Between classes, exams, and assignments, the year flew by. We were so busy keeping up with college life that we haven’t written here in quite a while.

Now that summer is here, we’ve finally had time to slow down and think about a question that’s been on our minds:

What kind of future do we want to build for ourselves?

At the same time, AI seems to be advancing almost every week. It raises another question:

In an AI-driven world, what should we actually be learning?

To explore that question, we reached out to someone we’ve wanted to interview for a while— Dr. Jun Suzuki, a professor at Kyoto University’s Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS), whose research explores how cells function at the molecular level.

His research focuses on cell membrane biology and transmembrane proteins and has led to several groundbreaking discoveries that have advanced our understanding of cellular processes. We hoped his experience might offer some clues about what students should focus on in a rapidly changing world.

Our conversation became much longer than planned because every answer sparked another question.

In this first post, we’d like to share three ideas that stayed with us:
mentorship, deep expertise, and learning in the age of AI.

Lesson 1: Great Mentors Matter

Dr. Suzuki began by sharing how his mentors shaped his career.

As an undergraduate, one professor encouraged him by saying, “You have what it takes to become a researcher.”

Later, encouraged by his professor to study abroad, he became interested in pursuing a career in science on an international stage.

In graduate school, another mentor, a world-renowned scientist, recognized his creativity and encouraged him to trust his own ideas.

But, he explained, that doesn’t mean simply accepting everything you’re told. Have your own ideas, discuss them with others, and be open to different perspectives. Even when someone’s opinion is different from your own, listen carefully and think about what you can learn from it.

According to Dr. Suzuki, students who approach learning with that mindset grow the fastest.

What struck us most was that after decades as a scientist, he wasn’t looking for students who knew the most or had the most talent.

He was looking for people who are genuinely willing to learn.

That’s a mindset we hope to carry with us, too.

Lesson 2: Failure Can Create Opportunity

Research rarely goes smoothly. Experiments fail. You rethink your ideas, try again, and often fail once more. But that’s exactly where growth happens.

It was reassuring to hear that even someone who has made world-first discoveries has experienced many failures along the way.

🌟　Success wasn’t the absence of setbacks. It came from asking the next question instead of giving up.

That reminded us of soccer.

Every time we reached one level, another challenge appeared. Looking back, improvement never came during the easy moments.

Lesson 3: In the AI Era, Go Deep

Finally, we asked one of our biggest concerns.

What if we eventually work in a field that’s completely different from our college major? Will everything we’re studying now be wasted?

The stronger that pillar becomes, the easier it is to understand new fields—and eventually contribute to them.

Without a solid foundation, even exciting new opportunities may be difficult to recognize.

That idea gave us a surprising sense of relief.

AI will undoubtedly change the way we work. But none of us can predict exactly what knowledge will be most valuable ten years from now.

Instead of worrying about what AI might replace, perhaps the better strategy is to dive deeply into something we genuinely enjoy—and build the ability to keep learning as the world changes.

Looking Ahead

This conversation changed the way we think about uncertainty.

We realized that we don’t need to predict the future perfectly.

What matters is becoming the kind of people who can continue learning, adapting, and thinking for ourselves—no matter what the future looks like.

During our interview, Dr. Suzuki also shared fascinating thoughts about scientific discovery, and why thinking for yourself may become even more important in the age of AI.

We’ll explore those ideas in Part 2, where we’ll talk about how world-first discoveries happen, why independent thinking matters, and the role of serendipity in science.