Prof. Yoshihiro Niitsu received B.S. and M.S. degrees from Tohoku University in 1976 and 1978, respectively. He also received a Ph. D from the University of Tokyo in 1993. He was with NTT Laboratories from 1978 to 2003. He studied network configuration technology, an enhanced man-machine interface and an automatic creation system of communication service software. He joined Shibaura Institute of Technology (SIT) in 2003 and is currently an emeritus professor.

He has researched context-aware technology, ad-hoc network technology, cyber security technology and walking support technology using sensors for visually impaired persons at SIT.

He has developed an educational method for students to learn the corresponding technology through doing similar industrial activities. This method makes it possible for students to study telecommunication software development processes voluntarily by group work incorporating a realistic and practical industrial approach. This is the creative learning method of project-based learning (PBL) whereby students can learn the whole process of software development.

As a result of applying this method to a lot of students, educational achievements have been obtained. He has clarified the effectiveness of this method by analyzing and evaluating educational results. This method can increase not only the improvement of overall software development skills, but also that of more advanced development skills for combining elemental software technologies. The educational achievements of this method have been clarified in his books about software education, several awards given from domestic and international societies and papers published in the journal of engineering education.

As a result of classes and leading graduation studies based on this method, IEICE Tokyo Section Student Awards were given to eleven students over ten years. Students were also awarded encouragement prizes of IEICE study groups and the best paper awards of the Journal of Human Interface Society and SEATUC Conference. These facts show the effectiveness of this education method.

He continuously contributed to remote teaching to Malaysian students who want to study in Japan. Under his leadership, his laboratory’s students were given distinguished service awards from SIT.

I sincerely offer a recommendation that he deserves the IEICE Distinguished Education Award because of his practical educational method accomplishments.