This time, we interviewed Takuma Shimojo, who is studying finance and business statistics at a university in Malaysia. Read on to learn how Mr. Shimojo, who is working hard as an intern at Green Carbon from a foreign country, came to join our company and what kind of growth he has experienced in his daily work!
Name: Takuma Shimojo Department/Position: ESG Consulting Department Specialization/Responsibilities: Research on Carbon Credit Market Trends, Public Relations, etc…
University: Monash University, Malaysia
Major/Studies: Banking and Financial Management / Business Analytics
Reason for Joining Green Carbon: Wanted to gain business experience as a student; desired to work in a cutting-edge field.
Career Background: From Hyogo Prefecture, graduated from Takarazuka Kita High School, withdrew from Ritsumeikan University, enrolled at Monash University Malaysia. Hobbies/How I Spend My Days Off: Flag football, running
Student Activities/Organizations: Served as an Auditor for the Monash University Student Association (MUSA), responsible for checking daily event finances. SNS:https://www.linkedin.com/in/takumashimojoprofile/
Q. Please tell us about yourself, including your career background.
My name is Takuma Shimojo, and I’m currently a first-year university student. After graduating from the high school, I took a gap year to prepare for university entrance exams, and then spent a year and a half at the Japanese university. Now, I’m studying finance and business statistics at a university in Malaysia.
While I initially considered studying in the U.S. or Australia, my options were limited due to the funds I’d spent during my gap year and my time at the Japanese university. That’s when I serendipitously discovered that some overseas universities have branch campuses in Malaysia. When I learned it was an environment where students from diverse backgrounds gather, I decided to go to Malaysia without hesitation.
Although my academic background is in liberal arts, I chose to major in business statistics because I wanted to develop strong analytical skills and become proficient in data-driven analysis. Outside of academics, my hobbies are running and eating. Malaysia is a melting pot of cuisines from various countries, so I truly enjoy my meals every day—there’s always something new to try!
Q. What motivated you to work at Green Carbon?
As a student, I was eager to gain practical business experience and was looking for a place where I could receive constructive feedback and work alongside talented individuals. That’s how I stumbled upon Green Carbon on Wantedly. While I had heard terms like ‘carbon neutral’ and ‘carbon credits’ before, I didn’t fully grasp the specific concepts. However, I immediately felt this was a perfect opportunity to grow by diving into an unfamiliar field and striving to produce tangible results, so I decided to apply.
Q. What kind of work are you involved in? Please tell us about your job responsibilities.
Currently, I’m part of the ESG consulting division. My primary responsibilities involve research tasks, such as investigating carbon pricing trends and studying SBT (Science Based Targets), which are international standards. I’m also involved in public relations work, including posting interview articles like this one, which offers me a really broad range of experience.
Recently, I’ve been particularly focused on grant application work. This requires me to thoroughly read through application guidelines and accurately articulate Green Carbon’s business operations, which has been excellent training for my multitasking abilities and incredibly educational.
There are currently two interns in the ESG consulting division—myself and one other person, with plans to expand. This has given us more opportunities to manage tasks ourselves and collaborate. I’ve realized that close communication is crucial, but so far, I feel we’ve been able to work at a good pace, and I’d like to continue this momentum.
Q. What do you find rewarding about the work?
What I find most rewarding is that by completing the various tasks entrusted to me by the staff, each one becomes not only a personal strength but also an asset to the company. I’ve had several internship experiences in the past, but many of them involved tasks that didn’t truly delve into specialized fields, which made me question whether they would genuinely contribute to my future.
Green Carbon, however, is different. As highlighted in reports from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the staff members genuinely care about interns’ futures and entrust us with specialized tasks in areas like carbon credits and ESG. So, there’s truly a lot to learn every day, and it constantly motivates me to take proactive action.
Q. Finally, please share a message for people who want to work at Green Carbon.
Green Carbon offers diverse opportunities for interns. Even someone like me, whose major isn’t in environmental or agricultural studies, can receive support from staff and fellow interns when actively taking initiative. Also, Green Carbon embodies the speed characteristic of startups, so I highly recommend that anyone who wants to move forward quickly and at their own pace consider applying! Let’s work hard together and push each other to improve!
Thank you very much for reading this article to the end.
As a special benefit, those who have accessed this interview via the QR code printed on Shimojo’s business card will be eligible to bypass the document screening stage of our internship application process.
When applying, please write “Applied via QR code on Shimojo’s business card” in the remarks section (備考欄) of the application form below.