An award at the 12th Digital Innovators Grand (DIG) Prix, hosted by Data management creation Laboratory of the Keio Research Institute at SFC, was given to the 49th class members of Prof. Shimura's Seminar (Faculty of Business Administration) for their research entitled "Food is universal throughout the country—Connecting with others through food."

The participants of this competition are students from high schools to graduate schools, with this year marking its 12th competition. This time the applicants were given the theme "Food makes us smile—Seeking new styles for the food and drink culture." The applicants conducted a multifaceted analysis of browsing and reservation data from the gourmet and restaurant information website Gurunavi, in addition to other independently collected data, and made proposals for measures to add new values to the food and drink culture.

Prof. Shimura's Seminar team was selected among the ten finalists from a record number of 80 applicants to receive the prize. The other winners included both public and private schools such as Keio University and a graduate school of the University of Tsukuba.
Ms. Minori Yokoyama, a student from the seminar, commented: "It was our first time participating in this competition and we didn't know where to start. However, we as a team took the challenge through trial and error and competed online against other excellent teams from all over the country, leading us to win the prize. This year, I had such a fulfilling spring holiday thanks to the other seminar members, who kept challenging themselves without giving up, Professor Shimura, who gave us this opportunity to participate and provided his earnest guidance, and many former seminar students who helped us. I would also like to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who believed in us and provided support. Our team will use this experience to be further united and take on various challenges in the future."