Updated: April 2026
Overview
We welcome postdocs, researchers, and collaborators.
No specific positions are open right now, but we are always glad to hear from people whose themes overlap with ours. The reason is that the best collaborations rarely line up with an open posting: when the topics fit, it is worth starting the conversation early rather than waiting for a call to go out.
Table of Contents
About the Lab
Our work centers on compound interest in problem-solving: skills and knowledge that build on each other, so each problem you solve makes the next one easier. We focus on this because that compounding is exactly what we want to understand and support in learners — and we use the same lens for the lab itself, so that the methods and tools you build here keep paying off in later work rather than being discarded after one project.
We do integrative research across AI, knowledge engineering, learning analytics, cognitive science, and educational psychology. The reason we combine them rather than stay in one field is that learning sits at the intersection of science and engineering: we aim to “understand by building,” so we need the cognitive and educational side to know what is really happening when someone learns, and the AI and engineering side to turn that understanding into something that actually works.
→ About the Lab ・ Research ・ Supervisor: Kento Koike
About Collaboration
We collaborate with researchers outside our institution. If you have a proposal, please get in touch. We work across institutional lines because problems at the intersection of these fields are hard to cover with one lab’s expertise alone, and bringing in outside perspectives is often what makes a project work.
Related Fields
- Intelligent Tutoring Systems
- Artificial Intelligence
- Knowledge Engineering
- Learning Analytics
- Cognitive Science
- Educational Psychology
About Positions
Current Openings
No specific positions are open at the moment.
External Funding and Fellowships
To join as a postdoc or researcher, we recommend pursuing external funding or a fellowship. The reason is practical: without an open salaried position, a fellowship is usually the most reliable way to secure your own funding, and it also gives you an independent track record that helps your later career rather than tying you to one lab’s budget.
- JSPS Research Fellowship for Young Scientists (PD)
- Various foundation research grants
Want help with an application? Please consult with us in advance. We ask for this because applications are stronger when the research plan is shaped together from the start, and there is enough lead time to revise before the deadline.
Contact
We are always happy to discuss collaboration or joining the lab.
Email:
- Start the subject line with Ardbeg: (click to copy) to filter spam.
- In the body, include your name, affiliation, and interests.