Dr. Kihoko Tokue, Managing Director of Leave a Nest Singapore, appointed as head of Leave a Nest Education Research Institute (ERI) — Accelerating Educational Research from Asia through the Science Castle Platform —

Tokyo, Japan, October 2025 — Leave a Nest Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shinjuku, Tokyo; Group CEO: Dr. Yukihiro Maru) is pleased to announce that Dr. Kihoko Tokue, Managing Director of Leave a Nest Singapore, has been appointed as head of Leave a Nest Education Research Institute (ERI).

Through this appointment, Leave a Nest will further strengthen its educational platforms across Southeast Asia and the broader Asia region, centering on the Science Castle initiative that promotes research-based learning among junior and senior high school students. The Institute will continue to advance global educational research that transcends national and regional boundaries.

The previous institute head,Dr. Satomi Maeda, successfully led research focusing on promoting autonomous learning based on intrinsic curiosity & inquisitiveness (“waku waku” in Japanese ) and action inspired by students’ innate curiosity. Those research outcomes have now been commercialized within the Education Development Division as the WakuWaku Visualization Service, which measures and visualizes the impact of inquiry-based learning.

WakuWaku Visualization Service (Japanese)

Background of Appointment

Since its founding, Leave a Nest has operated under the vision “Advancing Science and Technology for Global Happiness.” Through science education programs—including hands-on experiments, nurturing next-generation researcher, and the Science Castle conferences platform—the company has delivered the excitement of science to more than 200,000 students and teachers.

At the foundation of these activities lies the NEST Education philosophy, introduced in 2014. NEST represents Nature, Engineering, Science, and Technology, symbolizing the natural progression of human understanding. It emphasizes that science and technology grow from humanity’s efforts to understand and coexist with nature through engineering. In other words, without grounding in Nature and Engineering, science and technology risk losing ethical depth and insight into their true essence.

Read more: What is NEST Education?

While rapid advancements in science and technology have brought immense benefits to humanity, they have also led to challenges such as environmental degradation—partly due to insufficient understanding of nature. Therefore, the next generation global leaders of the future must learn continuously from nature, ask fundamental questions, and adapt to an ever-changing global society.

Founded in 2015, the Leave a Nest Education Research Institute (ERI) serves as a hub for deepening the research and philosophy necessary to nurture the next generation of global leaders who are driven by curiosity and inspired by the natural world.

Dr. Tokue brings to this role a strong background in ecology, having conducted research in Australia, and Thailand. Her experiences in studying the foundations of science through nature (behavioural biology) led her to resonate deeply with Leave a Nest’s educational philosophy, joining the company in 2011. She subsequently established Leave a Nest’s overseas subsidiaries in Singapore (Dec. 2010) and Malaysia (Oct. 2013), growing them to a team of 60 local members. Drawing from her international experience, she has promoted global leadership programs for young researchers and students from Japan, while advancing science education initiatives for children in Southeast Asia.

Her proven ability to expand NEST Education across borders—coupled with her leadership experience and global perspective—have led to her appointment as head of the Institute.

Strengthening the Global Expansion of Science Castle

Science Castle is a platform designed to empower junior and senior high school students to pursue inquiry-based research and connect with peers across schools, regions, and generations.

Launched in 2012 in Osaka, Japan, Science Castle was born from teachers’ voices calling for a space where students could present and discuss their research. Since then, it has expanded to multiple regions across Japan. In 2017, under Dr. Tokue’s leadership, the first Science Castle Singapore inviting international applicants was held. This elevated Science Castle to the international stage, eventually initiating Science Castle in Malaysia and the Philippines.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Tokue launched the online Science Castle ASEAN (now called Science Castle Asia) , successfully connecting participants from multiple countries and demonstrating a new educational model for sharing curiosity and scientific inquiry across borders.

Over the past decade, more than 15,000 students and educators have participated, establishing a vibrant culture of research among youth.

 

Science Castle Singapore 2017

Science Castle ASEAN 2020

Future Outlook: Building an Asian Hub for Educational Research

Under Dr. Tokue’s leadership, the Leave a Nest Group will integrate expertise from its teams in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines to 1) conduct research on the regional impact of NEST Education on broader Asia and 2) to conduct comparative studies of educational systems across Asia through Science Castle and 3) develop future educational system models that foster next-generation entrepreneurship grounded in an understanding of NEST principles.

Through this appointment, Leave a Nest reaffirms its founding commitment to “Education” as a driving force for solving global challenges and contributing to the Earth, empowering the next generation to create a sustainable future.

Comments from Dr. Tokue

“As a behavioral biologist, my journey began with observing living creatures in the wild based on question derived from observation. That experience taught me that curiosity is the true starting point of science. Through the Education Research Institute, I will challenge to create a borderless learning ecosystem where children, teachers, and researchers can grow together.”
— Dr. Kihoko Tokue

References for recent public speaking on nurturing global leaders & educating students on NEST

Connecting Asia Through Tech Talent Development: A Japan-Malaysia-Singapore Partnership:
https://ps.asia.nikkei.com/johor2025/p5.html

How Primary School Students start to think about SDGs:
https://global.lne.st/news/sg/2024/06/17/inagi-no-4-elementary-school/

Leave a Nest Singapore Managing Director Kihoko Tokue at NIKKEI FORUM MELBOURNE 2025:
https://global.lne.st/nikkei_melbourne

About Leave a Nest Co., Ltd.

Founded in 2002 by 15 graduate students in science and engineering, Leave a Nest is a Knowledge Manufacturing company dedicated to creating systems that connect researchers, educators, corporations, and governments to solve societal challenges through science and technology.

With offices in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and the United States, the company operates platforms such as Science Castle, TECH PLANTER, and the Hyper Interdisciplinary Conference.

Official Website: https://global.lne.st