[20th Anniversary Project – 16] NEST LAB., the Talent Discovery Research Institute for Elementary and Middle School Students, and Seven Venture Companies Have Jointly Developed an Online Entrepreneurship Program Starting in April 2023

NEST EdLAB Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Leave a Nest Co., Ltd. that manages the online school “NEST LAB., the Talent Discovery Research Institute for Elementary and Middle School Students”, has developed an entrepreneurship program with seven promising venture companies to precede the start of its entrepreneurship education program in primary and secondary schools scheduled to begin at full-scale in the fiscal year 2023.

In recent years, as exemplified by SDGs, our society has come to recognize and understand various global issues and the necessity to work towards their solution. However, simply offering general themes such as “environmental issues” or “food problems” does not necessarily lead to concrete steps toward solving these problems. Moreover, it is difficult to understand how these issues involve all of us because information about them is often collected simply by looking at textbooks or websites. From an international perspective, Japan lacks educational environments and opportunities aimed at fostering entrepreneurship (i.e. the perspective and ability to act on one’s own initiative and challenge new frontiers and face the unknown). Therefore, it is important for elementary and middle school students to experience the process of exploring issues that could light the fire of their passion and guide them into taking concrete action to address them from an early age.

In order to overcome this situation, Leave a Nest, while celebrating its 20th anniversary, is working towards employing its entrepreneurial spirit in the next 20 years and promoting the development of the human resources (entrepreneurs) that will create a new era. To achieve this goal, it is transcending its organization's boundaries and further accelerating its “entrepreneurial investments” with the aim of strengthening the foundation necessary to create new businesses, generation after generation.

As part of our entrepreneurial investment, we are launching the new course on entrepreneurship at NEST LAB., an online school for elementary and middle school students. In this course, students will have the opportunity to become familiar with entrepreneurs through discussions with young venturers who are taking concrete actions to solve problems they have made their mission to solve. Furthermore, by personally experiencing these issues the student will acquire the habit of looking for primary information not simply found on the web or in textbooks, and discover the global issue they themselves can take a step forward to solve.

This borderless online entrepreneurship education, easily accessible to everyone from their home across Japan, has begun accepting students in December 2022 and is scheduled to start in April 2023. If interested, please click here to participate in the trial lecture and information session.

Introduction to the Entrepreneurs

“Space Architecture: What is Necessary for Humans to Be Able to Live on the Moon”

Yozan Takahashi (28 years old)  OUTSENSE Inc., CEO During his time as a graduate school student, he conducted research on large-scale structures as a JAXA special collaborative researcher affiliated with JAXA Laboratories, but feeling a discrepancy between research and practicability, he dropped out of both laboratory and university. With the goal of building a house on the moon, he began studying private space development as an intern at ispace while participating in various business programs such as MAKERSUNIVERSITY and TSG. As the representative director of OUTSENSE Inc., he is currently carrying on his mission with the purpose of bringing about the era of people living in outer space.

 

“Hair Diagnosis: The Future of Health Diagnosis by Hair”

Kei Isozumi (26 years old)  EVCARE Inc., CEO In March 2018, a startup company expressed interest in his study on hair stress analysis conducted at associate professor Ohira Masako's laboratory at the university he was attending, where she was currently employed, and was encouraged to start a new business. In January 2019, EVCARE Inc. was established as the first startup from Shiga University, and Kei Isozumi was appointed CEO, with Professor Ohira as the representative director in charge of technological aspects. In 2020, he was nominated one of the “30 UNDER 30 JAPAN 2020” by Forbes JAPAN.

“Microorganisms: From Sterilization to Adulteration”

Kohei Ito (25 years old)  Biota Inc., CEO He started researching microbial communities at the laboratory of the Institute for Advanced Biosciences of Keio University while in high school, and studied bioinformatics to investigate urban and built environments. He founded Biota Inc. after graduating, and is shaping its business around “urban designs to enhance microbial diversity”. His talent has been recognized in numerous instances: for example, he has been nominated as one of Forbes JAPAN's “30 under 30”, awarded the Tokyo Startup Gateway 2020 best prize, and was selected as a semifinalist at the Grand Prix Sony U24 CO-CHALLENGE 2020.

“Coral: Recreating the Sea of Okinawa in Tokyo”

Takakura Yoda (27 years old)  Innoqua Inc., CEO Born in 1994, he attended the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Tokyo, where he researched the use of machine learning for assistance in practicing musical instruments at the Rekimoto Laboratory at the same university. He founded a hardware development company while still a student, and Inoca Inc. in April 2019. In October 2021, he became the director of the Rohto Children's Mirai Foundation, a general incorporated foundation, and the same year was nominated as one of Forbes JAPAN’s “30 UNDER 30”.

“Insect Food: The Sustainable Food Derived from Crickets”

Ashikari Seiya (28 years old)  Ecologgie Inc., CEO While a university student, he got interested in food issues and entomophagy after participating in MUN activities. Graduated from Waseda University’s School of Commerce, he entered the Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering at the same institution. Currently, as a representative director of Ecologgie, he is collaborating with Waseda University and Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology to research and develop the social implementation of insect technology.

“Mobility: Creating a World without Traffic Jams”

Mario Ian Carlos Ferido Rebonquin (24 years old)  Zip Infrastructure, Inc. Born in Manila, Philippines in 1997, he came to Japan with his parents at the age of 10. After graduating from Aoyama Gakuin University, he worked for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries before joining Zip Infrastructure. His hobby is road biking, and he is currently working as the manager of the company’s international division on technology development and demonstration research in the Philippines in order to alleviate traffic congestion in his home country.

“Satellite Data: Seeing the Earth through the Eyes of the Sky”

Shunsuke Tsuboi (27 years old)  Sagri Co., Ltd., CEO After graduating from Yokohama National University, College of Engineering Science, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, he founded and served as CEO of the first private company specializing in space education, Uchu Co., Ltd. In the same year, he traveled to Rwanda to conduct educational activities, where he learned of local children’s impossibility of chasing their dreams after graduating because of their employment in agriculture. In 2018, he started Sagri Co., Ltd with the aim of achieving business development for low-income farmers in developing countries and creating a situation where children can have more life options in the future. Nominated Global Shaper by the World Economic Forum in 2020, MIT Technology Review named him as one of the innovators under 35 who are shaping the future. He is now a member of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’s Committee on the Management of Cropland Information Utilizing Digital Map. He is also serving as a guest professor at the Professional University of Information and Management for Innovation in Tokyo while attending Softbank Academia’s 13th term.

About the Entrepreneurship Course

In this course, lectures are held twice a month over a period of nine months with the aim of fostering entrepreneurship, that is, the perspective and ability to act on one's initiative to challenge new frontiers and face the unknown. During the first lecture, students will be presented with the world that entrepreneurs aim for and the challenges they face. Subsequently, they will participate in experiments and workshops to experience these challenges firsthand and deepen their understanding. Before the following lecture, the students will be given a mission (homework assignment) and will be asked to interrogate people or visit sites related to the issues presented during the first lecture in order to develop the habit of looking for primary information. In the second lecture, the students will discuss with the entrepreneurs what they have noticed through their mission and will communicate the first step they themselves are going to take to solve the challenges they were presented with.

Outline of the Entrepreneurship Course
・Dates: from April to December 2023, 1st and 3rd Sundays of each month (dates may vary)
・Time: 16:00 – 18:00
・Participation: online via Zoom (course materials will be sent in advance)
・Fee: 9,000 yen for the lectures + 4,000 yen for materials + tax
・Target: students from the 3rd grade of elementary school to the 3rd grade of middle school (individual consultation available for those not eligible)

Lecture Format

Lecture	Contents
First time	After sharing the world that entrepreneurs aspire to live in and the issues they are trying to solve, the student will conduct experiments and work to comprehend those issues and deepen their understanding.
Mission	The student will collect primary information about the issues presented beforehand by asking people or visiting sites, as the student prefers.
Second time	The student will discuss with the entrepreneurs what they have understood by working on their mission, and communicate the first steps they plan to take.

Curriculum

Date		Special Lecturers (The contents may change according to the availability of lecturers)
First Lecture	Second Lecture
2023/04/02	2023/04/16	NEST EdLAB Co., Ltd. Fujita Daigo Orientation
2023/05/07	2023/05/21	OUTSENSE Inc.Yozan Takahashi “Space Architecture: What is Needed for Humans to Live on the Moon”
2023/06/04	2023/06/18	EVCARE Inc. Kei Isozumi “Hair Diagnosis: The Future of Health Diagnosis by Hair”
2023/07/02	2023/07/16	Biota Inc. Kohei Ito “Microorganisms: From Sterilization to Adulteration”
2023/08/06	2023/08/20	Innoqua Inc. Takakura Yoda “Coral: Recreating the Sea of Okinawa in Tokyo”
2023/09/03	2023/09/17	Ecologgie Inc. Ashikari Seiya “Insect Food: The Sustainable Food Derived from Crickets”
2023/10/01	2023/10/15	Zip Infrastructure, Inc. Mario Ian Carlos Ferido Rebonquin “Mobility: Creating a World without Traffic Jams”
2023/10/29	2023/11/12	Sagri Co., Ltd. Shunsuke Tsuboi “Satellite Data: Seeing the Earth through the Eyes of the Sky”
2023/11/26	2023/12/10	NEST EdLAB Co., Ltd. Fujita Daigo Result Presentation

We are looking for participants for the trial lecture!

The Entrepreneurship Course will begin accepting applications from new participants on 1 December, for lectures starting in April 2023. Before that occasion we will hold a trial lecture and a briefing session for parents, so please join us if you are interested.

Date and time:
・February 5, 2023 (Sunday), 16:00-18:00 (the parent information session will be at 17:30-18:00)
・February 26, 2023 (Sunday), 16:00-18:00 (The presentation from Mr. Maeda will be held via registered video. The last 30 minutes will be a parent information session)
・March 5, 2023 (Sunday) 16:00-18:00 (The presentation from Mr. Maeda will be held via registered video. The last 30 minutes will be a parent information session)

Format: Online (via Zoom)

Theme: “Unlimited Hand Washing Machine Without Water Pipes?! What can we do to create a recycling-oriented world where we don't have to worry about water”

Special lecturer as follows

Yosuke Maeda (30 years old) 

WOTA CORP., CEO

 

Born in Tokushima Prefecture, he graduated with a Bachelor's Degree and a Master's Degree from the University of Tokyo, School of Engineering, Department of Architecture. In middle school he researched the strength of biogenic materials; in high school the method of obtaining food-derived flocculants; in university urban infrastructure and living conditions in developing country slums; and in graduate school residential equipment (sanitary equipment for water supply and sewage). He is also engaged in sensor and control development at a digital art production company.

Contents

・Introduction of NEST LAB. (5 minutes)
・What is entrepreneurship (10 minutes)
・WOTA’s CEO Mr. Maeda's mission and what he wants to think about with everyone (10 minutes)
・”How does water become clean?” Purification and analysis experiment (30 minutes)
・”Let's think about the water-related issues around us” (15 minutes)
・The state of the art and the future of “removing all restrictions on the relationship between people and water” (20 minutes)
・Parent information session (30 minutes)

Participation fee: 4000 yen + tax (textbooks, materials, shipping cost)

Needed material to prepare beforehand: water, plastic cup

Registration: please click here
You need to register for a Leave a Nest ID to apply. If you already have a Leave a Nest ID, please select ”NEST LAB.2023特別講座・体験教室” in the ”currently accepting applications” category to apply. 

Inquiries

NEST EdLAB Co., Ltd.
NEST LAB., the Talent Discovery Research Institute for Elementary and Middle School Students
Attn Ijichi, Fujita, Nakajima
Tel: 03-5227-4198
Email: [email protected]