Why was iU created as a "co-creation platform"?
In the spring of 2020, “I University” (iU) was opened in Sumida Ward, Tokyo . Based on the revision of the School Education Law of 2017, the university starts as a "professional university" that can be newly established to develop specialized human resources with "high practical ability" and "rich creative ability". .
iU invites more than 200 visiting professors from industries around the world to make practical business creation. About half a year of company internship and making the challenge of actual entrepreneurship are mandatory courses for all.
In addition, it aims to become a realistic platform for industry, academia, and the local community by not creating a wall around the campus.
Dr. Ichiya Nakamura. After serving as a director of a world well known rock band “Shonen Knife”, in 1984, he Joined the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. 1998, Visiting Professor at MIT Media Lab. In 2002, the Director at Stanford Japan Center. Since 2006, he has been a professor at the Graduate School of Media Design, Keio University(KMD). Since April 2020, he has been the president of iU.
-- How did you start up iU?
■I was originally from the government, but after that I moved to the United States for four years at MIT's Media Lab and four years at Stanford Japan Center. After spending eight years looking at both universities in the west and east of the United States, I came to feel that the biggest problem in Japan was universities .
In US, whether Google or Facebook, they were born from university communities. However, in Japan, the world-class product such as Walkman, NES, or Hatsune Miku, they are all "made by companies. Nothing has become a global product from university.
After becoming strongly aware of such issues, I wanted to create a new university that had never existed in Japan, so I went to Keio University and took various challenges. KMD IS successful, based on an already successful and traditional Keio University.
However, in order to create a completely new styled innovative university in the field of ICT and business, I found that it would have to start from scratch with industry, and I posted on my blog that such a university would be ideal if it was created from zero point.
Then, the members involved in the creation of iU read it and said, "I'm thinking about the same thing, why don't we realize it?" In 2017, additionally, a new system called “professional college” started in Japan, so we decided to kick it off.
--What was the ideal university you thought of?
■The biggest problem with Japanese universities is the lack of industry-academia collaboration. So I thought about designing a university together with a company from the beginning. As for educational content, people who are at the forefront of business will convey practical knowledge. It is also important to work together not only in classroom lectures but also in project form.
The value of a university is to be a platform for creating new things by making face-to-face discussions and arguing that this is the solution or that is not the case. If it's like an unilateral lecture from a professor to a student, which has been done at traditional universities, it would be enough to distribute it as a video and watch it at home.
In MIT and Stanford, everyone I met was continuing to make something. There were gathering extremely challenging people who constantly create new services and products and bring them to the world. It was also surprising that everyone had a strong sense of consciousness and confidence that they would definitely succeed and aim for the world's top.
Also, in terms of platform, it was natural to work with companies, but more professionals such as lawyers and accountants also come into the university and support their students. I strongly learned that a university is a place where we work together with society to make something.
--In Japan, how about the relationship between universities and companies?
■There is still a big influence of the successful experiences of the past. It prevents companies and universities to change drastically. Admitting "failure" and "loss" is the most important thing in Japan right now.
Let's properly admit that the 30 years of “Heisei Era” , after bubble economy, were times of failure. During the last 30 years, we lost completely to US and China in the digital world such as the Internet, smartphones and social media.
Meanwhile, “Reiwa Era” just started. It is also the era of AI, big data, IoT, 5G, and robots. I think that both universities and industry should have a sense of crisis that if there is a loss this time, there will be no next.
―What are the characteristics?
■In addition to 27 full-time faculty members, we currently invite more than 200 visiting professors, including entrepreneurs and leaders in various fields who are active on the front lines of economy and society. The number of students in the first year is 200. iU must be the first university that has more professors than students!
We also have more than 200 collaborating companies, from venture companies to large listed companies such as NTT, Softbank, SAP, Cisco, Panasonic, SEGA, etc.
The three main pillars of education are "business, ICT, and global communication." In the 1st and 2nd years, they will thoroughly study the basics. In the third year after that, about 540 hours of company internship is required for about 5 months.
You should be able to experience a different dimension in terms of mass compared to the internships that are generally held for students for about a week or two. Then, after that, make sure that everyone challenges starting up companies while attending school.
The ideal employment rate is zero!, because all the students will take on the challenge of starting a business. We aim to be the lowest in the employment rate ranking. However, at the same time, I advise "you should fail". There's a lot to learn from your failure. It is important to challenge without fearing the results.
--What is the relationship with the real community?
■Sumida Ward in Tokyo is an area with many local small companies that have been involved in manufacturing since ancient times. It must be a good chance to make collaboration between the local community and the university. We will start creating real projects with local companies, local public organizations, etc.
Instead of creating walls or gates on the campus, iU allow neighbors to come and go freely for school meals, café relaxation, libraries, etc. Furthermore, it would be really fun if you could get side dishes made by our neighbors as school meals, or if you could hold the town's festival every day.
―What is your future prospects?
■I'm trying to make the iU a PUNK university, but even so, the number of students per year is 200, so in terms of its impact on society, it is of course very small.
On the other hand, I know many people in various universities in Japan also think they should change for open innovation. Nowadays, I am getting a lot of voice from such people.
I think we can create a coalition of other universities, professional schools, technical colleges, and high schools that are interested in such things. Once iU starts up without problem, I will aim to create such a coalition that can break up walls among schools.
In other words, we are promoting the university version of open innovation to prepare for the next era. The possibilities of universities will expand if we all share wisdom.
