Education Program

Training Program for Advanced Technology Entrepreneurship

Purpose

Advanced technology entrepreneurship drives innovation and the practical application of research outcomes. It is also viewed as the key to allowing industry to gain an international competitive edge. Emerging (venture) companies with a technical edge generate immense economic and social value. Indeed, GAFA and other global giants originally started up their businesses by tapping into their unique and advanced technologies.

Entrepreneurship is the ability to translate one’s own ideas into a tangible and profitable business based on a combination of the requisite knowledge, skills, and entrepreneurial mindset. This quality is also vital in the field of engineering as it facilitates the practical application of science and technologies. Unfortunately, few opportunities to study this are provided in school education, all the way through to the university level. This program is intended to give students from all departments of the School of Engineering an opportunity to build on their specialized education to acquire the mindset, knowledge, and skills required to be an entrepreneur. It is conducted jointly by faculty members from the relevant fields, faculty members with experience in launching university startups with or without industry partnerships, and experienced industry experts.

This program will undoubtably prove to be an invaluable asset in your career.

Examples of startups launched by students and alumni from the University of Tokyo

Euglena (health food and biofuels), Monex Group (finance), mixi (social media), Naked Technology (app development), Xcoo (genomic medicine), SCHAFT (robotics), Preferred Networks (AI), Axelspace (satellite development and application), Gunosy (information curation and news distribution), Synspective (satellite photography), PeptiDream (biologic drugs), and PKSHA Technology (algorithmic license)

Curriculum and registration

[Curriculum]
Students can enroll in the following three groups of courses.

Flexible core courses: 12 or more credits

[Required number of credits for program completion]
You must earn a total of 12 or more credits from Group A (at least 3 credits), Group B (at least 4 credits), and Group C (at least 2 credits). It is also possible for these credits to count toward the number of credits that you require to complete your studies at your affiliated department.

[Program registration procedure]
Please fill in the designated application form and submit it to the TMI Office by the specified deadline. Complete your enrolment in each course within the specified period by following the standard registration procedure stipulated by the School of Engineering. Please download the program registration application form from here.

[Grades and credits]
Grades and credits are awarded independently for each course.

[Certificate of completion]
A certificate of completion stating “Certificate of Completion for the Training Program for Advanced Technology Entrepreneurship” is issued to students who have properly submitted a registration application and satisfied the completion requirements.