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Information about Sendai Global Startup Campus, Tohoku Regional Entrepreneurship Challenge, and Social Innovator Hub is added.
[https://www.tohoku.ac.jp/en/index.html Tohoku University] was established as Japan's third national university in 1907.
Built over the ancient site of Aoba Castle in Sendai—the city of trees, Tohoku university provides a relaxing and alluring environment that attracts thousands of students annually. With the original vision: "research Research first," "Open door," and "Practice-oriented research," Tohoku University ranks among the top three universities in Japan for decades. The University is now pursuing the globalization era, breaking the language barrier and introduce itself as a global university. The university has established 21 overseas offices and numerous partnerships with universities around the world that leads to dozens of short and long-term exchange students. It is also accepting international students to the international, all-English program.
Among the evaluation points that led [https://www.tohoku.ac.jp/en/news/university_news/university_for_international_research_excellence.html Tohoku University to be selected as a candidate for recognition as a University of International Research Excellence](2023.09.01), its international strength in all directions and the speed of its reforms stand out. Tohoku University has established cooperative relationships with international research institutions and universities and is actively engaged in multinational research projects. In [https://japanuniversityrankings.jp/rankings/ THE Japanese University Rankings], international strength is a strength that has earned the university first place for four consecutive years. The university is also recognized for its reform capabilities led by President Ohno, and through his reform program, also known as the "Great Reset," bold changes are underway for the development of the university.
Their mission is to nurture human resources who will be responsible for creating the future that Japan should be, we provide education that enables students to acquire competencies for social value creation in a learning environment that is independent of specialty or grade level. In Tohoku University, entrepreneurship education is exist in many department, so they can collaborate and achieve the same goal.
=== '''Social Innovation Accelerator College (SIAC)''' ===
SIAC is a practical program that takes the Tohoku region—where diverse social issues are highly visible—as its stage. Students work directly with social entrepreneurs, experiencing their vision and activities firsthand while exploring business-based solutions to real problems through fieldwork and teamwork with peers. This unique approach, offering encounters and challenges that can only be found in Tohoku, helps participants discover their own “My Vision” and take the first step toward social innovation.
=== '''Global Strategy Course''' ===
The Global Strategy Course helps students develop the ability to analyze international trends through numerical data and design effective strategies. By learning to interpret company figures and discussing their implications, participants gain insights into social value creation, long-term vision, and the factors behind business success and failure.
===Entrepreneurship Education and Training Program===
Entrepreneurship Education and Training program cultivates future entrepreneurs who can boldly design their own paths and contribute to society with a global mindset. Through three integrated modules—the Future Design Lab, the Value Creation Studio, and the Entrepreneurship Challenge—participants develop imagination, creativity, and the resilience to turn bold ideas into real-world impact.
===Tohoku University Entrepreneurial Leader Program===
[https://www2.he.tohoku.ac.jp/zengaku/zengaku_cc_2.html TEL Program] (Tohoku University Entrepreneurial Leadership Program) is mainly for first- and second-year undergraduates. It helps students learn the knowledge and skills needed for entrepreneurship and new business creation. Through classes and practical training, students can recognize their strengths and weaknesses and think about their role in society. Those who complete the required credits receive official certification and an open badge.
==Encouraging faculty innovation and entrepreneurship==
===TOHOKU TECHNO ARCH===
[https://www.t-technoarch.co.jp/en/ TOHOKU TECHNO ARCH] is a Technology Licensing Organization (TLO) that aims to support the creation of new businesses and industries by utilizing intellectual property created at universities. The group serves as a coordinator to return the profits of university researches to society, and as a seed provider for partners to strengthen the competitiveness of business creation by introducing university technologies. There are more than 50 licensed technologies categorized as suitable for commercialization, and several of those have already been launched into successful businesses.
===Graduate Program in Data Science===
[https://gp-ds.tohoku.ac.jp/en/index.html Graduate Program in Data Science] (GP-DS) at Tohoku University is a joint graduate program operated collaboratively by six faculties: Information Science, Life Sciences, Economics, Medicine, Engineering, and Science (Mathematics). It was established to develop students’ abilities in problem conceptualization, data analysis, and technological innovation, based on AI, mathematics, and data science.
The program offers foundational lectures and exercises in data science, hands-on research projects using real-world data, collaborative research with industry and international institutions, as well as international workshops and internships, providing a comprehensive education that combines theory and practice to cultivate globally active data science professionals.
==Facilitating university-industry collaboration==
===Tohoku University Startup Garage===
The Tohoku University Startup Garage (TUSG) supports activities by faculty, students, and alumni related to Tohoku University who, based on their own intellectual curiosity, aim to solve users' problems in a sustainable way through entrepreneurship, and also support the dissemination of information about Tohoku University-born ventures established in this way. In this way, we promote the creation of social and economic impact through Tohoku University's knowledge and human resources. TUSG supports each of the resources necessary for company activities, i.e., members, funding, location, and guidelines, and aims for continuous company activities by teams that include researchers.
===G-RIPS Sendai===
[https://www.mccs.tohoku.ac.jp/g-rips/g-rips2025-open_en.html G-RIPS] (Graduate-level Research in Industrial Projects for Students) Sendai Program is an international internship jointly organized by Tohoku University and IPAM (Institute for Pure & Applied Mathematics) at UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles). It is mainly designed for graduate students in mathematical sciences, where teams of four—two from the U.S. and two from Japan—tackle industry-provided problems using mathematical approaches. Over the course of approximately eight weeks, participants gain hands-on research experience and engage in cross-cultural exchange.
==Engaging with regional and local economic development efforts==
To support startups in the Tohoku region, Michinoku Academia Startup Platform is a platform consisting of a variety of projects. The objective is to encourage the formation of startup ecosystems and accelerate the emergence of startups in Tohoku that can build the resolution of domestic and international problems. EDGE-NEXT (The next-generation entrepreneur development project, adopted by universities around the world) is an educational program associated with this platform. In addition, this organization is establishing the Tohoku University Prototype Coordination Office (TPCO) to promote entrepreneurship in the Tohoku area. In the future, the platform aims to make the program self-reliant.
=== Sendai Global Startup Campus ===Sendai Global Startup Campus (SGSC) is a program hosted by the CIty of Sendai aiming to support young people from the Tohoku region (northeast Japan) who want to challenge themselves globally through entrepreneurship. It offers startup education and mentorship with global-standard curriculum and experience to about 100 young participants including Tohoku University students. The goal is to nurture global-minded founders who can tackle social problems as business opportunities, and help Sendai/Tohoku become a global startup city. === Tohoku Regional Entrepreneurship Challenge ===TREC (Tohoku University ‒ Regional Issue-Solving Entrepreneurship Project) is a program that gives students an opportunity to identify and tackle real regional challenges in the Tohoku and Niigata regions of Japan. It’s centered around entrepreneurship and is aimed at creating business ideas/plans that can be implemented locally, while also fostering learning among participants. === Social Innovator Hub ===The Social Innovator Hub (SIH), organized by JICA with support from Tohoku University, is a two-month hybrid incubation program (February–March 2025) that connects Japanese university students with young leaders from countries such as Nigeria, Peru, Indonesia, and Mongolia to co-create innovative solutions for pressing social issues. Conducted entirely in English, the program combines lectures, weekly mentoring, and about 10 hours of collaborative project work per week, guiding participants through user research, problem definition, ideation, prototyping, and business model development. It features two phases: in February, overseas participants conduct local fieldwork while Japanese students focus on identifying opportunity areas, and in March, all participants gather in Japan for intensive teamwork, prototyping, and final pitches at a Demo Day. Designed to foster cross-cultural collaboration and entrepreneurial thinking, the program is free of charge and offers students hands-on experience in applying design thinking and startup methodologies to real global challenges.<!--DO NOT EDIT BELOW THIS LINE -->
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[[Category:Tohoku University]]
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