A new challenge and reform for universities and companies to meet the needs of tomorrow's society.

Wakabayashi: Also, I think everyone noticed this: during the Day 1 and Day 2 sessions, the students tended to seek a single "correct" answer. So, I made a point of constantly reminding them that there isn't just one right answer; there can be multiple valid solutions. Young people often feel they can't make judgments or think without some kind of formula to derive information or answers. However, once they enter the real world, they frequently face situations where they must make decisions without such formulas. That's why, throughout the program, I focused on helping the students understand that there isn't always just one correct answer.

Furihata: After completing all eight sessions of the program, could you share any tangible results or feedback you observed?

Sekine: This time, the style of implementing the PDCA cycle and reflecting students' real voices in subsequent lessons was different from our previous teaching methods. Personally, I feel we achieved a very student-centered approach.

Wakabayashi: The fact that it was a continuous series of eight sessions was also significant. While I sometimes give single-session lectures on consulting at other universities, this was my first experience teaching a continuous course like this. What I clearly observed was the students' change and growth. Moreover, their growth wasn't uniform; each student developed in their own way, and observing those different trajectories was fascinating.

Furihata: Some students who weren't very noticeable early on really stepped up their contributions and showed significant growth around the middle of the course, right?

Sekine: I believe that's precisely the result of running the class as a continuous program. Even if their initial comments didn't quite hit the mark, students could keep trying again in the next session, adjusting their approach. This trial-and-error process is what learning is all about, and I feel it was valuable to provide students with that space for growth.

Furihata: How did you, Professor Sekine, perceive the students' growth?

Sekine: Measuring growth can be tricky, but I believe being placed in a high-pressure environment where they had to engage in persuasive conversations was a valuable experience for the students.
Actually, since the instructors were employees from well-known companies like Dentsu Inc., Nomura Research Institute, and Google, the students initially said things like, "I'm nervous, what should I do?"

Hata: Really?

Sekine: But once the classes started, the first session with Dentsu Inc.'s Yuki Takayama teaching about "favorites" really got them fired up. With each session, their challenge spirit grew stronger, and the students became more and more lively. Of course, the instructors are all highly accomplished professionals, so I'm sure they often felt overwhelmed. But in that environment, they had to figure out how to convey their opinions persuasively, how to make them interesting... I think it was huge that we could nurture that kind of challenge and fighting spirit. Before starting, I was worried that the students might shrink back and become passive in front of the instructors. But once it began, I could feel their "let's do this" determination, and there was a good amount of healthy tension too.

Actual class scenes. Before each session, we reviewed previous content and re-explained topics with many questions from surveys, ensuring no student was left behind.

Wakabayashi: There were definitely several moments where I felt the students' mindset shifted. One particularly rewarding moment was when the survey responses started including specific requests for future classes, not just general feedback.

Furihata: As mentioned earlier, the Day 4 class led by Wakabayashi-san felt like a major turning point for the students. The classes from Day 1 to Day 3 were structured around more accessible activities, like presentation exercises themed around "communicating your favorite thing" and Mr. Fukuda's "writing exercise to create a 400-character self-introduction that makes others want to meet you." However, on Day 4, we raised the difficulty level and prepared an assignment to create a logic tree using the MECE framework.

Students struggled intensely with the task of setting a theme goal, decomposing the necessary steps to achieve it, and constructing a logic tree without omissions or overlaps. Yet, at the same time, I believe this moment made them acutely aware that this is the level demanded in the professional world, significantly heightening their sense of tension.

The MECE assignments students actually created and submitted. Mr. Wakabayashi provided feedback by reviewing them and explaining both strengths and areas for improvement during class.

Wakabayashi: Yes, that's right. I think this shift was also evident in the group work discussions that followed. Previously, there was a tendency to just talk about one's own arguments. But after realizing that discussing with others could lead to better ideas and answers, they shifted away from clinging to their own thoughts. Instead, they started listening to each other's opinions and working towards consolidating the team's perspective. This was also a significant change.

 

What should be the new form of industry-academia collaboration we aim for going forward?

 

Furihata: We've reviewed the program we implemented so far. Looking ahead, I'd like to ask about the challenges that emerged from this initiative and the form of industry-academia collaboration we should aim for.

Sekine: This industry-academia collaboration class was realized with the cooperation of three companies, including Dentsu Inc. However, when we consider expanding such initiatives, the obstacles are cost issues and finding companies willing to trial and error with us on unprecedented ventures. Sadly, the reality is that education tends to improve with greater investment. Pouring money into groundbreaking initiatives is one approach, but it has its limits. Conversely, diversifying education and offering new courses is difficult to achieve without any cost at all...

Therefore, to sustainably provide more groundbreaking classes, I believe we need to leverage industry-academia collaboration frameworks, where universities and companies partner to effectively link education and business. This time, we experimentally achieved an initiative where a company took charge of eight consecutive classes. To expand such efforts going forward, the key lies in how we overcome the cost issue. I hope universities and companies can brainstorm ideas together to create mechanisms for generating funds, thereby connecting to new forms of education.

Furihata: I see. From the university's perspective, it seems significant costs are required to engage companies. Conversely, from the corporate viewpoint, what benefits of collaborating with universities and what business-oriented approaches to such initiatives can be considered?

Wakabayashi: I feel there's still a mismatch between the talent universities want to produce and what companies seek. However, amid declining birthrates, the shared goal of nurturing capable young talent aligns perfectly. Therefore, it's entirely feasible for companies to invest more in education, and I believe it offers significant benefits for them too. Today's young students are highly motivated and develop quickly. I believe it's extremely meaningful for universities and companies to team up and cultivate talent capable of excelling in society while they are still students. I was reminded that building this kind of ecosystem linking universities and business will be essential going forward.

Furthermore, one benefit for companies is that business professionals collaborating with universities gain opportunities to reassess their own skills and even learn from students.

Furihata: Finally, Professor Sekine, could you share your outlook for the future?

Sekine: Looking at the student responses in class and the survey results this time, the feedback was very positive, wasn't it? This proves what I mentioned at the beginning – that student motivation is rising. I feel this is the first step in responding to the strong bottom-up expectations and demands from the students.

However, if there's one concern from this class, it's input.

While students were able to produce output through presentations and discussions, I feel there remains some room for improvement in terms of input. Since we are engaged in higher education, we must also pursue depth of knowledge. Admittedly, because the target audience this time was first-year students, we focused the class primarily on improving their ability to convey information and their communication skills. However, the ultimate goal is "to engage in advanced discussions based on knowledge surrounding difficult problems."

Traditional university courses have emphasized inputting advanced knowledge through lectures by professors with specialized expertise. If this core element is missing, there becomes little need for university education. Therefore, one goal is to develop courses that cultivate new problem-solving skills while still leveraging the strengths of traditional teaching methods focused on acquiring this advanced knowledge. We hope to realize such courses in the future, ideally within the senior-year program for fourth-year students.

That said, we've only just launched the first-year program, so the road ahead is still long. Moving forward, we hope to pursue a new form of industry-academia collaboration that holds significance not only for students but also for companies and universities alike.

Furihata: It's possible that students who participate in our classes might be thriving and working at the same companies in a few years. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in three years.

Sekine: That's one of the true joys of education. I'm genuinely looking forward to seeing what kind of professionals these students will become after going through this program in a few years.