【TISP :Tokyo Innovation Summer Program】2024 Report (English ver.)
In this report, we provide a summary of the 2024 TISP (Tokyo Innovation Summer Program) held in Miyazaki, Japan. Details of each program are described in separate articles, so please be sure to check those out as well!
What is TISP?
TISP (Tokyo Innovation Summer Program) is a summer program where university students from i.school collaborate with high school students to generate innovative ideas. This program has been held annually since 2013.
This year, TISP took place in Miyazaki Prefecture over five days starting from August 6th. High school students from Miyazaki (Miyazaki Omiya High School, Takanabe High School, Hyuga High School), Taiwan (Kaohsiung Municipal Kaohsiung Senior High School), and Vietnam (Nguyen Tat Thanh Upper and Lower Secondary School) came together to genarate ideas focused on "Innovation in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)" using the technology of local SMEs in Miyazaki as the subject.
Despite challenges like earthquakes and other troubles during the program, all participants persevered and successfully completed the journey.
■Overview of TISP (Tokyo Innovation Summer Program)
Characteristics of TISP (Tokyo Innovation Summer Program):
At i.school, the unique characteristic of TISP lies in its structured methodology for generating innovation based on academic knowledge. TISP is a summer program conducted in English, and high school and university students use i.school's methodologies to generate new ideas. Since its inception in 2013, TISP has been held in various locations across Japan (Miyazaki, Shodoshima in Kagawa Prefecture, Niigata, etc.), changing its format each year.
In the past, the program has included international university students and working professionals, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was conducted online. Since last year, TISP has returned to an in-person format in Miyazaki, where it is mainly hosted by Miyazaki Omiya High School. The program now includes high school students from Miyazaki, sister schools in Taiwan and Vietnam, and i.school’s regular and alumni university students.
This year, the theme of TISP is "Innovation in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)." Participants will generate business ideas for new products or services in Miyazaki's SMEs.
Program Structure:
The i.school methodology integrates not just purpose analysis but also means analysis to generate ideas. In this year’s program, participants will first analyze the needs of personas living in future scenarios (purpose analysis) and then combine these with an analysis of the strengths of Miyazaki’s SMEs (means analysis) to generate new ideas.
This time, three local SMEs from Miyazaki cooperated with the program:
Shinryokuen (Shintomi Town, Koyu District)
Kuriyama Nosan (Miyakonojo City)
Kawakami Mokuzai Co. (Miyazaki City)
Each team will be assigned a company, where they will analyze the company’s strengths. Fieldwork will be conducted to learn directly from company representatives, drawing out unique strengths specific to each company.
Next, participants will read future scenarios and set personas living in those futures to analyze their lifestyles and needs (purpose analysis). Finally, by combining these needs with the companies' strengths identified through fieldwork, participants will generate ideas. This process is repeated over five days, with continuous refinement and iteration.
■Day 0 (7/19): Greeting & Team Building
In the summer program, teams consist of high school students from Miyazaki, Taiwan, and Vietnam, along with i.school’s regular and alumni university students (from universities like the University of Tokyo, Rikkyo University, etc.).
Before meeting face-to-face in Miyazaki, an online meeting was held for everyone to introduce themselves and build team rapport. Among the university students were alumni of Miyazaki Omiya High School who had participated in TISP as high school students and some high school students were returning participants from last year. Witnessing the students’ progression to new challenges is one of the unique features of this program.
In TISP, each mixed team of high school students is joined by a university student as a Discussion Partner (DP).
What is a DP (Discussion Partner)?
At i.school, we have a system of assigning Discussion Partners (DPs) to each team to support workshop discussions. DPs are positioned as a closer presence than facilitators, serving not only as a source of learning for high school students by guiding them a step ahead, but also as an opportunity for the DPs themselves to deepen their own understanding through the act of teaching.
During the online meeting, each team used English for communication. Although there was some nervousness at first, the participants gradually opened up and ended with more smiles and a relaxed atmosphere.
For a detailed account of the initial meeting and team building, please visit the following article:
■Day 1 (8/6): Opening & Fieldwork
On the first day of the program, participants gathered in Miyazaki, where they engaged in ice-breaking activities and fieldwork.
In the afternoon, teams split into groups of three and conducted fieldwork with their assigned companies. This helped them gather insights for the company strength analysis planned for the following day. By experiencing the real atmosphere and voices of the companies, participants were able to discover strengths that could not be found through desktop research.
Though it was the first face-to-face meeting in Miyazaki, the atmosphere was friendly and lively. Conversations about various cultures and lifestyles helped break the language barrier, allowing for smoother work in English.
For details on Day 1, please visit the following article:
■Day 2 (8/7): Company Strength Analysis, Future Scenario Analysis, and Idea Generation
On Day 2, participants began by analyzing the strengths of their assigned companies based on the fieldwork conducted the previous day. They then moved on to identifying future needs and generating ideas. This complete run-through of the process was intended to facilitate retries and refinements in the following days.
While sharing information gathered during the fieldwork, the teams discussed the strengths and appeal points of their companies. These discussions reflected the unique insights gained from interacting directly with company representatives rather than just from online or written information.
Next, participants read future scenarios prepared by university students and analyzed the personas depicted within them. The scenarios included themes like "No longer need to go to just one high school," "Robots and AI integrate into everyday life," "Knowing more about yourself with brainwave and biometric data," and "Cities all become the same. Business opportunities lye in local areas." The participants analyzed the needs of people living in these scenarios.
Finally, the teams combined the needs derived from future scenarios with the strengths of their companies to generate ideas. During the idea-generation workshop, high school students contributed numerous ideas, filling the large sheets of paper with sticky notes.
The ideas were then evaluated, and the trial-and-error process continued until the final day, building upon the day's work.
For more information on Day 2, please see the following article:
■Day 3 (8/8): Comprehensive Analysis, Retrying, and Poster Session
On Day 3, participants reviewed the entire process up to idea generation, analyzed their ideas, identified issues within the process, and conducted a comprehensive analysis in the morning. In the afternoon, they redesigned and retried their processes and prepared for a poster session.
The comprehensive analysis involved evaluating the ideas and identifying areas in the process that could be improved. Based on the overall structure of the work—purpose analysis (needs from future scenarios) × means analysis (company strength analysis) = idea generation—teams redesigned their work to generate better ideas. Retrying is considered crucial at i.school, and it was strongly emphasized.
In the discussions that day, the participants demonstrated a deeper understanding of the work structure, leading to more active discussions in English than the previous day. Based on the comprehensive analysis and process redesign, they carried out another round of work. Using the ideas generated, they prepared for the poster session in the afternoon.
During the poster session, each team summarized their ideas, future scenarios, needs, and company strengths on large sheets of paper and received feedback from other teams, facilitators, and university students.
For more details on Day 3, refer to the article below:
■Day 4 (8/9): Retry
Day 4 was dedicated to preparing for the final presentations. Participants summarized their achievements, refined their ideas based on feedback, created prototypes, and prepared final presentation materials and skits.
In TISP, the goal is to present the overview of the idea and the background behind it (future society, needs, and company strengths). While making prototypes using cardboard and other materials, they refined their ideas. Each team also prepared a skit to symbolize how their idea would be used in the future.
During the preparation, participants repeatedly refined their ideas, considering aspects like whether the idea truly met future needs, whether it effectively utilized the strengths of the company, and whether it had novelty. Although some teams faced challenges and deepened discussions to break through, active discussions were carried out to present better ideas.
The teams worked late into the night, putting their best effort into preparing for the final presentations the next day. For more details on Day 4, visit this article:
■Day 5 (8/10): Final Presentation
During the final presentations, each team presented their business ideas using slides, mock-ups, and skits to illustrate how the ideas would be used in real-life scenarios.
Presentations were held in front of company representatives from the fieldwork and i.school’s Executive Director, Professor Hideyuki Horii, who attended both in-person and online. The atmosphere was tense, but the high school students presented confidently. Feedback and comments were provided by company representatives and faculty members afterward.
Some of the ideas generated during TISP have been pursued by companies after the program in previous years. Similarly, this year’s program offered local companies a chance to gain fresh perspectives and inspiration, not just for the high school students but also for the participating local businesses.
Finally, after spending five long days together, the program concluded with conversations between university and high school students.
For more details on the final presentation, please see the article below:
Reflections on the 5 Days
TISP offers numerous opportunities for learning and growth for each participant, with many moments where we can see significant changes close.
In the beginning, high school students who were initially quiet and seemed uncertain due to nerves and anxiety eventually participated actively in discussions without the support of university students. They filled with smiles and a sense of accomplishment. These changes is heartwarming for university students and teachers alike.
Through the process of idea generation, participants not only learn the methodologies of innovation but also become absorbed in discussions with their teammates. By observing university students, high school participants gain the motivation for their next challenge and develop a mindset geared towards creating new things.
For university students studying at i.school, their experience is not limited to learning. By supporting high school students as Discussion Partners, they deepened their understanding of innovation methodologies and developed the ability to take an overarching view of discussions. Additionally, they often found inspiration in the growth they witness among the high school participants.
We are grateful to all the staff, teachers, company representatives, university students, and high school students who helped facilitate the program, allowing us to experience such an environment of growth and challenge.
Haruka Matsuya
i.school Research Intern
Master’s Student, Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies，The University of Tokyo
List of Participants and Participating Companies
[High School Students]
Japan
Miyazaki Omiya High School: 22 students
Hyuga High School: 2 students
Takanabe High School: 2 students
Taiwan
Kaohsiung Municipal Kaohsiung Senior High School: 11 students
Vietnam
Nguyen Tat Thanh Upper and Lower Secondary School: 13 students
[University Students]
The University of Tokyo: 4 students
Rikkyo University: 2 students
Shibaura Institute of Technology: 1 student
Aichi Gakuin University: 1 student
i.school Assistant: 1 person
[Local Companies] (in no particular order)
Shinryokuen (Shintomi Town, Koyu District)
Kuriyama Nosan (Miyakonojo City)
Kawakami Mokuzai Co. (Miyazaki City)