SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING, TOHOKU UNIVERSITY Driving Force THE POWER TO MAKE TOMORROW INTERVIIEW REPORT
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING, TOHOKU UNIVERSITY Driving Force THE POWER TO MAKE TOMORROW INTERVIIEW REPORT

Student-led innovation for a more enjoyable
and fulfilling Tohoku University

Applied Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and
Biomolecular Engineering, Tohoku University
Atsushi Aoyama REPORT #31

© School of Engineering, Tohoku University

Using design thinking
as a weapon
to generate innovation
at Tohoku University

In October 2021, four students including three students from the School of Engineering were awarded the title of University Innovation Fellows (UIF) by Stanford University. UIF is a program provided by the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford University (also known as “d.school”), and it encourages students to think about the kinds of innovation that they can generate in their respective universities while learning, and to actually implement them. At its core is design thinking, which is a problem-solving process.

“Design thinking allows me to harness communication, which is what I’m best at,” says Atsushi Aoyama, a junior at the Department of Applied Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Biomolecular Engineering of the School of Engineering, and one of the Fellows who has completed the UIF program. He adds, “There are five processes in design thinking, namely: empathy, define, ideate, prototype, and test. Throughout these processes, we use brainstorming as a tool. In brainstorming, several of us gather as a group to freely express our opinions to pick out problems and generate ideas. I really enjoy figuring out how to carry the conversation, and how to best generate ideas out of people to make a brainstorming session go smoothly and to turn it into something fulfilling.”

To generate a wide variety of ideas, one principle of brainstorming is not criticizing nor appraising other people’s ideas. However, Mr. Aoyama says this is surprisingly difficult. He explains, “Japanese people like critical thinking. Overseas, critical thinking includes both agreeing and disagreeing, but in Japan, critical thinking tends to be based on disagreeing. After learning about design thinking, I’ve become more aware of the process of promoting discussion based on agreement, and how to make brainstorming livelier. Now, I keep saying we should generate ideas based on quantity rather than quality.”

UIFs as a “runway”
supporting students
until they take off

Mr. Aoyama and the other UIFs acquired their design thinking skills by uncovering issues faced by Tohoku University and the potential needs of students and faculty; and through training in planning and developing projects for university reform. After their training, they established the Tohoku University Innovation, Design, and Entrepreneurship Club (TIDE), a student-led organization whose goal is to make the university more enjoyable and fulfilling. They also established “I-River” at the Engineering Laboratory Complex Building (Aobayama Campus) as the organization’s base of operations.

Mr. Aoyama says, “The four of us Fellows talked about what’s lacking at Tohoku University, and what we came up with was that there are only a few student ventures, and only a few students who take it upon themselves to act. However, every year, more than 100 students take a class for first-year students where they learn about problem-solving methods. Simply put, there are many students who would actually like to do something new themselves.” So, what is missing? After further discussion, it became clear that there was little support for students who want to do something but are still a little hesitant. In addition, Mr. Aoyama points out another issue. He says, “The community of students wanting to do something is insular or closed off. To solve this problem, we UIFs decided to become their “runway” and support them until they take off, supporting them in generating ideas and in connecting with people. The idea that emerged as an opportunity to support them was holding the Tohoku University Innovation Festival.”

Hosted by TIDE, the Tohoku University Innovation Festival raised more than 500,000 yen in donations from 31 individuals. It was one of the projects adopted by the “Tomoni Program (Tomopro!),” a student-led crowdfunding initiative managed by the Tohoku University Fund. The festival began with a survey for first and second-year students to determine their level of awareness regarding entrepreneurship. It also conducted an “idea parade” for soliciting ideas based on the theme of “making people want to spend time at the Tohoku University campus,” and design thinking workshops for students who submitted ideas. TIDE are going to provide support for popular ideas in terms of “fun” and “newness” from their beginning to their fruition. Mr. Aoyama explains, “Our goal is to establish a culture within Tohoku University of creating something from nothing. Following in our footsteps are four other students who will take on the challenge of becoming UIFs in academic year 2022. We hope that the number of students who have learned design thinking will increase, and that we can do something new with them.”

School of Engineering, Tohoku University Driving Force, The Power to Make Tomorrow. INTERVIIEW REPORT

A sense of excitement in
doing something
no one else is doing

Mr. Aoyama says he chose the Department of Applied Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Biomolecular Engineering because of his interest in carbon-based materials. He says, “When I was in elementary school, my father, who liked vehicles and airplanes, took me to an airfield where I saw a Boeing 787 whose fuselage was 50% made of composite materials such as carbon fiber-reinforced plastic. I was most surprised by the fact that what had previously been made of aluminum can now be made using plastic, and that it was manufactured by a Japanese company. Since then, I considered studying carbon-based materials.”

Even before entering university, he was also interested in becoming an entrepreneur, or establishing his own venture company. He had a vague idea of starting while at university and selling his own company before graduating, so he was looking forward to learning about entrepreneurship. He says, “After entering Tohoku University, I found out that it is one of the best universities in Japan for studying entrepreneurship. The School of Engineering and the university as a whole offers many extensive courses and programs such as: “Facilitation classes” for first-year students (classes teaching support methods for the smooth facilitation of meetings and group activities); the “International Strategy Leader Course” whose goal is for students to acquire a global perspective by thinking about corporate global strategies, the ability to deal with numbers, and the ability to generate ideas; and the UIF program. These classes culminated in my current activities as a UIF and with TIDE. While I haven’t started my company yet, what I’m doing now has a different sense of fun, a different sense of excitement coming from doing something only I, and no one else, is doing.”

What is needed to harness newly created technologies in society? Mr. Aoyama says that he has been acutely aware of this issue, which is why he chose engineering. How will he apply his past and future experiences in his studies of chemical engineering which is his major? He says, “Chemical engineering is also the study of building plants. When trying to eliminate various problems during the process of gradually scaling up a plant from something hand-sized in the lab to its full scale, the various experiences in problem-solving will surely be advantageous. I want to utilize my experiences when looking at research as a whole, including the processes before and after research, as well as the background behind research, and the possibilities that lie beyond it.”

I’m happy to experience
as many failures
as I may, as long as
they are the result of
trying something new

After graduating from the School of Engineering, Mr. Aoyama plans to go to graduate school. After that, he has three plans for the future. He explains, “When I think about things, I try to think about them from three axes: society, the family, and the individual. On the society axis, I want to start a chemical-related company which I also want to manage. Another thing I would like to do if I have the chance is to join the management of the Japanese company that made the fuselage materials of the Boeing 787. On the family axis, I want to raise my own children. On the personal axis, I want to work in education. I think I’m suited to education because I’m good at conveying difficult things in a way that’s easy to understand by comparing them to other things. To achieve this goal, I am studying for a middle and high school teaching license as well.”

In September 2022, Tohoku University was featured on a Japanese news program. To include young people’s perspectives in the university’s public relations, three students were appointed as public relations staff. One of those students was Mr. Aoyama. In the TV interview, he said that he wants to update the university’s social media accounts daily, and to disseminate information that will arouse people’s interest in the everyday lives of Tohoku University students. What is the source of his energy for his ever-expanding scope of activities? He answers, “I think students should make as many mistakes as they want while they are students. No matter what we do, no matter how much we fail, we might be scolded for our failures, but ultimately, most of our mistakes are unlikely to develop into issues involving responsibility. That’s why students should make all the mistakes they could make while they are still students. The words “failure” and “mistake” have negative connotations, but it’s only during our student days when we can try doing things just because we want to. Many of the professors at Tohoku University are amenable to students taking on challenges. The important thing is to try. I’m happy to experience as many failures as I may, as long as they are the result of trying something new.”