Nurturing the next generation
Stemming from the desire to give students a chance to think about their career and inspire interest in the tech industry, we began facilitating company visits for students in 2015. Starting in 2020, we implemented online participation for certain programs.
| Lecture Title | Description | Target Audience | Location | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Working in the tech industry (available online) | This program gives participants a deeper understanding of what it’s like to work in the tech industry. It gives a simple explanation of the variety of sectors and businesses within the industry, and what jobs are involved in preparing a service (such as a game) for release. | Middle and high school students who have been approved for off-campus studies | MIXI Office | Around 60 to 90 minutes |
| Engineering and Programming | This program gives participants a deeper understanding of programming and engineering as a job. An engineer explains something they actually did at work in an approachable way and participants take part in a programming exercise. | |||
| The Design and Operation of Monster Strike | A design team member of the smartphone app Monster Strike talks about daily tasks, giving participants a deeper understanding of the different roles involved, how characters are created, and more. | |||
| How Romi Works: Programming an Autonomous Conversation AI | A member of Romi’s development team introduces the how the conversational AI of Romi works. Participants can deepen their understanding of AI, robots, and programming, as well as take part in a practical programming exercise involving Romi. | |||
| Safe Use of Smartphones and Social Networks | This program gives participants a deeper understanding of how to safely use social networks and socialize on their phones. Participants will see examples of how to avoid online trouble, learn appropriate ways to enjoy their phone, and understand the knowledge and mindset necessary for properly using their mobile device. |
Support for Kamiyama Educational Institute
MIXI is proud to be part of the Scholarship Partner program for Kamiyama Educational Institute, a private technical college which opened in April 2023. Through our contribution to the scholarship fund, we are working towards the collective goal of making tuition for Kamiyama Educational Institute free. In addition to MIXI’s contribution, the founder and director of MIXI, Kenji Kasahara, is taking part in the Scholarship Partner program on a personal level.
Kamiyama Educational Institute is a five-year private technical college that nurtures skills necessary for forging a new way through society through studies focusing on technology, design, and entrepreneurship. MIXI has decided to join the Scholarship Partner program because we support Kamiyama Educational Institute’s principles and initiatives for changing humanity’s future through the use of technology and design, and creating a school that any child with the potential to change the world can aspire to attend, regardless of their home financial situation.
The students of Kamiyama Educational Institute who receive a scholarship from MIXI or Kenji Kasahara will conduct joint research and extracurricular activities with us as MIXI Scholarship Students. We are considering implementing initiatives such as having MIXI officers give lectures to the students and having some of our employees temporarily stay in Kamiyama, Tokushima to allow for interactions between the students and our employees. MIXI aims to create long-lasting relationships that promote growth in both the students and our employees, contributing to nurturing the skills of individuals who will shape the next generation.
Message from Kenji Kasahara:
I believe that it only takes one genius to transform the world. Looking back through our history, there were individuals who changed the world through brilliant inventions or great leadership, and I believe that Kamiyama Educational Institute may have what it takes to bring more of such innovators into the world. Individuals who aim to become professional athletes, actors, and other performers have the opportunity to train from an early age. If entrepreneurs also had the opportunity to start learning the skills they need at an early age, these potential geniuses would have a better chance to shine as future innovators. As an entrepreneurship instructor, I am looking forward to meeting all of my students. I consider it a great honor to be able to play a part in teaching these ambitious geniuses in the making.
Message from Tatsuma Murase:
When visiting Kamiyama, the town where Kamiyama Educational Institute is located, I had the opportunity to learn the history and characteristics of the town. Through that experience, I felt that being able to study in a place with so many initiatives and hands-on opportunities is extremely lucky and valuable. The need for entrepreneurs, engineers, and designers is greater than ever, and there is always demand for educating the next generation of trailblazers. We believe that Kamiyama Educational Institute provides an innovative and long-term way to work towards the resolution of these issues, which is why we decided to participate in this program. By teaching students how to create what they need with their own hands and how to innovate, improve, and optimize for themselves and those around them, change will come to Japan and the world at large, paving the way for more and more innovations. I am truly happy to be deeply involved with such long-term and socially-important initiatives.
Career Development Support for High School Students
Including MIXI, four IT companies* based in Shibuya launched the Youth Valley project in 2021 to support the career development of high school students. For the first Youth VALLEY initiative, we participated in the 2021 Start Up Lab, held by the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education this year in July-August for metropolitan high school students. At the Start Up Lab, we gave a presentation on the development of Romi, our autonomous conversation robot. Participants learned about the technical differences between Romi and other communication robots. We explained how Romi uses deep learning technology to process large amounts of conversational data and develop speech and how Romi was designed to to be encouraging and comforting.
*CyberAgent Inc., DeNA Co., Ltd., GMO Internet, Inc., MIXI, Inc.
