Kwansei Gakuin UniversityIBM JapanTo Members of the Press
Kwansei Gakuin University and IBM Japan Launch the "AI Talent Development
Program: Virtual Learning Edition" for Companies, Local Governments, andUniversities: Aiming to Reach 50,000 Annual Attendees by Fiscal Year 2024,
Contributing to the Creation of AI Talent
April 27, 2021
Kwansei Gakuin University (led by President Osamu Murata and located in Nishinomiya,
Hyogo Prefecture) has developed the AI Talent Development Program: Virtual Learning
Edition (KGAI-VL) together with IBM Japan (led by General Manager Akio Yamaguchi
and headquartered in Chuo, Tokyo), and will launch this program starting in July 2021 asa paid service for companies, local governments, and universities. KGAI-VL includes
three courses (each lasting about 20 hours) titled "AI for Beginners," "Introduction toApplication Design for AI Solutions," and "Introduction to Data Science for AI
Solutions." These courses are all offered online in an on-demand format. KGAI-VL also
features a chatbot built with IBM Watson Assistant that answers questions from learners.
This means that anyone belonging to a partner company or local government can takethese courses whenever and wherever they are, as many times as they wish. Kwansei
Gakuin University will launch this program for companies, local governments, anduniversities with the aim to reach 50,000 annual attendees by fiscal 2024 and to contributeto the creation of AI talent.
As digital transformation continues to accelerate, there is a desperate shortage of AI talentworldwide. In Japan, experts have warned that in 2030, the shortage of AI talent will reachup to 790 thousand people. *1 The Japanese government has established the AI Strategy
2019*2 as a crucial national policy. This strategy seeks to foster AI literacy in 500 thousand
university and technical college students and 1 million working adults every year. AItechnology has brought the world to a significant turning point in history, with rapidchanges occurring in the structure of society and in work styles. Kwansei Gakuin
University similarly encountered a large hurdle in educating talent who could propel
digital transformation. With technological advances in AI and automation, the set of
essential skills and abilities changes on a daily basis. IBM Japan has established three key
measures—driving digital transformation, co-creating new businesses through advanced

technology, and nurturing IT and AI talent—and has engaged in initiatives to eliminate
the shortage of AI talent, such as by expanding internal training programs for employees
and partners, providing services with the social contribution program SkillsBuild for reskilling people in the workforce, and building a public-private collaborative education
model.
In this context, Kwansei Gakuin University started a collaborative project with IBM
Japan in 2017 to train talent who have knowledge in AI and data science, and who havethe ability to solve real-world issues by utilizing this knowledge. Through this project, it
developed the "AI Talent Development Program." This program places emphasis onpractical activities, incorporating the academic insight from Kwansei Gakuin University
as well as the advanced case studies from many different social implementations of AI by
consultants and data scientists at IBM Japan. The "AI Talent Development Program" has10 courses and has been available for all students since April 2019 regardless of major.
In fiscal 2021, the three fundamental courses, "AI for Beginners," "Introduction toApplication Design for AI Solutions," and "Introduction to Data Science for AI
Solutions," were converted into e-learning programs and offered to students as KGAI-VL.
The KGAI-VL version of the "AI for Beginners" course that aims to nurture AI literacy
saw 2,071 registered students in its first Spring semester, demonstrating the high level ofinterest that students show toward AI.
Announced today, KGAI-VL features three courses, "AI for Beginners," "Introduction toApplication Design for AI Solutions," and "Introduction to Data Science for AI
Solutions," with the same content as the program held on campus. This program provides
guidance in audio with subtitles, and includes explanation from lecturers, demo videos,
online seminars, time-limited project research sessions, random tests, and many otherfeatures in an online platform.*3 To maximize the effectiveness of learning, Kwansei
Gakuin University and IBM Japan have built a system using IBM Watson Assistant wherea chatbot can answer questions from learners, letting people take the courses at any timeand in any location. Each course lasts for about 20 hours. Learners pass the course if theyattain a suitable score in all the online tests *4 (with questions set randomly) assigned foreach section, whereupon they are issued with a certificate and an Open Badge. *5 The feefor each course is 20,000 yen per year (22,000 yen including tax), and 6,000 yen (6,600yen including tax) when taking the same course again for the second year onward,encouraging people to engage in continuous learning to reinforce their knowledge. Some
5,000 adults from the workplace are expected to enroll in this program in fiscal 2021, and1,500 employees from the Daido Life Insurance headquarters will take courses starting
this July.
From fiscal 2022 onward, three new courses titled "Practical Seminar in AI Applications
A (Web Application Design Using Java)," "Practical Seminar in AI Applications B(Machine Learning and Deep Learning Using Python)," and "Practical Seminar in AI
Applications C (Web Design)," will be added on a gradual basis, and a total of six courses
will be available in fiscal 2024. Going forward, this program will be proposed tocompanies, local governments, and universities,*6 and from fiscal 2022 onward it will berolled out for adults in the workforce, high school students, and other users. Kwansei
Gakuin University and IBM Japan will expand the number of annual attendees to 50,000
by fiscal 2024, thereby contributing to the creation of AI talent.
*1: Reference: The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, The Shortage of IT HumanResources
https://www.meti.go.jp/policy/it_policy/jinzai/houkokusyo.pdf*2: Reference: The Cabinet Office, AI Strategy 2019https://www.maff.go.jp/j/kanbo/tizai/brand/attach/pdf/ai-15.pdf*3: This service uses Learning Ware, an LMS provided by ProSeeds, so there is no needfor companies, local governments, or universities to install a system on premises.
*4: The passing grade for online tests can be changed, and restrictions on fast-forwardingor skipping lectures can also be removed through configuration. However, certificateswill not be awarded if the configuration has been changed in this way.
*5: Open Badges are digital certificates managed by Open Badge Network using
blockchain technology.
*6: Contact Kwansei Gakuin University for details on pricing for universities.
(Press inquiries)
Yokogawa, Kwansei Gakuin Public Relations Office
Email: kg-pr@kwansei.ac.jp

Phone: 0798-54-6017

Hazuki Ichinose, Communications, IBM Japan
Email: Hazuki.Ichinose@ibm.com
Phone: 03-3808-5120