Entrepreneur Training Program – Ideathoon

Report on the First Ideathon

IdeathonDay 130-Sep-2020
Host: Tokyo Metropolitan Public University Corporation,Tourism Strategy Project

There is a movement to explore the possibility of new tourism and travel services under theinfluence of COVID-19 disaster which the tourism industry has not experienced so far andstill in a tough situation.
This year's Ideathon program aimed to let the students think idea on the theme of "Travel xVR" and to make them feel close to starting a business.
All five programs were held online and reported to Dr. Haruo Shimada, Chairperson of theTokyo Metropolitan Public University Corporation, on November 11. 15 students fromTokyo Metropolitan Public University and Waseda University participated in five programs
this year, they ranged from first-year undergraduates to doctoral students.
In the first session, started with self-introduction, and as a warm-up, discussed the issues
the tourism and travel industries facing.
After that, divided into groups and learned about brainstorming that creates ideas by writingout images from the combination of "Elderly ×VR" as much as possible.
From the second Ideathon, each participant as an idea owner brought ideas for the "Travelx VR" service and brushed them up.

Report on the Second Ideathon: Brush up on IdeasIdeathon
Day 27-Oct-2020
Host: Tokyo Metropolitan Public University Corporation,Tourism Strategy ProjectAs a part of the Tourism Strategy Project, the Tokyo Metropolitan Public University
Corporation has implemented five series of entrepreneur training programs called “Ideathon”
for university students.
The 2nd Ideathon was held on Wednesday, October 7. At the beginning, facilitator Mr.
Hideki Matsushita (CEO of UNIQ TABLE Inc.) explained about start-ups and smallbusinesses.
After that, in order to brush up the ideas of "Travel x VR", divided into groups and discussed
subjects following "Who will be the customer?", "Which customers will you approach?", and"What kind of problem do customers have?".

Report on the Third Ideathon: Verification of Business PlanIdeathon
Day 314-Oct-2020
Host: Tokyo Metropolitan Public University Corporation,Tourism Strategy ProjectAs a part of the Tourism Strategy Project, the Tokyo Metropolitan Public University
Corporation has implemented five series of entrepreneur training programs called “Ideathon”
for university students.
The 3rd Ideathon was held on Wednesday, October 14. At the beginning, facilitator Mr.
Hideki Matsushita (CEO of UNIQ TABLE Inc.) explained the concept of business planningand differences in business plans required at each stage.
After that, the participating students presented their business models to group members andverified the important points at the early stage following "target customers", "customerissues" and "value to offer".

Report of the Fourth Ideathon: Pre-PitchIdeathon
Day 4
21-Oct-2020
Host: Tokyo Metropolitan Public University Corporation,Tourism Strategy ProjectAs a part of the Tourism Strategy Project, the Tokyo Metropolitan Public UniversityCorporation has implemented five series of entrepreneur training programs called “Ideathon”
for university students.
The 4th Ideathon was held on Wednesday, October 21. In the lead-up to the final pitch, prepitched in group and feedback to each other.
As an ice break, facilitator Mr. Hideki Matsushita (CEO of UNIQ TABLE Inc.) explained
the basics of business, "sales", "expenses" and "profits." After that, students presented theiropinion on “how to use the remaining profits” as a manager.

Report on the 5th IdeathonIdeathon
Day 511-Nov-2020
Host: Tokyo Metropolitan Public University Corporation,
Tourism Strategy ProjectAs a part of the Tourism Strategy Project, the Tokyo Metropolitan Public University
Corporation has implemented five series of entrepreneur training programs called“Ideathon” for university students.
The 5th Ideathon was held on Wednesday, November 11. In this fifth and final session, a
total of 13 students presented their business ideas using VR that they had been working on.
Each speaker had three minutes to explain the outline of the idea, the expected customers
and users, and the business model, using slides prepared in advance. Dr. Haruo Shimada,Chairperson of the Tokyo Metropolitan Public University Corporation joined the session
and reviewed the presentations.
The themes of the ideas presented by the students are as follows.





Introduction VR for sightseeing spots
Pre-study VR for school trip
Virtual overseas travel
VR for sharing memories (reproduction)
Virtual amusement park
Virtual museum
Experience VR for disaster prevention
VR travel for seniors
Training for VR operation
Souvenir VR Kit

VR platform for dispatch of local information
VR platform for experience and travel video
VR platform for travel experience

This year, all five programs were held online. However, the students were able to absorb
the essence of startups through the programs despite their various difficulties. It was very
impressive to see them presenting their ideas proudly on the screen.