The Brief

The history of mankind would not be complete without exploration and development. Homo sapiens began migrating out of Africa 70,000 years ago, and has since spread throughout the world, adapting to each region and developing its culture. In the history of Hokkaido, the Kaitakushi (Hokkaido Development Mission) has played an important role. In order to strengthen Japan's national power through the Meiji government's wealthy and powerful military and industrial development, Hokkaido became a special place to be developed by the Tondenhei. Driven by “Frontier Spirits" such as "spontaneity" and "creativity," they have combined knowledge and technology to create something new.
　For the future, in order for the “Frontier spirit" to develop into a "Shin Frontier Spirit" with the times, while continuing the good tradition, it will be necessary to update the "spirit" of empathy, diversity, and tolerance.
　At Hokkaido University, too, our basic philosophy is based on the “Frontier Spirit," which holds that we should take on the challenges of each era and boldly open up new paths. We believe that the frontier spirit is necessary in today's world, and that we must move forward to meet the paradigm shifts in academia and the future human and social challenges that lie ahead.
One of the situations where the frontier spirit is demonstrated today is in entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs are equipped with the entrepreneurial spirit to challenge the creativity and risk of creating new products and services with their curiosity. Entrepreneurship, which is an expression of the modern frontier spirit, will become important not only for companies but also in many other areas in this age of uncertainty and difficulty in predicting the future (the VUCA age).
What kind of structure, environment, and human resources are needed to transmit such "Shin Frontier Spirit” from Hokkaido and to demonstrate it throughout the world? Let's think about "Shin Frontier Spirit” for the future and create "Hokkaido that we can be proud of in the world" together.

Category

【Society & Culture】
＊Please use it to search for themes on DEMOLA Global HP.

The Background

Hokkaido University Organization for Promotion of Collaboration among Industry, Academia, and the Community the Division of Industry-Academia Collaboration promotes a wide range of business development, including strategic licensing activities, joint development and contract research based on patents, and industry-academia collaboration projects, with a view to making inventions and knowledge generated from research at Hokkaido University available for use in society.
Hokkaido University believes that "co-creation and collaboration with society is more necessary than ever," and is aiming for an all-Hokkaido collaboration.

The Challenge

Many "start-ups" and "ventures" have been born, led by entrepreneurs with a frontier spirit and intrepreneurs who start new businesses from within. A venture generally refers to a company in the process of growth that develops new services and businesses based on its original ideas and technologies. Especially in the early days when they are just starting to take on challenges with new business models, they are sometimes called startups.
Ventures and startups are said to have lighter footwork and shorter decision-making time compared to older, more traditional companies. Facebook started with the curiosity of one person, Twitter started with the creativity of a team of just a few people. Now, it is a service that has spread across the world. Ventures and startups are also creating supermarkets, home delivery services, personal computers, search engines, and social networking services that enrich our lives. Also, in industries expected to grow in the future, such as medical and welfare services and new energy, and in the transformation of existing industries, ventures and start-ups are expected to play an active role in agilely attacking untapped markets.
However, in terms of the percentage of entrepreneurs, Japan's rate is only 5.3%, compared to 15.6% in the U.S. and 10.4% in China. Hokkaido, in particular, is not in good shape, with a 3.9% business start-up rate in fiscal 2018 (compared to the national average of 4.4%) and a 3.8% closure rate (compared to the national average of 3.4%). In addition, Hokkaido is facing problems unique to the region, such as a declining birthrate, aging population, depopulation, and concentration in cities.
　Ventures and startups are one example of the Shin Frontier Spirit, but what is needed to continue producing companies and human resources that will spread their wings to the world from Hokkaido? What kind of environment and structure will allow Hokkaido to continue to shine by taking advantage of its outstanding natural environment, abundant agriculture, forestry, and fisheries resources, diverse energy resources, and other values that are the source of its uniqueness and superiority and cannot be found in any other region?

Schedules

＜Schedule for 2021_3rd DEMOLA HOKKAIDO＞
◆10/23 (10:00-17:00) ：Kick off event
◆10/30 (10:00-17:00) ：Workshop
◆11/13 (10:00-17:00) ：Workshop
◆11/27 (13:00-17:00) ：Demonstration Practice
◆12/11 (13:00-17:00) ：Final Demonstration + Networking
* In addition to the above schedule, there will be a team meeting once a week .
* In addition to the above schedule, there will be a team meeting once a week .

APPLY