Nurturing a Global Entrepreneurship Mindset

Startup Collaboration among Business Communities, Local Governments and a University Global Network

  • Selected as one of the 14 grantees of 2022 FY Inter-University Exchange Project
  • Award size: approximately 30 million JPY per year
  • Duration: 5 years

On September 7th, MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) announced the selection results of the 2022 Inter-University Exchange Project, which is a 5-year grant from the Japanese government to promote strategic international university cooperation. A joint project proposed by KUISs (Kansai University of International Studies) was selected as one of the 14 grantees.

Though this joint project, KUISs will initiate a collaborative entrepreneurship program with 6 universities and one university network, from 5 different countries: Australia, Canada, UK, India and Japan. This project is based on the curriculum of Venture Makers (VM). VM is an entrepreneurship education program that was originally developed by Western Sydney University. Students in the joint-project VM program will engage in short-term (3 weeks), mid-term (6 weeks) and long-term (14 weeks) programs with online, offline, and blended learning modes. In addition, there will be practical learning opportunities for students, such as project-based learning at start-up companies and internships at existing corporations. As an outgrowth of this joint project, a start-up student conference, Venture Makers Global Conference (VMGC), will be held annually in Sydney or Kobe alternatively.

This project aims not only to expand international collaboration between universities but also to deepen cooperation with start-up support organizations, government agencies and existing business corporations. Kobe City and Kansai Association of Corporate Executives (Kansai-Doyukai) will support this program by offering various resources. Also, a start-up support agency, Innovation Dojo Japan, will provide learning opportunities and a professional network for the VM students.

Partner universities
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Support Organizations
  • Innovation Dojo Japan
  • Kobe City
  • Kansai Association of Corporate Executives

Selection Results for the FY2022 Inter-University Exchange Project

Japanese Page