For those who want to change society but feel powerless. Why not hone your 'ability to formulate questions' in one month and find a guide for the future? We are holding a Research PJ.
To everyone who will face the changes in society from here on.
Surely, you must have felt something like this at least once, haven't you?
I was working on solving this problem, but I got lost and didn't know what to do.
I went there wanting to revitalize the region, but in the end, I couldn't step beyond being a tourist.
I've built up various skills, but what was the area I really wanted to face in the first place?
Since my learning doesn't have any opinions based on experience, it feels empty somewhere.
AI is honestly smarter than me, and I have no argument against that.
It's decided that I'll enter society, but will I really be able to make it?
What we, 'OWB Inc.', provide is not a 'regional revitalization program experience'.
Odaka Ward, Minamisoma City, Fukushima Prefecture, which rose from the unprecedented crisis of the earthquake and nuclear accident and is now creating the future.
This is an internship where you stay in Odaka, a 'frontier from zero population', for one month, approach the root of regional issues, and repeat 'Question -> Information gathering -> Discussion with locals and mentors -> Re-organizing the question'.
to generate a problem setting 'question' to truly change the region.
Why not acquire the 'ability to formulate questions' that is essential for problem-solving, together with mentors who are active on the front lines of consultants and think tanks, and enthusiastic peers gathered from all over the country?
Program Overview
Mission: You will research regional issues and create one report per person.create.
Main themes: (1) Food/Agriculture (2) Education (3) Medical/Welfare (4) Transportation/Logistics (5) Other living areas will be assigned arbitrarily by the secretariat.
In the report, please include (1) Regional issues and (2) Causes of the issues (3) Proposals for solutions.
We ask for a results report meeting on Saturday, September 13th, and the final version of the report on the 19th.
Reference: Click here for past reports
https://note.com/odakaworkers/n/n5967c5c2299a
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Period: 8/18 (Mon) - 9/19 (Fri) (Consultation available for time off)
Example: There have been people in the past who took a few days off for job hunting or seminar activities, or continued another internship remotely.
Remuneration 25,000 yen
Transportation expenses: Round trip provided
Accommodation expenses: Free. The secretariat will prepare the accommodation.
Management: OWB Inc.
From a town with a population of zero to the frontier of the future.
This summer, the town of Odaka is waiting for your challenge.
Information sessions are also being held regularly. If you are just interested in hearing more, please feel free to join us.
>> An experience that will change your life in one month. Apply now.
Are you worried about the difficulty level? Is it okay to take time off? Rest assured! ~Example of how to spend your month~
In this program, it is possible to take time off for a period due to circumstances such as academics or job hunting. In the past,
there have been participants who left the program for a few days for job hunting or seminar activities, or who participated while continuing another internship remotely.
Because you can stay while flexibly switching between on and off, you can participate without strain according to your own situation.
Regarding experience, participants range from first-year undergraduates to graduate students, and their regional experience also varies.
Our secretariat and the mentors described below will provide optimal support, guidance, and accompaniment tailored to each individual.
Experienced mentors will fully support your challenge.
The mentors for this program include people with extensive experience in consulting, think tanks, VCs, and more.
"Students grow significantly in real-world problem-solving settings, not in armchair theories. I want university and graduate students to have the experience of seriously facing society." (Mentor: En Fushimi, EY ShinNihon LLC)
"There are skills that will always be useful, in any era and in any world.
They are the three skills of:'the ability to keep formulating questions,' 'the ability to take action first,' and 'the ability to keep working without giving in to difficulties.'Please experience this training opportunity that can only be obtained in Odaka, Japan's last frontier, because you gather in Odaka and are with the people who live there."
(Mentor: Akira Takahashi, Makaira Inc.)
Once a week, the mentors will act as sounding boards for your research, sometimes struggling together with you, and accompanying you on the path until you reach essential questions.
>> Click here if you want to expand your potential with reliable mentors
We interviewed the business leaders who are driving society and participating as mentors this year about last year's internship. Please take a look.
Voices of past participants and who this is recommended for
1. Those who aim to solve social issues as entrepreneurs
For an entrepreneur's career, it is essential to present alternative solutions in a world without correct answers. You are required to keep facing social issues and specific domains.
Why not spend one month facing a specific domain in a region to train your stamina for thinking and continuing to engage?
"By thinking thoroughly in Odaka,I think I gained the mental stamina to keep facing questions without answers.Also, my sense for good questions was honed, and I came to understand 'how much stamina is needed to reach a good question.'"
② Those who want to become active participants in regional revitalization
'Who' is troubled by 'what' and 'why'? In complex regions, you are required to organize perspectives and understand 'pain' with high resolution.
Because you have a month, you can gain the experience of carefully honing your vision and perspective.
“It was good to take the time to understand each stakeholder's perspective.
First, I researched the issues at my desk and formed hypotheses, and then I was able to deepen my questions by interviewing local residents and hospital staff.
Of course, it is impossible to solve everyone's problems, but I think I was able to find a good approach after avoiding various contradictions.”
③ Those who wish to engage in high-level problem solving, such as in the consulting industry
All of our mentors are people who are active on the front lines of society.
Receiving direct guidance is also perfect as a warm-up for employment.
“I felt that Harada-kun's obsession with problem-solving was extremely high.
His attitude of thoroughly facing questions is what I think is his characteristic.
Isn't the internship program he participated in the perfect environment for acquiring an attitude of 'thinking things through'?
This internship provides an experience of ‘sweating your brain’ and cultivates the power to think thoroughly.
I believe this is extremely important when doing consulting work.
Introduction of universities attended by past participants
The University of Tokyo (Graduate School), Osaka University (Graduate School),
Waseda University, Chuo University, Rikkyo University, Hosei University, Doshisha University, Kwansei Gakuin University, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Sapporo Otani University, Showa Women's University, Otemon Gakuin University, University College London
Why is this program necessary now?
We do not want the pure desire of students and other young people to 'make society better' to go to waste.
However, to give shape to that desire, it is essential to have the 'ability to frame questions' to unravel complexly intertwined social issues and set essential problems.
In this program, you will thoroughly face problem setting in the Odaka district, a field overflowing with questions that have no answers.
This program focuses on thoroughly breaking down 'big questions,' organizing outlines and hypotheses while utilizing generative AI, and repeating verification in the field.
Rather than jumping at 'problems' or 'ideas' that come to mind after a little thought, we find value in digging into why those problems are left unsolved and finding more essential questions and the structural issues behind them.
When the big picture becomes clear, solutions are naturally derived.
For you who can see the image of the society you want to realize but feel you lack the power, mentors active on the front lines of problem-solving will deepen your thinking and increase your resolution on social issues.
For you who want peers with whom you can safely vent your thoughts and passion
you will hone your 'core' as a stakeholder by working hard with peers from diverse backgrounds who have high aspirations.For you who feel you lack practical experience even though you want to utilize your existing learning, you can learn the experience of turning knowledge into flesh and blood through the repetition of desktop research and abstraction ⇔ immersion in the field and concretization.
Don't learn 'solutions,' acquire the 'ability to set problems.'
Why don't you also become a 'stakeholder' who changes society in one month?
>> See the details of the program and take a step toward the future
This initiative has been continuing since 2022.
Rather than solutions, we wanted people to investigate the actual situation of the region, the factors of the issues, and the structures at any cost. We started the initiative based on that mission.
People with high initiative and passion have come to us.
Among the graduates, there are some who have been scouted and have gone on to foreign-affiliated consulting firms.
About Us
Fukushima is not a 'disaster area,' but a 'frontier.' Using 100 challenges as seeds, we will create 100 businesses and build a town of pioneers.
Apologies for the late introduction, I am Fukutaro Tadano of OWB Inc. (formerly Odaka Workers Base Co., Ltd.), a regional development venture working on business creation in Odaka Ward, Minamisoma City, on the coast of Fukushima Prefecture.
Our company is a regional development venture that views the disaster-stricken area created by the nuclear disaster following 3.11 as a 'frontier' through reverse thinking, and is forging ahead toward creating a new society.
Coworking space 'Odaka Pioneer Village' where entrepreneurs gather
Glass accessory brand 'iriser' that delivers the skills of local women to the world
'NextCommonsLab' Minamisoma, an entrepreneur attraction and support project that gathers under the tagline 'Let's enjoy an unpredictable future' and others.
A town where both the population and the economy became zero due to the earthquake and nuclear accident.
But that is precisely why we are weaving and creating a new society from this place.
People who resonate with this concept have gathered, and new initiatives are being born in the region one after another.
Our company's initiatives, which were once seen as efforts for 'reconstruction,' are now increasingly being recognized as a frontrunner in regional revitalization.
Please watch the video here for a brief introduction to our past initiatives.
>> An experience that will change your life in one month. Apply now
Program Overview
Mission: Research regional issues and have each person create one report.
Main themes: (1) Food/Agriculture (2) Education (3) Medical/Welfare (4) Transportation/Logistics (5) Other living areas will be assigned arbitrarily by the secretariat.
Please include (1) Regional issues, (2) causes of the issues, and (3) proposals for solutions in your report.
The results presentation will be on Saturday, September 13th, and we ask for the final version of the report by the 19th.
Reference: Past reports can be found here
https://note.com/odakaworkers/n/n5967c5c2299a
Period: 8/18 (Mon) - 9/19 (Fri) (Short absences can be discussed)
Remuneration: 25,000 yen
Transportation expenses: Round trip provided
Accommodation expenses: Free. The secretariat will arrange the place of stay.
Management: OWB Inc.
From a town with a population of zero to the frontier of the future.
This summer, the town of Odaka is waiting for your challenge.
Information sessions are also being held regularly. If you would just like to hear more about it, please feel free to join us.
>> An experience that will change your life in one month. Apply now.
* We are continuing to accept applications on an ongoing basis until the internship start date.