We want to nurture the top 1% of children in Japan - a behind-the-scenes look at "Unexplored Junior

We want to raise the top 1% of children in Japan - the story behind “unexplored junior high school”.

• 2018-04-23 We want to raise the top 1% of children in Japan - a behind-the-scenes look at “unexplored junior” unexplored junior
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The Unexplored Project is a national project sponsored by the Information-technology Promotion Agency, Japan (IPSJ) under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). The government provides resources such as project managers (PM), budget, and community to those who have high programming skills and creative ideas, and supports them in developing their ideas into products over a one-year period. There is no age limit, and applicants must reside in Japan during the contract period. Every year, hundreds of ideas are submitted from all over Japan, and around 20 projects are selected. Adopters who achieve particularly outstanding results at the final presentation are certified as “Super Creators. In the past, people who are still active in the forefront of the industry, such as media artist Yoichi Ochiai, have been selected as Super Creators.

Outstanding creativity, a clear mind, and outstanding programming skills are the hallmarks of the “Unexplored Project. The “Unexplored Project” is regarded as a group of top creators who possess these qualities, and has become the object of admiration for many students, engineers, and researchers.

In 2016, a U-17 version of this “Unexplored” project, or “Unexplored Junior,” a “mini Unexplored” project limited to elementary, junior high, and high school students, began to be tested. Although limited to elementary, junior high, and high school students, the project is as serious as the original MUTOH, with development funding of up to 500,000 yen and support from experts active in various fields, especially graduates of the MUTOH Project. For this interview, we spoke with Yu Ukai, the founder of Mito Junior and still active as a PM.

Yu Ukai He conducted research and development of swimming support systems using underwater robots at the Graduate School of the University of Tokyo and was certified as a Super Creator in 2011. He has worked as Program Manager for Microsoft’s Office and Minecraft development team for educational products such as Office Lens and Minecraft Hour of Code Designer. Currently, he promotes programming education in elementary schools at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

Japanese educational system makes it hard to nurture the top 1%. —Mr. Ukai, you are currently working for the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to promote programming to elementary school students, right? I understand that you were also involved in the launch of another venture that provides programming education camps for junior and senior high school students, as well as the launch of Mito Junior. Why do you promote programming for children?

There is a simple desire to “convey the fun of programming,” but there are other reasons as well. One is that I want children to hone their programming skills. Programming will be in accelerating demand around the world in the future, and having the skills will make it easier to make money and get into good companies. I think it is important for them to hone their weapons from a young age in order to live in the future. The other reason is that we want them to have the experience of putting their own ideas into a product in the form of programming and having someone else use it. Moreover, since apps and the Web are worldwide, there is the possibility of making people all over the world happy. This is an experience that is hard to come by in everyday life, isn’t it?

—What made you decide to start a project like Unexplored Junior?

This is something I have experienced through my involvement in education at programming classes, but in Japan, there are very few opportunities to nurture the top 1% of children. This top 1% does not refer to children who excel in passive education such as taking entrance exams, but rather those who excel in the sense that they can think for themselves and create products with their own hands. If they go on to university or graduate school, they can engage in high-quality discussions in laboratories and at academic conferences, but there is no such place for elementary, junior high, and high school students. We thought that if we wanted to develop the top class, we should provide them with opportunities for high-quality discussions and output. That is exactly what Unexplored exists for.”

—Public school education in particular is tailored to children who are the slowest in their progress, and there are not many opportunities for elementary and junior high school students to learn what “argumentation is” in the first place, are there?

That’s right. When I was working in Seattle two years ago, I met many engineers who wanted to use their time to contribute to society. For example, a good friend of mine started a non-profit organization called TEALS, which sends top engineers from Facebook, Google, and other companies to high schools across the US to teach computer science there. They are teaching computer science there. On the other hand, such a culture does not exist in Japan yet. I felt that I would like to be a hub to foster a culture in Japan in which these engineers can contribute to society.

—It is true that social contribution and volunteer activities led by programmers and engineers are not so familiar in Japan. I think it is rare for people with high technical skills in the area of programming to have opportunities to interact with children.

That is correct. In the U.S., people who are considered role models, such as Bill Gates and Zuckerberg, often come from a programmer background, but in Japan there are very few people who come from a programmer background who can be called role models. I hope that we can create opportunities for children to meet excellent programmers and engineers who can become their goals through the Unexplored Junior program.

The criterion for project adoption is “whether or not we want to work together.” —I have the impression that all of the projects that are selected are of a high level when I hear the word “unexplored. What are the criteria for the adoption of the submitted ideas?

In the selection process for Unexplored Junior, each PM decides on the adoption of a project from the perspective of “whether or not I want to work with this child. After screening the application documents, each PM conducts a 30-minute online interview with the applicant whose idea they are interested in, and decides whether the project will be adopted. Since each PM evaluates applicants from different perspectives and based on different criteria, there is not much overlap among PMs in the number of applicants they nominate for interviews.

—I was surprised. I had imagined that all the PMs would evaluate all the ideas and adopt the applicants in order from the top to the bottom using a point scoring system.

Some applications contain only the concept of the challenge, while others are fully developed into a solution, but at the application stage, we select applicants based on the originality of their ideas, and it is up to each PM to decide what aspects of their ideas have potential. If one PM thinks, ‘I want to work with this girl,’ that’s it. No matter what other PMs say.“]

—I saw last year’s results report on the official website of Unexplored Junior and saw that everyone had created products in completely different directions, so I wondered if the PMs were making adjustments to take various types of ideas. I was wondering if the PMs were making adjustments to take different types of ideas.

Yes, we do. It is up to each PM to decide what he or she feels is “good,” so we do not use a scoring system based on “usefulness” or “not usefulness,” as in the so-called rationality system. I think that is why there is such diversity.

—What is the role of the PM in the management of the company?

Each PM is committed to supporting the applicant in realizing what he or she wants to do, but basically, we respect the applicant’s independence and active attitude to the maximum extent possible. Of course, we will give advice and provide the necessary knowledge to help them achieve their goals. However, we are not in a position to give instructions like a schoolteacher, but rather, we are involved with the applicant as a colleague who will work together with the applicant to create something, mobilizing all of his/her network and knowledge.

—I see. It seems to me that you can also learn how to proceed proactively with the project itself, such as how to involve others in the project and how to communicate with them to get the answers you want. I feel this is in contrast to school education.

I think this is a stark contrast, and I believe that educational opportunities should be places where such skills can be cultivated. The goal of the Junior Unexplored Program is the final presentation of the concept and actual product at a debriefing session. The evaluation is not based on whether or not the student has met the given goals, but rather on how far the student is able to set his or her own goals and implement them. That is why independence and proactivity are important.

Good ideas stick deeply in a few people.

—I heard earlier that each PM adopts projects from the viewpoint of “do you want to work together? What is your perspective in selecting projects?

We value not only the applicant’s desire to do this, but also the reason why you are doing it,” he said. I think people who can create things based on personal experiences are strong. What kind of experience led to the idea, what you felt at the time that led you to this idea, and things created from such backgrounds will deeply touch a small number of people. The issue is niche and clear.

—Is a product that can solve a niche problem for a small number of people a better product than one that is appreciated by many people?

Of course, that’s not entirely true, but I think it makes for a more interesting product. For example, Airbnb and Uber are examples of products that were thought to have no appeal to anyone, but that have caught on with a small number of people and spread. Facebook, which was started by people who wanted to be popular at Harvard University, is now used all over the world. I would like to support the creation of something that is considered ‘good’ by a few people in this way.

—What kind of advice do you keep in mind in the process of actually adopting a project and giving shape to the idea?

We often say, ‘We want you to picture the faces of the users, specifically what kind of people you would like to see using the application. For example, it is easier to have a discussion to boil down an idea to ‘an app to be used by a child in the 5th grade who lives in Japan’ than ‘an app to be used by a child. It is the user, not the PM, who really evaluates the child’s idea, so we provide support from the perspective of how best to deliver the best form for that user.”

—I think that trial and error while searching for “what is the value for the user” is essential in the creation of a product. What perspectives do other PMs value in the adoption process?

Some PMs want someone who has already completed a prototype at the application stage, while others want someone who has interesting ideas even if their programming skills are not yet up to scratch. There is no need to give up on applying just because you lack programming skills, but they will be looking to see if you are taking action on what you want to do so that you can apply for the Junior Unexplored Program. Programming skills and prototypes are one way to show that your feelings are being expressed in your actions. We are looking for people with that level of enthusiasm.

—Finally, do you have a message for the future applicants of Unexplored Junior?

I think there are a lot of people out there who have something they want to make or do, but don’t know how to give it shape. There is always something interesting about an idea, and we at PM will do our best to help you develop that idea and give it shape. If you have a feeling of “If I don’t do this, my life will be over! If you have that kind of mindset, please give it a try.

<Editor’s Postscript IT technology will continue to develop at a high speed in the future, and a large number of mixed products and services will appear in the world every day. In this era of rapid change, I felt that the Unexplored Junior Project was a valuable opportunity to learn the skills and processes necessary to “create good products,” which is the essence of work. I hope that Japan will see more and more educational opportunities like the Unexplored Junior Project, where students can learn the essence of work and education based on self-reliance and autonomy.

This article was written by. wisteria sika Editor. Loves to cook, eat and dogs.

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