Division of University Corporate Relations (English)

Overview of the Program
The Division of University Corporate Relations (DUCR), is an official organization of the University of Tokyo and is responsible for implementing the university’s research to society. These include support for university startups, human resources development, commercialization of academic research, management of research projects, management and usage of intellectual property.


Moreover, the Office of Startup and Entrepreneurship Education under DUCR is in charge of support for university startups and human resources development. The former handles the management of different incubation facilities (http://www.ducr.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/activity/venture/incubation/index.html), while the latter provides a variety of training programs for students and researchers.


Training programs include, for example, Entrepreneurship I and II (a course offered by The Faculty of Engineering), seminars on product development (https://monozemi.akg.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/), and Exploration and Development of Global Entrepreneurship for Next Generation (EDGE-NEXT).

The goals of DUCR
Assist students’ career development by providing startup experiences.
Cultivate people who can implement the research of the university to society.

The tasks for students
Cultivate the habit of discovering issues that they would like to cope with, think and act by themselves, and ask for help if necessary.
Understand the importance of startups to society and what roles can startup companies play in society.

Activities 1: Entrepreneurship Education
DUCR not only assists starting up a business but also cultivates the ability to think like an entrepreneur whatever the task is.


Courses for Students and Researchers
The University of Tokyo Entrepreneur Dojo
Entrepreneurship I and II
Seminars on product development (https://monozemi.akg.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/)
Exploration and Development of Global Entrepreneurship for Next Generation (EDGE-NEXT)
Project support
Todai To Texas
FoundX
Hongo Tech Garage
Spring / Summer Founders Program


Activities 2: Incubation Facilities
Although the university does not directly provide funding for startups, these incubation facilities have set up offices on campus to fund startups in their initial stages. See http://www.ducr.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/activity/venture/incubation/index.html for more details. They offer, for example, consultation services for starting up, financing, and professional services, assisting startup companies at its initial stage.


Activities 3: Consultation
Students can consult professors online in regards to the process of starting up a company, sometimes suggesting students to continue research if necessary.


What Values does DUCR provide
To students
DUCR provides not really the actual process of starting up a company, but rather something closer to the meaning of startups and the role of startup companies in society. Regardless of whether the student wants to start a company or not, DUCR cultivates entrepreneurship for students.


To society
Aligning to the University of Tokyo’s mission of fulfilling its social responsibility, DUCR provides the research of the university back to the society by industrializing it.


Strengths and Issues
The research capability of the University of Tokyo ranks amongst the top in the world and acts as a strong advantage for students and researchers when they want to start a company. However, DUCR is not known to many students. Instead of providing training programs and entrepreneurship education for those who already want to start a company, DUCR intends to let more people know what a startup is by providing training programs and entrepreneurship education.


Message to Students
It will be great if students can have the experience of starting up their own projects, developing products, and attracting users on their own.