#Japan #Musashino Art University #Project Tangible #Mitsubishi Mirai Foundation #Kōhira

Musashino Art University Awarded Grant for Project Tangible

Musashino Art University, located in Kōhira, Tokyo, has secured a significant grant from the Mitsubishi Mirai Foundation for its innovative initiative titled "Project Tangible: Elevating High School Students' Inquiry Activities Through the Power of Design." The project aims to empower high school students by enhancing their inquiry skills through structured design methodologies.

Overview of Project Tangible

The primary focus of Project Tangible is to elevate and refine high school students' inquiry activities by leveraging the collaboration between the university and schools across the nation. Students will engage in a comprehensive educational program grounded in design thinking principles. This involves iterative processes starting from identifying problems to ideation, prototyping, and gathering feedback, thus transforming their inquiry activities into more creative and practical endeavors.

A key feature of this project is its foundation on the "Tangible Power" cultivated through art and design education. This approach aims to uplift students’ inquiry endeavors to new heights by addressing collective challenges faced in numerous high schools, offering insights and expert knowledge from the university's design faculties. The ultimate goal is to materialize students' interests and ideas into tangible outputs that resonate with society.

With this grant's approval, Musashino Art University is committed to fostering the creative thinking and practical skills of the next generation, contributing to societal progress through the power of design.

Main Activities

To facilitate the ambitious goals of Project Tangible, a nationally coordinated open platform will be established, known as the "Inquiry Design League." This consortium will be designed to enhance inquiry activities nationwide by promoting collaboration among high schools, multiple businesses, universities, and local governments over the next several years.

The project consists of three fundamental pillars:

1. Tangible Camp: Selected high school teams will participate in intensive workshops to deepen their inquiry themes, engaging with university educators and specialists for concentrated refinement.

2. Tangible Mentoring: High school teams will receive guidance and support from artists, designers, and university students, helping them turn their inquiry results into forms that are both physically and visually tangible.

3. Tangible Show: The tangible outcomes of the inquiry will be showcased to the public, creating opportunities for feedback from society and enriching the student experience.

This initiative also exists as part of the research undertaken by the Social Creative Research Institute, which aims to address contemporary societal challenges through cross-disciplinary collaboration between businesses, local communities, administration, and education.

About the Mitsubishi Mirai Foundation

The Mitsubishi Mirai Foundation, established in October 2019, commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Mitsubishi Group. Its mission is to nurture the future generation, contributing 10 billion yen over ten years from 24 group companies to support educational programs across high schools, universities, and non-profit organizations. Since the beginning of its grant support in the 2020 fiscal year, approximately 384 organizations and approximately 227,000 participants have been involved through 2024.

The Social Creative Research Institute at Musashino Art University

Set up to tackle the challenges posed by rapid environmental changes and unpredictable futures, the Social Creative Research Institute seeks solutions through intersectional collaboration across sectors and disciplines, proposing visions and prototypes to address social issues and create new human values.

For inquiries regarding this initiative, please contact the Musashino Art University Collaboration and Co-creation Team at: ichigaya_campus@musabi.ac.jp