2016 Camp for Designing the Future

All designs, including buildings, require strength, ease of construction, and beauty. The sight of the Skytree, completed safely shortly after the March 11 earthquake, gave courage to many Japanese people. Let me give another example of a tower. In 1889, a railway engineer built the first tower to exceed 300 meters in height by bundling four railway bridges vertically. This was the Eiffel Tower. It is surprising that Eiffel, the designer of this beautiful tower, was an engineer and not a designer, but I believe it is important that a structure free of wastefulness leads to beauty. This workshop is about exploring designs that satisfy both beauty and strength using limited materials, and creating them with your own hands. By three-dimensionally assembling thin, delicate rods and competing for height, you will create a rational structural beauty. The towers you build must be strong to stand tall, but they must also be beautiful.

Koya Tanaka (Faculty of Environment and Information Studies), Takuya Onishi (Faculty of Environment and Information Studies), Hajime Narukawa (Graduate School of Media and Governance)

Approx. 20 people

A method currently being researched and practiced for sharing the secrets and tips each person has gained through experience is called "Pattern Language." In Pattern Language, we create "new words" by describing secrets and tips in the format of "in what situation, what kind of problem tends to arise, and how can it be solved," and then giving it a name. These new words become a common language for sharing the "knack for doing things well," which was previously difficult to articulate. At SFC, for the past six years, all first-year students have been engaging in an initiative to design their own learning through dialogue using "Learning Patterns," which are a collection of secrets for creative learning compiled as a Pattern Language. The creation and use of such Pattern Languages have spread in recent years to business settings and the social welfare field, and are attracting attention as a new method for creatively changing various things. Pattern Language supports living a vibrant and creative life by verbalizing and sharing practical rules of thumb for creative activities that cannot be manualized. Why not experience the world of "Pattern Language," which creates a better future, at SFC, a cutting-edge hub for this field?

Takashi Iba (Faculty of Policy Management), Masahiro Kotosaka (Faculty of Policy Management)

Approx. 15 people

Achieving a society of health and longevity is a common dream for humanity, but our country is facing a super-aged society and encompasses numerous problems such as increasing medical costs, population decline, and especially a decrease in the working-age population. At SFC, a variety of courses and research groups related to health are established, ranging from the micro world of molecules and cells to the physical and mental health of individuals, the health of organizations, communities, and society, and the macro world that connects medical information and policy. While effectively utilizing this curriculum, we hope that each student will tackle various health-related issues from an interdisciplinary and unique perspective, and grow into highly skilled individuals who will lead the future society of health and longevity.

In this workshop, we are soliciting proposals for innovative and creative classes from high school students that could form the core of future health education at SFC. We expect proposals full of originality that skillfully connect your interests with the current health education and research at SFC. First, start by researching what kind of health-related lectures are offered at SFC, and analyze which fields are well-developed and which are not yet covered. On the day of the workshop, you will act as an instructor and conduct a mock first session (orientation) of the class you proposed. Afterward, we plan to have a discussion with everyone to refine the class plans. For all high school students interested in people's health! Participating in the SFC Camp for Designing the Future may be the first step toward contributing to a future society of health and longevity.

Junichi Ushiyama (Faculty of Environment and Information Studies), Yuji Ogi (Faculty of Environment and Information Studies), Takaaki Kato (Faculty of Environment and Information Studies), Yuki Kuroda (Faculty of Environment and Information Studies), Hitomi Sano (Faculty of Environment and Information Studies), Masaki Suwa (Faculty of Environment and Information Studies), Yuko Shoji (Faculty of Policy Management), Yasuhiro Naito (Faculty of Environment and Information Studies), Yoko Hamada (Faculty of Environment and Information Studies), Sachiko Mori (Faculty of Policy Management)

Approx. 18 people

In the near future, we believe an era will come when each person uses a drone, just like smartphones and cars. We want workshop participants to experience drones and propose how society should be in a drone-premised world. In Japan and overseas, commercial use of drones for tasks like transporting goods and maintaining buildings is already advancing. Drone racing competitions are also held worldwide, with children around middle school age winning world championships. Drones are expected not only to change the concept of moving things but also to be utilized in various fields such as communication, medicine, agriculture, and entertainment. However, discussions are still needed on how drones can be used and what kind of legal system is necessary in a society that presupposes the use of drones. In this workshop, after receiving basic knowledge on safety lectures for operating drones, the drone industry, and drone policies, you will actually experience operating a drone. Finally, we would like everyone to propose new ways to use drones in a "drone-premised society."

Tomoyuki Furutani (Faculty of Policy Management), Keiji Takeda (Faculty of Environment and Information Studies)

Approx. 20 people

The Camp for Designing the Future [Residential Program] is a project that leverages the experience of past camps to further promote high school-university collaboration and allow students to experience SFC's problem-finding and problem-solving education more realistically.

Since you will be staying at the Miraisozojuku SBC, a residential education and research facility on campus, we encourage high school students living outside the Tokyo metropolitan area who find it difficult to commute to participate.  

Communication robots that emphasize human conversation functions are being introduced not only at company receptions and in nursing care settings but also increasingly in general households. On the other hand, it has been said that people get tired of robots in three months. They can't handle small talk well. They don't give pleasant backchannels. In short, their timing ("ma") is bad. They don't provide witty responses ("kaeshi"). There may be various reasons for this. The lack of personality might also be a major factor. In this workshop, we will design human-robot interactions that are conscious of these "backchannels," "responses," and "timing." The goal is witty "small talk" with a robot. Let's aim for "small talk" that makes you laugh unintentionally. First, we will start by carefully observing communication between us humans. Manzai, a form of Japanese stand-up comedy where advanced jokes and retorts are used, might be the perfect subject for observation. Then, we will teach the robot the insights gained from this observation as communication actions. No special knowledge such as programming is required. This is a workshop where you can not only design new human-robot interactions but also simultaneously polish your own sense of humor, presentation skills, and self-disclosure abilities.

Instructors: Hiromi Shirai (Faculty of Policy Management), Kazunori Takashio (Faculty of Environment and Information Studies) Capacity: Approx. 15 people