September 20, 2023
A project by Zentaro Imai, a second-year student in the Faculty of Policy Management and a member of Professor Toshiyuki Masui's Laboratory at the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, and his team has won the "Local Government (Yamato Town, Kumamoto Prefecture) Award" at the University SDGs ACTION! AWARDS 2023.
The University SDGs ACTION! AWARDS is an award sponsored by The Asahi Shimbun Company, established in 2018, that invites and recognizes original projects and ideas from the younger generation based on their activities to solve social issues and their daily research. This year, there were 99 entries from student groups and individuals, and the 12 selected finalists gave presentations at the final selection event.
Imai and his team developed the "YOMY!" app, which nurtures children's skills such as language ability, thinking, and communication through online picture book read-aloud sessions that emphasize dialogue. The project was highly praised for also functioning as a platform for creators who want to publish picture books reflecting diversity and new values, leading to their win of the Local Government Award.
The same project also won the "Grand Prize" at Gikut-ten, a pitch contest for aspiring student engineers aimed at promoting output.
Award-Winning Project
"Online Read-Aloud YOMY!": Nurturing Children's Dialogue Skills
Zentaro Imai (2nd-year student, Faculty of Policy Management), Riko Yasuda (4th-year student, Faculty of Science and Technology)
Comment from Zentaro Imai
Since starting this service, I have come to realize that picture books are truly profound and broaden children's worlds. In the Masui Laboratory, we are exploring new ways to deliver the traditional medium of picture books to children in the context of UX/UI.
Aiming for our vision of "creating a society where everyone involved, centered on children, can express themselves," I will continue to do my best. I would also like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to everyone in the laboratory and all related parties for their guidance on this project.
Source: General Affairs Section, Shonan Fujisawa Campus (SFC) Office