Japanese professor: the future belongs to companies that are changing the direction of their business, not start-ups

EVENTS and NEWS

2022

20.06.2022: The international student grabs an Internship at the Hitachi Energy Estonia AS due to Ülemiste smart city Job Shadowing Day.
13.06.2022: ERASMUS+ Staff mobility for teaching. Why go on vacation when work is so much more fun?
16.05.2022: Charity opportunities to support Ukrainian students
16.05.2022: Ministry of Foreign Affairs Scholarship 2022 for Postgraduate International Business Administration Master's Programme
09.05.2022: Arcada University visit dissemination
12.04.2022: News for robotics enthusiasts - a new admission for Autumnt Intake to Cleveron Academy has already started
30.03.2022: EUAS participated in the international conference of universities of applied sciences.
29.03.2022: Joakim Helenius - video recording of the lecture
28.03.2022: Scholarships 2022/23 for international students, researchers and academic staff
25.03.2022: Scholarship 2022 for Postgraduate International Business Administration Master's Programme
21.03.2022: Estonia: international students and grads add record €16m in taxes in 2020/21
14.03.2022: Estonian and Japanese students discussed the future of Ülemiste City
28.02.2022: We raise 30 million steps for our schools birthday!
21.02.2022: Job announcement: Erasmus+ and exchange coordinator
14.02.2022: EUAS attended in University of Stavanger visit
24.01.2022: 100 free internships: #Road Trip to Ülemiste City Hub
14.01.2022: Materials of the Conference „Building the Virus-Resistant Company“
10.01.2022: Universities and enterprises: from thoughtful collaboration to more efficient and profitable entrepreneurship
06.01.2022: Highly qualified United States expert recommends that now is the time to dive into entrepreneurship!

2021

20.12.2021: EUAS hosted a study visit from Thomas More University of Applied Sciences in Belgium
29.11.2021: LIVE Webinar: Introduction to EUAS & studying in Estonia 29.11.2021
25.11.2021: Film investment Masterclass with Patrick Fischer (UK)
24.11.2021: New podcast series by EUAS alumni
23.11.2021: Student discounts at MyFitness
22.11.2021: Professor Olga Matthias: you have to know how to interact with data
18.11.2021: LIVE Webinar: Introduction to EUAS & studying in Estonia
15.11.2021: Japanese professor: the future belongs to companies that are changing the direction of their business, not start-ups

At the “Building the Virus-Resistant Company” conference, Professor Daisuke Matsushima of the University of Kanazawa described how and why Japan in general should change its innovation strategy.
Daisuke Matsushima, a graduate of Tokyo, Harvard and Nagasaki universities, has worked extensively (1998-2015) in the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry, helping to launch innovation projects with developing Asian countries. At a recent entrepreneurship conference organised by the Estonian Entrepreneurship University of Applied Sciences in cooperation with Ülemiste City, Professor Matsushima, who joined Kanazawa University last year, gave an overview of the training programme, which he hopes will greatly jumpstart the development of the entire region.
“Traditions and customs often play a decisive role in Japan. However, we must realise that the time for change has come. Japan’s innovation strategy should focus on encouraging companies to restart up rather than on starting new ones,” said Matsushima.
In his presentation “Startup or Re-Startup?”, he described the differences between the two business models and explained with examples why he sees ever-growing potential in the latter.
Stable or transformative innovation? Or both?
“Everyone knows that the Japanese giants Toyota and Bridgestone grew out of start-ups. However, this is not quite the whole truth. In fact, both sprouted a century ago as re-startups – Toyota from Sakichi, and Bridgestone from a shoe and sock manufacturer,” Prof Matsushima explained, eliciting a meaningful comparison from the distant past.
When mapping the situation, he added that although Japan has the third largest GDP in the world, in 2023 it is estimated that Japan will be ranked 32nd in terms of GDP per capita. “This, like the low efficiency of innovation, is a very serious problem for the economy. The trend is most affected by the aging of the population – almost a third of people in Japan are over the age of 65.”
The Kanazawa University professor emphasised the importance of small and medium-sized enterprises (as many as 99.7%!) in the economy.
“The structure based on the classic pyramid model of parent and subsidiary companies is being replaced by the so-called horizontal structure and set-up that are based on necessity and networking. In Japan, it is difficult to learn something new or get rid of what has already been learned in order to develop innovation, because everything is based on a deep-rooted, rigid and over-regulated outsourcing system,” he said, citing examples of ultra-innovative (small) companies that have started their own business in Thailand instead of their homeland.
“Innovators face a dilemma: to invest in more sustainable innovation or in a more transformative one? Ideally, you want to use both directions, but in reality, it is not so easy to combine them successfully,” Prof Matsushima outlined.

Unique concept that creates ground-breaking values
To help bring solutions, the Kanazawa University has launched the REP – Re-startup Entrepreneur Education Programme, about which Matsushima boldly stated: “We are talking about a unique concept, the long-term goal of which is to make the local Hokuriku region a home for re-startups in cooperation with all parties!”
As part of the programme, students get to know more than one hundred affiliated companies, research the relevant markets and ultimately create hypotheses about the possibilities of business renewal with the help of their mentors. Cooperation has also been started with other universities in Japan, as well as in India, Thailand and Hungary, and Prof Matsushima expressed hope that interested parties would also be found in Estonia.
“The idea of the solution is really simple: for companies – especially smaller ones – an external outlook and support are essential in the search for change. The university can help collect data, conduct research and find new sources,” explained Prof Matsushima. “In the long run, we are building the Kanazawa Innovation Network, where we want to create new and ground-breaking values by involving different parties.”
The KINTSUGI Association (Kanazawa Innovation Network by Transdisciplinary Science among University-Government-Industry) is a brand. Kintsugi (literally “golden joinery”) is also known as a dish-repair technique known in Japanese handicrafts, for which a special varnish mixed with gold, silver or platinum is used. The mixture fills the cracks in the broken ware and instead of hiding them, the mixture reveals the cracks much more. According to tradition, the purpose of the kintsugi technique is to respect the lifespan of the ware and to show that its breakage is only part of its history.
Professor Matsushima said that the project had already resulted in various great solutions and used an ironic example to describe it: “When one of my students went to the elderly owner of a company and proposed a significant change, there was a negative response. But the owner's son was fascinated by the idea immediately, and it became very successful. An excellent example of the need to create chemistry between new technologies (e.g., the digital revolution) and knowledge, traditions and experiences. The younger and older generations must not be in conflict but instead carry life forward by working in harmony.”
Watch the video of Prof Matsushima's presentation https://youtu.be/Ag0oc_aPUUc
04.11.2021: Patrick Fischer's Masterclass for Film and Investment Enthusiasts
04.11.2021: Emöke Sogenbits: bulletproof due to the crisis
02.11.2021: Tarmo Tael: a business continuity journey ensures the development of a company
26.10.2021: Web Technician Edward Reeds: I got to learn what is really needed in the field
26.10.2021: Film investment Masterclass with Patrick Fischer (UK)
14.10.2021: Indian IT student Arpan Dutta on studying in Estonia: I can study what I like here
13.10.2021: Through scientific approaches and practices, conference ‘Building a virus-resistant company’ offers opportunities for preventing and coping with crises
13.10.2021: EUAS hosted multicultural classroom project partners meeting
01.10.2021: EUAS invites to 9th Annual Entrepreneurship and Innovation Conference
02.09.2021: Ministry of Foreign Affairs Scholarship 2022 for Postgraduate International Business Administration Master's Programme
30.08.2021: Check out the EEK Mainor app!
27.08.2021: Opening ceremony of the academic year
17.08.2021: Ülemiste City Future Forum 2021
13.08.2021: Call for vaccination against COVID-19
07.07.2021: Student Story: Melvin Andulile Mwakitwange
25.06.2021: Study centre department opening hours during summer period
22.06.2021: The 31st class of the Estonian Entrepreneurship University of Applied Sciences
19.06.2021: EUAS Graduation Ceremony
14.06.2021: Ministry of Foreign Affairs Scholarship 2021 for Postgraduate International Business Administration Master's Programme
14.06.2021: EUAS successfully passed institutional accreditation
13.06.2021: Team Plyke won the green deal category
31.05.2021: STARTERtallinn programme winners
27.05.2021: Guest lecture "The Psychology of Agile Development" by Meelis Lang held on 25.05.2021
26.05.2021: EUAS Student Story: Mamta
14.05.2021: Distance learning will continue with some exceptions until the end of the spring semester (updated)
06.05.2021: LIVE Webinar: Introduction to EUAS & studying in Estonia, 06.05.2021
30.04.2021: Changes in the study process will continue until 10.05.2021
27.04.2021: Webinar Three Universities Exchange: Entrepreneurship
23.04.2021: “Women in Technology”: Faith, Passion and Courage to Help Break Outdated Stereotypes
22.04.2021: Virtual conference
14.04.2021: Changes in the study process will continue till 25.04.2021
05.04.2021: A joint project between EUAS and Oita University in Japan paves the way for cooperation between Estonian and Japanese students
30.03.2021: EUAS Student story: Kazuhisa Noguchi
30.03.2021: Changes in the study process will continue till 11.04.2021
22.03.2021: Japan x Estonia, Global Business Pitch 2021
17.03.2021: International Social Entrepreneurship Competition 2021
18.02.2021: Public Online Lecture by Sabine Rau-Oberhuber
15.02.2021: Changes in the study process since 16.02.2021
10.02.2021: Seminar “Japanese Economy, Market Features and Business Culture”
05.02.2021: Welcome to our University!
29.01.2021: Digital Cleanup Day
27.01.2021: Global Game Jam Online
27.01.2021: Workshop by Dr. Robin Lincoln Wood
09.01.2021: The graduation ceremony for the 30th graduating class from EUAS

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