GDO x Alpen: Connecting Student Ideas to Regional Economy
Golf Digest Online Inc. (GDO) and Alpen Co., Ltd. will launch the "Bibai Industry-Academia Co-creation Program" from April 27, 2026. Four students from Hokkai Gakuen University will develop and implement actual business plans at "Alpen SNOWLAND Bibai" in Bibai City, Hokkaido. This practical program aims for regional revitalization and next-generation talent development, where student ideas will operate as real services with corporate funding.
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- 📰 Published: April 24, 2026 at 19:35
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Golf Digest Online Inc. (Headquarters: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and President: Shinya Ishizaka; hereinafter "GDO") and sports equipment retailer Alpen Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture; Representative Director and President: Atsushi Mizuno; hereinafter "Alpen") will launch the "Bibai Industry-Academia Co-creation Program" from April 27, 2026. In this program, four students from Hokkai Gakuen University (Sapporo City, Hokkaido) will develop and implement actual business plans at "Alpen SNOWLAND Bibai" in Bibai City, Hokkaido.
This program, initiated by GDO's proposal, is a practical PBL (Project-Based Learning) aimed at regional revitalization and next-generation talent development. It further develops the "Industry-Academia Collaboration Pilot Program" which involved a total of 16 students from Hokkai Gakuen University and Sapporo Medical University in February 2026.
■ Three Distinctive Features Different from Conventional Industry-Academia Collaboration
This program aims to be a "practical field" where companies and students challenge each other on an equal footing, rather than a "learning place" that is an extension of the classroom.
① Ideas will become "real services" at Alpen SNOWLAND Bibai next winter
Unlike projects that end with mere proposals or ideas, the plans born from this program will operate as "actual services" at Alpen SNOWLAND Bibai, managed by Alpen, during the winter season of January-February 2027. The greatest feature is that students' free and flexible ideas, unconstrained by golf industry norms, will materialize as "experiential value" directly provided to local tourists and residents, directly contributing to the regional economy.
② "Adoption = Budget Acquisition": Students win business approval from executives
At the final presentation held in Tokyo in October, GDO executives and Alpen business managers will directly review the feasibility of commercialization. Since actual corporate budgets will be invested in approved plans, students will be rigorously evaluated not only on customer perspective but also on the accuracy of their revenue and expenditure plans and business sustainability. This provides a real business tension and growth opportunity not found in typical internships.
③ For approximately half a year, both companies will "accompany" and support the evolution of the plan
Unlike one-off lectures or workshops, GDO and Alpen will provide continuous support through bi-monthly workshops and ad-hoc online/in-person meetings. Long-term dialogue with company representatives knowledgeable in activity management utilizing golf courses will enhance the quality of the business plans.
■ Three Distinctive Features Different from Conventional Industry-Academia Collaboration
This program aims to be a "practical field" where companies and students challenge each other on an equal footing, rather than a "learning place" that is an extension of the classroom.
① Ideas will become "real services" at Alpen SNOWLAND Bibai next winter
Unlike projects that end with mere proposals or ideas, the plans born from this program will operate as "actual services" at Alpen SNOWLAND Bibai, managed by Alpen, during the winter season of January-February 2027. The greatest feature is that students' free and flexible ideas, unconstrained by golf industry norms, will materialize as "experiential value" directly provided to local tourists and residents, directly contributing to the regional economy.
② "Adoption = Budget Acquisition": Students win business approval from executives
At the final presentation held in Tokyo in October, GDO executives and Alpen business managers will directly review the feasibility of commercialization. Since actual corporate budgets will be invested in approved plans, students will be rigorously evaluated not only on customer perspective but also on the accuracy of their revenue and expenditure plans and business sustainability. This provides a real business tension and growth opportunity not found in typical internships.
③ For approximately half a year, both companies will "accompany" and support the evolution of the plan
Unlike one-off lectures or workshops, GDO and Alpen will provide continuous support through bi-monthly workshops and ad-hoc online/in-person meetings. Long-term dialogue with company representatives knowledgeable in activity management utilizing golf courses will enhance the quality of the business plans.
■ Background of Project Launch — From Demonstration to Implementation
Through initiatives utilizing golf courses in winter, which have continued for 10 years since 2016, the pilot version in February this year sufficiently demonstrated the potential and tangible results of young people's flexible ideas contributing to solving issues in golf courses and local areas.
In the second phase, to solidify these tangible results, students are redefined not merely as "learners" but as "business partners." By not letting it end as mere theoretical discussion, but by winning corporate budgets with self-formulated revenue and expenditure plans and realizing real businesses, the program aims to achieve both human resource development to lead the future of the sports industry and direct contribution to the regional economy of Bibai City.
■ "Bibai Industry-Academia Co-creation Program" Overview
A selected team of Hokkai Gakuen University (4 members) will, with mentoring from GDO and Alpen, spend approximately half a year developing their plans.
This program, initiated by GDO's proposal, is a practical PBL (Project-Based Learning) aimed at regional revitalization and next-generation talent development. It further develops the "Industry-Academia Collaboration Pilot Program" which involved a total of 16 students from Hokkai Gakuen University and Sapporo Medical University in February 2026.
■ Three Distinctive Features Different from Conventional Industry-Academia Collaboration
This program aims to be a "practical field" where companies and students challenge each other on an equal footing, rather than a "learning place" that is an extension of the classroom.
① Ideas will become "real services" at Alpen SNOWLAND Bibai next winter
Unlike projects that end with mere proposals or ideas, the plans born from this program will operate as "actual services" at Alpen SNOWLAND Bibai, managed by Alpen, during the winter season of January-February 2027. The greatest feature is that students' free and flexible ideas, unconstrained by golf industry norms, will materialize as "experiential value" directly provided to local tourists and residents, directly contributing to the regional economy.
② "Adoption = Budget Acquisition": Students win business approval from executives
At the final presentation held in Tokyo in October, GDO executives and Alpen business managers will directly review the feasibility of commercialization. Since actual corporate budgets will be invested in approved plans, students will be rigorously evaluated not only on customer perspective but also on the accuracy of their revenue and expenditure plans and business sustainability. This provides a real business tension and growth opportunity not found in typical internships.
③ For approximately half a year, both companies will "accompany" and support the evolution of the plan
Unlike one-off lectures or workshops, GDO and Alpen will provide continuous support through bi-monthly workshops and ad-hoc online/in-person meetings. Long-term dialogue with company representatives knowledgeable in activity management utilizing golf courses will enhance the quality of the business plans.
■ Three Distinctive Features Different from Conventional Industry-Academia Collaboration
This program aims to be a "practical field" where companies and students challenge each other on an equal footing, rather than a "learning place" that is an extension of the classroom.
① Ideas will become "real services" at Alpen SNOWLAND Bibai next winter
Unlike projects that end with mere proposals or ideas, the plans born from this program will operate as "actual services" at Alpen SNOWLAND Bibai, managed by Alpen, during the winter season of January-February 2027. The greatest feature is that students' free and flexible ideas, unconstrained by golf industry norms, will materialize as "experiential value" directly provided to local tourists and residents, directly contributing to the regional economy.
② "Adoption = Budget Acquisition": Students win business approval from executives
At the final presentation held in Tokyo in October, GDO executives and Alpen business managers will directly review the feasibility of commercialization. Since actual corporate budgets will be invested in approved plans, students will be rigorously evaluated not only on customer perspective but also on the accuracy of their revenue and expenditure plans and business sustainability. This provides a real business tension and growth opportunity not found in typical internships.
③ For approximately half a year, both companies will "accompany" and support the evolution of the plan
Unlike one-off lectures or workshops, GDO and Alpen will provide continuous support through bi-monthly workshops and ad-hoc online/in-person meetings. Long-term dialogue with company representatives knowledgeable in activity management utilizing golf courses will enhance the quality of the business plans.
■ Background of Project Launch — From Demonstration to Implementation
Through initiatives utilizing golf courses in winter, which have continued for 10 years since 2016, the pilot version in February this year sufficiently demonstrated the potential and tangible results of young people's flexible ideas contributing to solving issues in golf courses and local areas.
In the second phase, to solidify these tangible results, students are redefined not merely as "learners" but as "business partners." By not letting it end as mere theoretical discussion, but by winning corporate budgets with self-formulated revenue and expenditure plans and realizing real businesses, the program aims to achieve both human resource development to lead the future of the sports industry and direct contribution to the regional economy of Bibai City.
■ "Bibai Industry-Academia Co-creation Program" Overview
A selected team of Hokkai Gakuen University (4 members) will, with mentoring from GDO and Alpen, spend approximately half a year developing their plans.