Digital Hollywood Launches Comprehensive High School Education Support Service Aligned with MEXT's "N-E.X.T. High School Initiative"

Digital Hollywood Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Masanori Fujii; President of the University: Tomoyuki Sugiyama), which operates IT and digital content training schools, universities, and graduate schools, is launching a new comprehensive high school education support service. This service is designed to align with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's (MEXT) "N-E.X.T. High School Initiative (Project to Promote Educational Reform in High Schools, etc., Contributing to the Development of Industrial Innovation Talent)," building upon the efforts of the "High School DX Acceleration Promotion Project (DX High School)."

This service advances existing educational support that connects "inquiry-based learning" with "information technology education" by simultaneously realizing the following:

1. Cultivating talent capable of implementation in the field (Advanced Essential Workers) 2. Cultivating interdisciplinary (arts and sciences) talent with an eye toward higher education, capable of posing their own questions and conducting research and implementation to solve them 3. Developing educational infrastructure to support diverse learning 4. Building a sustainable support system that allows teachers and local communities to operate independently

This is an educational support service designed for the N-E.X.T. High School era, realizing these goals as a unified whole.

By fusing the know-how of Digital Hollywood in digital talent development and Benesse Corporation in high school education support, we provide comprehensive assistance—from planning and design to operation and deployment—including the provision of teaching materials, lesson design support, teacher training, and the visualization and dissemination of results. We support the realization of continuous educational reform in schools and boards of education.

High School Education Reform: From DX High School to the N-E.X.T. High School Initiative

In high school education, based on the direction of high school education reform indicated by MEXT, there is a demand for the cultivation of qualities and abilities and the enrichment of inquiry-based learning. In recent years, the "High School DX Acceleration Promotion Project (DX High School)" has served as a catalyst for the development of ICT environments and the enrichment of information education.

On the other hand, the following issues have become apparent: - Information education and inquiry activities are disconnected - Learning is not linked to solving social issues - Sustainability is difficult due to reliance on individual teachers

Against this backdrop, the "N-E.X.T. High School Initiative" emphasizes the cultivation of talent responsible for creating value in local and industrial settings, as well as the regional expansion (ripple effect) of education.

Structural Challenges in Cultivating Problem-Solving Talent

Several structural challenges have been pointed out based on advanced initiatives nationwide and practices in educational settings in which our company is involved. These include cases where, in fostering students' ability to proactively face regional and social issues and think and act toward solutions, the processes of data utilization, hypothesis verification, and implementation are not sufficiently connected to the use of information technology, resulting in learned knowledge and skills not being applied to actual problem-solving.

Furthermore, it is a challenge that lesson design and practice tend to rely on the individual capabilities of teachers, that mechanisms for continuous implementation across the entire school have not been built, and that results remain limited and are difficult to expand within the region.

Features of This Service

To address these issues, this service provides a "comprehensive support model" that goes beyond mere provision of teaching materials. It corresponds to the three categories* of the "N-E.X.T. High School Initiative."

1. Social Implementation-Type Learning through "Inquiry x Information" By combining data science, programming, and digital content production, we provide a learning process that integrates everything from posing questions and setting issues to analysis, implementation, and expression. This connects learning to real-world problem-solving.

2. Building an Operational Model Independent of Teachers and Schools We provide and newly develop teaching materials, instructional plans, and training as a unified package, supporting the construction of a continuous operational system that does not rely on individual teachers. Mechanisms that can be implemented even by non-specialist teachers enable implementation across the entire school.

3. Comprehensive Support Including Boards of Education and Local Communities We support everything from plan formulation to implementation, improvement, and dissemination of results. We support the construction of an educational model with an eye toward horizontal expansion at the prefectural level (spreading to all schools in the region), rather than stopping at demonstrations at base schools.

These initiatives are designed based on knowledge accumulated through support for over 200 schools in 11 municipalities nationwide.

* Category 1: To realize "strengthening and advancement of specialized high school functions (e.g., fostering Advanced Essential Workers)," we foster future-leading Advanced Essential Workers as a pilot case for initiatives aimed at strengthening human resource development functions in vocational education (including comprehensive courses) in cooperation and collaboration with local industries and universities. Category 2: To realize "characterization and increased appeal of high schools through general course reform (e.g., fostering talent with both arts and sciences literacy)," we foster future-leading science and mathematics talent as a pilot case for departments focusing on science and mathematics education through strengthening cooperation and collaboration with local higher education institutions, emphasizing inquiry, interdisciplinary, and practical learning. Category 3: As a pilot case to realize "ensuring geographical access and diverse learning," we ensure educational opportunities that meet diverse learning needs.

[Features of Digital Hollywood]

Through this service, Digital Hollywood will promote model construction and verification at leading schools in cooperation with local governments and high schools, systematize the results as teaching materials and case studies, and promote initiatives with an eye toward expansion at the prefectural level and cross-sectional dissemination.

In addition, through teacher training and the development of support systems, we will support the establishment of self-sustaining operational models in schools and contribute to the construction of sustainable educational models that contribute to the development of problem-solving talent through cooperation with local communities and industries.

[Consultation Desk for Boards of Education and High Schools]

Please feel free to contact the following desk for consultations regarding initiatives related to the N-E.X.T. High School Initiative.

Digital Hollywood Co., Ltd. Mitsuzawa / Hosono aca@dhw.co.jp Special Website: https://academy.dhw.co.jp/highschool/local-government.html

[Digital Hollywood Co., Ltd.] https://www.dhw.co.jp/

Established in October 1994, the company opened a practical industry-academia collaborative creator training school in Japan at the same time as its founding. Currently, it operates the professional school "Digital Hollywood" in Tokyo and Osaka, the learning studio "Digital Hollywood STUDIO" in cities across Japan where students can learn Web and video production, and the e-learning correspondence course "Digital Hollywood Online School."

In 2004, it opened the "Digital Hollywood Graduate School (Professional)," Japan's first graduate school for advanced human resource development in business, ICT, and creative fields operated by a corporation, and in April of the following year, 2005, it opened the four-year university "Digital Hollywood University."

Since its establishment, Digital Hollywood has produced over 100,000 graduates in total.

In addition, leveraging the "blended learning" know-how that combines video materials and face-to-face classes, which has been introduced since the opening of Digital Hollywood University, it has expanded the "Digital Hollywood Academy," which provides services to educational institutions such as universities and vocational schools, as well as cram schools and disability support services, both domestically and internationally.

Furthermore, in April 2015, it opened "G's ACADEMY (currently: G's)," an engineer training school for startup aspirants, which is currently operating in Tokyo and Fukuoka. In November of the same year, it opened the "Digital Hollywood Robotics Academy," the first in Japan aimed at promoting the drone business and robot service industry, focusing on human resource development and industrial incubation in the digital content industry.

It celebrated its 30th anniversary in October 2024.

In February 2025, it became a member of the Benesse Corporation Group.