Tokai University and NEC Implement Co-creation Project "Data Utilization Platform PoC for Universities"
Tokai University and NEC have jointly conducted a "Data Utilization Platform PoC for Universities" as a co-creation project aimed at advancing data utilization in the field of Institutional Research (IR). This PoC verified the feasibility of using diverse university data to improve education quality and enhance university management, completing in March 2026.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 27, 2026 at 20:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 27, 2026 at 11:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 28, 2026 at 02:18 (14h 46m after Collected)
Tokai University and NEC Corporation (NEC) have jointly conducted a "Data Utilization Platform PoC for Universities" as a co-creation project aimed at advancing data utilization in the field of Institutional Research (IR, Note 1).
In this PoC, the feasibility of utilizing diverse data held by universities to contribute to the improvement of education quality and the advancement of university management was verified.
The project was completed in March 2026, and as a result, effective insights such as an analytical model for institutional research, considering practical operation at universities, were obtained.
Background
In recent years, the environment surrounding universities has changed significantly, and the importance of data-driven decision-making for ensuring the quality of education, understanding student growth, and advancing university management is increasing. However, many universities face the challenge that academic and institutional research data are dispersed among departments and are not fully utilized.
Furthermore, NEC is working on "Educational Environment where Diverse Students Can Choose Their Learning through Data Utilization," a BluStellar Scenario for universities, under its value creation model "BluStellar" (Note 2) to support education DX.
Therefore, Tokai University and NEC started this PoC as a "co-creation project," not merely as a system introduction, but by starting from the challenges that universities truly need to address.
Overview of the Demonstration
This PoC was conducted as a co-creation project aimed at advancing data utilization in the field of institutional research, implementing the following:
* Clarified representative challenges in the institutional research field through workshops, and organized and structured them from the perspective of data utilization.
* Constructed a data utilization platform and verified it using real data to solve the identified challenges.
* Organized the effects and challenges of data utilization in universities from both technical and practical operation aspects through this project.
For this PoC, Microsoft Fabric was adopted as the data utilization platform.
Details of Data Utilization Platform PoC Implementation
Demonstration Results
1. Clarified Challenges and Objectives Using Workshops
Tokai University stakeholders, including management, and NEC jointly conducted workshops to explore challenges and set objectives in the institutional research field. As a result, four major challenges were concretized, structured as a KGI/KPI tree from the perspectives of university educational activities, student support, and university management. This enabled stakeholders to share a common understanding of "why data is used" and "which indicators should be monitored."
Four Major Challenges
(1) Career and outcome analysis (increase in employment rate)
(2) Matching student behavior and outcomes (reduction in dropouts/repeat students)
(3) Correlation analysis of admission factors and learning outcomes (student attributes and course evaluations)
(4) Evidencing the educational value of the university for student growth
KGI/KPI tree for "(2) Matching student behavior and outcomes" *The right half of the image is masked as details are not disclosed.
2. Achieved Data Definition, Analysis Logic Construction, and Analysis Visualization
To solve the four challenges, NEC utilized its cultivated know-how in various industries and expertise in the education sector to assist Tokai University in solidifying data utilization, proceeding with the following considerations:
* Organization and definition of data necessary for institutional research.
* Development of analysis logic leading to problem-solving.
* Implementation of visualization functions that allow stakeholders to intuitively grasp analysis results.
Primarily, academic data, learning ability surveys, student questionnaires, and other data routinely held and utilized by the university were used.
This "institutional research analysis model," integrating data definition, analysis logic, and visualization functions, was created through the continuous support of consultants and engineers from the workshops. By constructing this analysis model, a foundation was established to enable continuous data analysis rather than one-off analyses.
Screen image for "Career and outcome analysis (increase in employment rate)" *Names in the figure are pseudonyms.
3. Confirmed the Effectiveness of Data Analysis
Through this PoC, the following values were confirmed:
* In the institutional research field, previously individual and fragmented data can now be analyzed cross-sectionally.
* Insights applicable to the consideration of educational measures and student support were obtained through analysis based on challenges and KPIs.
* Visualization of analysis results promoted common understanding and discussion among faculty and staff.
Furthermore, a major achievement was the establishment of a state where institutional research verification using this data can be continuously implemented.
Moving Forward
Tokai University and NEC will continue to gradually develop the results and challenges obtained in this PoC as a "foundation" for future advancement of institutional research, including the utilization of AI.
In this PoC, the feasibility of utilizing diverse data held by universities to contribute to the improvement of education quality and the advancement of university management was verified.
The project was completed in March 2026, and as a result, effective insights such as an analytical model for institutional research, considering practical operation at universities, were obtained.
Background
In recent years, the environment surrounding universities has changed significantly, and the importance of data-driven decision-making for ensuring the quality of education, understanding student growth, and advancing university management is increasing. However, many universities face the challenge that academic and institutional research data are dispersed among departments and are not fully utilized.
Furthermore, NEC is working on "Educational Environment where Diverse Students Can Choose Their Learning through Data Utilization," a BluStellar Scenario for universities, under its value creation model "BluStellar" (Note 2) to support education DX.
Therefore, Tokai University and NEC started this PoC as a "co-creation project," not merely as a system introduction, but by starting from the challenges that universities truly need to address.
Overview of the Demonstration
This PoC was conducted as a co-creation project aimed at advancing data utilization in the field of institutional research, implementing the following:
* Clarified representative challenges in the institutional research field through workshops, and organized and structured them from the perspective of data utilization.
* Constructed a data utilization platform and verified it using real data to solve the identified challenges.
* Organized the effects and challenges of data utilization in universities from both technical and practical operation aspects through this project.
For this PoC, Microsoft Fabric was adopted as the data utilization platform.
Details of Data Utilization Platform PoC Implementation
Demonstration Results
1. Clarified Challenges and Objectives Using Workshops
Tokai University stakeholders, including management, and NEC jointly conducted workshops to explore challenges and set objectives in the institutional research field. As a result, four major challenges were concretized, structured as a KGI/KPI tree from the perspectives of university educational activities, student support, and university management. This enabled stakeholders to share a common understanding of "why data is used" and "which indicators should be monitored."
Four Major Challenges
(1) Career and outcome analysis (increase in employment rate)
(2) Matching student behavior and outcomes (reduction in dropouts/repeat students)
(3) Correlation analysis of admission factors and learning outcomes (student attributes and course evaluations)
(4) Evidencing the educational value of the university for student growth
KGI/KPI tree for "(2) Matching student behavior and outcomes" *The right half of the image is masked as details are not disclosed.
2. Achieved Data Definition, Analysis Logic Construction, and Analysis Visualization
To solve the four challenges, NEC utilized its cultivated know-how in various industries and expertise in the education sector to assist Tokai University in solidifying data utilization, proceeding with the following considerations:
* Organization and definition of data necessary for institutional research.
* Development of analysis logic leading to problem-solving.
* Implementation of visualization functions that allow stakeholders to intuitively grasp analysis results.
Primarily, academic data, learning ability surveys, student questionnaires, and other data routinely held and utilized by the university were used.
This "institutional research analysis model," integrating data definition, analysis logic, and visualization functions, was created through the continuous support of consultants and engineers from the workshops. By constructing this analysis model, a foundation was established to enable continuous data analysis rather than one-off analyses.
Screen image for "Career and outcome analysis (increase in employment rate)" *Names in the figure are pseudonyms.
3. Confirmed the Effectiveness of Data Analysis
Through this PoC, the following values were confirmed:
* In the institutional research field, previously individual and fragmented data can now be analyzed cross-sectionally.
* Insights applicable to the consideration of educational measures and student support were obtained through analysis based on challenges and KPIs.
* Visualization of analysis results promoted common understanding and discussion among faculty and staff.
Furthermore, a major achievement was the establishment of a state where institutional research verification using this data can be continuously implemented.
Moving Forward
Tokai University and NEC will continue to gradually develop the results and challenges obtained in this PoC as a "foundation" for future advancement of institutional research, including the utilization of AI.