[Okayama University] DX High School: AI and 3D Printer Inquiry Support Practical Training Conducted at Okayama Prefectural Kasaoka High School - Upgrading Previous Year's Program to Support Inquiry Activities Through Autonomous Digital Utilization

June 15, 2026 National University Corporation Okayama University

https://www.okayama-u.ac.jp/

◆ Overview

National University Corporation Okayama University (Headquarters: Kita-ku, Okayama City, President: Yasutomo Nasu) conducted support for inquiry activity themes, as well as a "Generative AI Lecture" and "3D Printer Practical Training" on June 2, 2026. These activities targeted approximately 145 second-year students during Kasaoka High School's (Kasaoka City) "Integrated Inquiry Time ACT" curriculum. This initiative has continued since 2023 as a university-high school collaboration project supporting the school's "High School DX Acceleration Promotion Project (DX High School)" activities, and this year's student-led support program was further upgraded from the previous year.

On the day of the event, responding to the enthusiasm of the students who were eagerly anticipating its implementation, the program commenced safely, overcoming bad weather caused by an approaching typhoon.

For this support session, a team of students and graduate students served as lecturers, including Midori Maeda (4th year, Faculty of Economics), who represents the high school support division of the official student organization DS (Data Science) Club, and Yuya Shimizu (3rd year, Doctoral Course, Graduate School of Environmental, Life, Natural Science and Technology), representative of MOSAdemy, a venture startup originating from Okayama University.

Furthermore, active students from the university who graduated from the high school accompanied the team as highly reassuring teaching assistants (TAs). Visiting their alma mater for the first time in a while, they actively guided the team through the complex campus, acted as a bridge to the high school students, and shared warm interactions by talking closely with their juniors about cutting-edge university learning and their own inquiry experiences in high school.

This fiscal year, the program evolved significantly, focusing on technology acquisition to advance inquiry activities more practically. In the Generative AI Lecture, after explaining the mechanism of hallucinations (false answers) from the mathematical perspective of probabilistic prediction models, a new practical training using "NotebookLM" was introduced. This allowed analysis based on facts using specific cafe sales data, and the students challenged themselves to analyze data utilizing their personal terminals.

Meanwhile, in the 3D Printer Practical Training, in addition to modeling using the intuitive 3D CAD software "Tinker CAD," a "rapid prototyping" training was deployed to quickly turn ideas in the students' minds into physical forms. The students experienced a series of engineering processes to solve challenges through manufacturing while operating 3D printers freely.

A teacher from the school highly evaluated the program, stating, "It was impressive to see the students using AI so happily and looking into the 3D printers with great curiosity. Thanks to the professional support from the reliable students of Okayama University, who arrived safely despite the bad weather, the quality of our inquiry activities has improved dramatically."

Okayama University will continue to actively support autonomous learning in high schools, including DX High Schools within the prefecture. Please continue to look forward to the initiatives of Okayama University as an open, regional core, and unique research university.

Mr. Maeda (back right) explaining the mechanism of generative AI and the basics of data science. Kasaoka High School students earnestly challenging customer needs analysis from sales data using NotebookLM. Representative Shimizu (center) teaching the basic structure of a 3D printer. Students showing great curiosity towards items created with the 3D printer brought by university student supporters.

◆ References

- Okayama University Organization for Research and Innovation Co-Creation https://www.orsd.okayama-u.ac.jp/ - Okayama University Data Science Club (DS Club) https://okadai-dsc.studio.site/ - MOSAdemy Co., Ltd. https://mosa-robo.com/ - Okayama Prefectural Kasaoka High School https://www.kasaoka.okayama-c.ed.jp/wp/

◆ Reference Information

- [Okayama University] Conducted the first inquiry activity support of this fiscal year at Kurashiki Seiryo High School - Backing students' active learning, expanding "DX High School" support https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000004075.000072793.html - [Okayama University] DX High School: Conducted "Generative AI Seminar" for teachers at Okayama Gakugeikan High School - Expanding DX support programs tailored to the challenges of each school https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000003999.000072793.html - [Okayama University] Okayama University students conduct visiting classes at Kansai High School - English speeches utilizing generative AI https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000003793.000072