UD IMPACT Signs Industry-Academia MOU with Hitotsubashi University Graduate School | Hosting a 2-Day Entrepreneurship Education Program to Support Pre-Entrepreneurs, Now Accepting Applications

ud.Japan Inc. (Location: Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Jonghon Kim; hereafter "ud.") and its parent company, South Korea's largest entrepreneurship education company UD IMPACT Inc. (Headquarters: Seoul, Republic of Korea; hereafter "UD IMPACT"), have signed an MOU with the Graduate School of Social Data Science, Hitotsubashi University (Location: Kunitachi, Tokyo) to promote entrepreneurship education through industry-academia collaboration.

As the first step of this collaboration, a practical program targeting pre-entrepreneurial students, "Hitotsubashi x ud. U-Startup 'Act-preneur' Bootcamp 2026," is scheduled to be held on Saturday, April 25, and Sunday, April 26, 2026, from 10:00 to 17:00. We are currently recruiting participants for this program.

*In addition, this program has been officially registered as a "Partner Event of SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026."

[Background of the Program]
With the increasing complexity of social issues, there is a growing demand for the development of human resources who can solve these problems through business. On the other hand, entrepreneurship education in Japan tends to lean towards knowledge acquisition, and the lack of support leading to actual action and challenges is seen as an issue.
Against this background, UD IMPACT and the Graduate School of Social Data Science, Hitotsubashi University signed an agreement aiming to strengthen collaboration in the fields of education, research, and human resource development. Based on this agreement, both parties will jointly roll out a practical entrepreneurship education program and aim to build an environment that supports challenges from the early stages of entrepreneurship.

[Program Overview]
- Program Name: Hitotsubashi x ud. U-Startup “Act-preneur” Bootcamp 2026
- Date: April 25 (Sat) & 26 (Sun), 2026, 10:00-17:00
- Venue: Hitotsubashi University East Campus, East Main Building Agora (2-1 Naka, Kunitachi, Tokyo)
- Participation Fee: Free
- Capacity: 30 people (First-come, first-served / Possibility of early closing and selection if there are many applicants)
- Contact: Industry-Academia-Government Collaboration Office (sds-cs@ad.hit-u.ac.jp)

Target:
- Those interested in starting a business
- Those who want to solve social issues through business
- Those who have a business idea but don't know how to proceed
- University and graduate students in the "pre-entrepreneurship" to "early entrepreneurship" stages

Benefits:
Excellent teams will be provided with various benefits, including opportunities to pitch at a session during the public day of "SusHi Tech Tokyo" scheduled to be held at the end of April 2026. (*The timing of the pitch may be subject to change.)

Main Learning Process:
- Team Building: Establish relationships with peers who will start a business together.
- Problem Definition / Persona Design: Clarify the social issue to be solved and the target users.
- Market & Existing Solution Analysis: Understand the competitive environment and design a differentiation strategy.
- Business Model Construction: Concretize ideas into executable businesses.
- Elevator Pitch: Practice presentations that convey value in a short time.

Program Progression:
This program is not just a lecture, but 2...