Event
2026/6/28 (Sun) 10:30～14:00 (開場 10:00)
Sunday, June 28: Emergency Event! “GTIE-SEP 2026 Kickoff Event—For Those Who Want to Change Society: Take Your First Step Here”—Now Accepting Student Applications!
The “Greater Tokyo Innovation Ecosystem (GTIE)” is a platform comprising universities and research institutions in the Greater Tokyo Area that aims to develop entrepreneurial talent and foster university-based startups capable of changing the world.
This fiscal year, GTIE will once again host the “GTIE Student Entrepreneurship Program 2026,” an entrepreneurship education program for students at the 18 participating universities. A variety of training programs planned and operated by GTIE member institutions—including the annual Lean Launchpad Program and overseas training—are scheduled, so please look forward to them.
To kick off the program, we will hold a meetup event at Waseda University on Sunday, June 28.We are pleased to welcome Toshishige Shimokawa, CEO of 100 Inc. and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s Ambassador for Entrepreneurship Promotion, as our special guest. Having led numerous student projects at venues such as the University of Tokyo’s Hongo Tech Garage and nurtured student entrepreneurs, he will lead an “Idea Generation Workshop” that could be your first step toward starting a business.We also plan to introduce all the various GTIE-SEP programs scheduled for this year.
This event is open to any student interested in entrepreneurship or starting a business. We invite you to join us to connect with students who share your interests across university boundaries, collaborate, and gain valuable experiences and opportunities to meet new people. We look forward to seeing you there!
• Click here toregister *Registration is now closed due to high demand
• Date and Time: Sunday, June 28, 2026, 10:30 AM – 2:00 PM (Doors open at 10:00 AM)
• Venue: Waseda University GCC Common Room (Building 27, Waseda Campus) Click here for a map
• Organized by: Waseda University Entrepreneurship Center
• Program
10:30 AM Opening Remarks, “What is GTIE?”
Hiroyuki Ishii
Professor, Department of General Mechanical Engineering, Waseda University / Director, Entrepreneurship Center
10:40 Workshop: “Hands-On Experience: ‘Idea Generation & Team Building’ from Scratch”
Toshinari Shimokawa
Representative Director, 100 Co., Ltd.
1:00 p.m. Introduction to GTIE Programs
Talk by Senior Students (Alumni) (Tentative)
1:30 p.m. Student Meetup (Networking Session)
2:00 PM Closing
• Workshop Overview
Hands-On Experience: “Ideation & Team Building” from Scratch
Instructor: Toshishige Shimokawa
“I want to try something new, but I don’t know where to start…”
“I want friends outside of school who I can share exciting experiences with”
“In the future, I want to take on project work or start a startup based on my own ideas”
This time, we’ve prepared the perfect opportunity for students like you.
This isn’t a place where you’re expected to jump right into creating an amazing project!
Even “amazing projects” that change the world started with small steps.
Why not try “practicing” coming up with ideas and building teams while making new friends?
[ What You’ll Gain from This Workshop ]
・New friends from other universities and connections with fellow students
・Rediscovering your own resources
・Opportunities for future project activities and new challenges
(Who knows? The connections and seeds of ideas you find here might just lead to your future project activities.)
[ Instructor Profile ]
Toshinari Shimokawa, CEO of 100, Inc.
After launching several startups, he has been involved in supporting student technology projects for over 10 years. In 2014, he launched “Todai To Texas,” a program that sends University of Tokyo-affiliated startups to SXSW to support their global expansion;in 2016, he launched the “University of Tokyo Hongo Tech Garage,” a secret base for students to work on side projects; in 2018, “Mono-Zemi,” a prototyping class using micro:bit; and in 2022, “100 Program,” an online development program for students nationwide—all of which he has been managing ever since.
•Contact Information
Waseda University Entrepreneurship Center wgtie-office@list.waseda.jp
• Click here for the brochure
*Participation in all programs is free of charge. However, participants are responsible for their own transportation and communication expenses when attending in-person events in Japan.