Recognition of Social Issues Workshop B

Academic unit or major

Academy for Leadership

Instructor(s)

Keisuke Yamada / Yuri Matsuzaki / Mayu Watanabe

Class Format

Exercise (Face-to-face)

Media-enhanced courses

-

Day of week/Period
(Classrooms)

Intensive

Class

-

Course Code

TAL.S506

Number of credits

010

Course offered

2026

Offered quarter

3-4Q

Syllabus updated

Sep 11, 2026

Language

English

Syllabus

Course overview and goals

ToTAL's "Recognition of Social Issues" course is designed to lay the foundation for developing leadership skills to lead solutions by recognizing current social issues in a wide range of fields, including academia, business, politics, technology, and arts.

Course description and aims

Understanding social issues as a part of history, social trend and technology trend and learning and executing methodologies of macro approach and designing future society, so that students can expect to increase their stock of skills for consensus building.

Student learning outcomes

実務経験と講義内容との関連 (又は実践的教育内容)

Each element of leadership is directly relevant to the workplace. In addition, students will be able to practice and understand through their own work in teamwork workshops.

Keywords

Entrepreneurship, Leadership & Followership, Initiative, Motivation, Creativity

Competencies

• Specialist skills
• Intercultural skills
• Communication skills
• Critical thinking skills
• Practical and/or problem-solving skills

Class flow

1. Select and participate in 2 or more kinds of workshops from the categories below, ensuring that the total participation points equal 13 or more：

For details—including schedules and languages of instruction—will be informed in the briefing session held in the beginning of the term or the "Entrepreneurship Workshops" page on the ToTAL website(https://www.total.titech.ac.jp/en/lead_innov/). Please note that workshops are subject to change, cancellation, or addition without prior notice; therefore, be sure to check the ToTAL website regularly for the latest information.

・INNOVATION:
(1) Design Thinking For Your Creative Practice (2 sessions) : 3 tutors from Stanford University/d.school are invited from the US and give us speedy and enjoyable workshop to make students understand/experience concept of "Creative Confidence" and "User Centric".
(2) Future Foresight (3 sessions) : Using methods such as back casting, horizon scanning, and forced thinking, we design the future society 10-15 years from now.
(3) EGAKU (1 session) : By creating art (abstract paintings) and appreciating the work of others, participants will develop creative communication skills, become aware of unconscious bias, and promote self-awareness
(4) Idea-Thon (2 sessions) : Creating new business ideas by utilizing Design Thinking methodology
(5) Systemic Design (1 session) : We view complex things and issues as systems, approach them from multiple perspectives, and aim to fundamentally solve problems
(6) Co-Creation Workshop with Need-Knowers (2 sessions) : This workshop will cover the fundamental theories of co-creation design and, together with Need-Knowers, will foster the generation of ideas that transform problems into value through co-creation design.
(7) AI literacy for the Future of Work (2 sessions) : In this hands-on AI literacy workshop, participants train small-scale language models from scratch as well as design their own prototypes of LLM-based agents for future professional scenarios.
(8) A Business Co-Creation Ideathon to Turn Rwanda’s "Raw Questions" into Value : Students will develop business ideas based on the challenges they identified during their short-term stay.

・INITIATIVE:
(1) Non-Violent Communication (2 sessions) : Learn practical nonviolent communication, identifying the other person's needs, making your own requests, and reaching an agreement
(2) Tsutaeru Lounge (3 sessions) : This student-led peer-teaching program uses games and lectures to cultivate logical thinking and persuasive skills.
(3) Debate Club (7 sessions) : Enjoy debating while honing foundational argumentation and diverse perspectives.
(4) Project Tuning in the AI Era (2 sessions) : A dialogue-based workshop on understanding the challenges of projects in the AI era through the lens of conflict
(5) Leadership Core Program (4 sessions) : Learn the fundamentals of leadership through dialogue, experience-based learning games, idea generation activities, and a consensus building work.
(6) Consensus Building and Compassion (2 sessions) : Improve your communication skills through role-playing in negotiation and mediation.
(7) Thinking About Money Through Dialogue and Simulation Games (1 session) : Starting from our everyday experiences with money, we will explore what matters to us and how the choices we make are connected to other people and society.

・MOTIVATION:
(1) Book Dialogue for Leadership (Japanese) (2 sessions): Participants will share the topic of books (in Japanese) and create summaries to share.
(2) Book Dialogue for Leadership (English) (2 sessions) : Participants will share the topic of books (in English) and create summaries to share
(3) Peer Coaching (1 session) : Getting to know yourself through dialogue with others.
(4) Self-Expression Workshop Starting with Creative Work (2 sessions) : In this workshop, you will create artwork based on several familiar themes, share them with other participants, and engage in dialogue. The goal is to build confidence in expressing your ideas and yourself through the creative process.
(5) Workshop on Exploring Values for Career Choice (2 sessions) : In this workshop, you will reflect on your past experiences and values. Through dialogue with others, you can explore the values that will help you choose your future career.
(6) Empower You Program (7 sessions) : A dynamic and transformative workshop series designed to foster self-discovery and personal development among university students.

2. Each workshop has a capacity limit to maximize its effectiveness, and once capacity is reached, selection will be made (if you are not selected, you can choose another workshop). Be sure to attend any workshops you plan to participate in. If you absolutely cannot attend, please consult with the instructor in charge beforehand.

3.Workshops are basically small groups where participants work together while communicating with each other. The theme and goal will be presented at each workshop.

Course schedule/Objectives

Study advice (preparation and review)

To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class.
They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course material.

Textbook(s)

Course materials are provided during classes.

Reference books, course materials, etc.

Reference books, lecture materials, etc. will be provided during class from time to time.

Evaluation methods and criteria

1. Assessment is based on a pass/fail evaluation.
2. To pass, you must meet the requirement of “participating in tow or more kinds of workshops and accumulating 13 or more attendance points. However, since the various elements of entrepreneurship covered in each workshop can be strengthened through repeated practice, students are encouraged to participate in as many workshops as possible.
3. As attendance points vary by workshop, students must consult the workshop guide for this course—available via the "ToTAL Students" button on the "Entrepreneurship Development Workshops" page of the ToTAL website (https://www.total.titech.ac.jp/lead_innov/)—as previously mentioned.

Related courses

• TAL.S510 ： Recognition of Social Issues Workshop D

Prerequisites

None

Contact information (e-mail and phone) Notice : Please replace from ”[at]” to ”@”(half-width character).

Prof. Yamada, Prof. Matsuzaki, Prof. Watanabe (total.tokunin[at]total.titech.ac.jp)

Other

The Graduate Attribute(GA): GA1M is available.