The second iteration of Tokyo Tech’s Hybrid Innovation Programme for Industry (HI) culminated with the HI 2022 Symposium on 14th April at Mishima Hall, Ookayama Campus. The in-person event featured presentations on the results of HI Practice undertaken by four groups of participating members, as well as talks by guest lecturers and a certificate awarding ceremony.
The public event was attended by participants of the programme, colleagues from participating companies, the HI organisers, other Tokyo Tech’s academics and students of the Nohara Lab. HI assistant director Kohei Kanomata acted as MC for the day, whilst HI director Prof. Kayoko Nohara welcomed the attendees with a talk about the philosophy and key pillars of the programme.
Assistant Professor Xinru Zhu, a typeface researcher, and Professor Shinya Hanaoka, an expert in traffic engineering, gave guest lectures on how innovation can be created by changing perspectives in their different fields of expertise.
A temporary exhibition was set up in the lecture theatre to showcase models and artworks representing the results of the HI Practice, a project designed to coalesce theories and exercises experienced during the 10 HI sessions into specific speculative proposals, with the aim to provide a practical context for familiarising with the takeaways from the programme. They worked in groups over several sessions, using pre-prepared themes and fictitious company profiles to shape their ideas for new innovations. This year, the participants were asked to respond to the theme of “plastics in 2035”, representing both a potential challenge (i.e. phasing out the use of single use plastics) and design opportunities (i.e. new sustainable materials and uses, bioplastics, etc.). Each group chose to act out a specific company profile out of 12 provided by the organisers, and an SDG that their company should aspire to achieve by 2035. This created clearly-defined constraints to stimulate precise solutions towards achieving each group’s self-determined goals, outlined below.
Group 1 used a farmhouse in Nagano Prefecture and centred on a system whereby local farmers jointly recycle and reuse agricultural plastic materials. A business model was created to protect the abundance of land by creating a circulation system for the materials and the local community through face-to-face dialogue.
Group 2 used an urban café farm made from recyclable materials, designed a container made from bioplastic to feed animals, and proposed to create a place to highlight environmental issues to the local community through the café.
Group 3 designed a project to foster the wellbeing of nursing home residents and the local community, using blockchain technology to place memories on recycled products, achieving both an intergenerational dialogue and an approach to the environment.
Group 4 proposed a new form of education by launching Real e-sports, which primary schools students can easily participate in, providing independent learning opportunities that value students’ curiosity. By combining online games and 3D printers, it became an unprecedented educational content through games.
The proposals’ high levels of reflection and hybridity were indicative of the HI approach, certainly inspired by the numerous activities and conversations we held over the year at Tokyo Tech. The value of such an approach was mentioned by many attendees and highlighted in Dr Betti Marenko’s recorded speech, in which she congratulated the groups on their achievement.
“A transdisciplinary structure where experimentation and playfulness are enabled by design.”
Dr Betti Marenko, CSM, University of the Arts London (UK) and WRH Specially-appointed Professor at Tokyo Tech
The HI 2022 cohort were then awarded a certificate by Prof. Junichi Takada, who also addressed the audience with closing remarks. Discussion and networking continued around the exhibited artworks, with most also joining a social event afterwards. The HI 2022 participants are now Alumni of the programme and further activities will be organised as part of the HI 2023 calendar. Many congratulations to all!
“Spacelab_の会社訪問にて、コミュニティーデザインの方法を学んだ。デベロッパー案件以外のやり方で市民を中心に活動する際のリーダーシップのあり方など、日本とは異なるプロジェクトの作り方を学んだ。” HI 2022-23参加者
セントラル・セントマーチンズでの独占ツアーとアート・サイエンス実験
3日目は、キングスクロス駅北側に位置するセントラル・セント・マーティンズ美術大学（Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design）を訪問。GoogleやMetaのオフィスがある新地区を散策した後、CSMの国際パートナーシップ責任者であるJosef Wheeler博士による温かい歓迎を受けました。一行は東工大の原正彦教授やCSMの研究者たちと合流し、まずは大学のおしゃれな食堂でコーヒーを飲みながらネットワーキング。その後Wheeler博士が施設を案内、建物の建築デザインの背景や、大学で使用されている教育モデルとの関連性を説明していただきました。見学ツアーでは、ファッション・テキスタイル、セラミック、工業デザイン、版画、デジタルファブリケーションなど、主要なエリアを贅沢に見学することができました。彼らの持つ有名な図書館でも、図書館員に歓迎され「デザインと製造の現在のトレンドを表す、新しく革新的な材料」を所蔵する「材料と製品コレクション」を紹介していただきました。大学での昼食後は、CSMスタッフによる産業界とのコラボレーションの革新的アプローチに関するプレゼンテーションを聴講。また、元学生や在学生たちが、受賞したアート作品やデザインプロジェクトについて発表してくれました。デザインやイノベーションへのアプローチについて、つっこんだ質問をし議論する貴重な機会にもなりました。
“ワークショップではプロジェクトの進め方、リサーチ方法に哲学の要素が多用されていて、自分たちの会社でも利用できる可能性を感じた。” HI 2022-23参加者
午後は、MA Art and Science大学審コースのパスウェイリーダーであるHeather Barnnet氏と、CSMのScientist in Residenceとして滞在中の原正彦教授主導の実験活動に参加しました。科学者、アーティスト、技術者、その他のスタッフらとともに、大学内の生物学実験室”Grow Lab“にて実験。原教授によるショートレクチャーでは、現在の技術の限界を克服するために、計算に対する別のアプローチが必要であることが説明されました。単細胞生物である粘菌は、様々な数学的問題に対して興味深い解決策を示してくれています。「ベストな」解に到達しようとすると時間がかかるのですが、むしろ「平均より良い」くらいの解を生み出す能力は高い。こうした自然科学における「曖昧さ」や「不確実性」の概念は、東工大でのHIセッションでも紹介されているように原教授の研究の焦点となっています。参加者たちはシャーレに粘菌のために餌（ロールドオーツ）と障害物を置き、彼らが時間をかけて一定の方向に成長するパターンをデザイン。こうして粘菌類に向かって課題や問いを投げかけたあと、タイムラプス写真により、彼らの数日間の行動を記録する実験調査活動に参加しました。
“訪問先のクリエイティブ機関の活動全体が「結論に行き着くまでのプロセスの大切さ」を説いている印象を強く受けました。ビジネスにおいても、最終的な成果物だけを重要視するのではなく、限られた時間の中でもプロセスをより深く追求した仕事を行うべきであることを学びました。実りある素晴らしいツアーを企画してくださりありがとうございました。” HI 2022-23参加者
The Hybrid innovation programme for industry (HI) at the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) consists of 10 workshop sessions in which participants experience a the integration of art, design, science and engineering methodologies for the promotion of innovative ideation processes and tools. The programme is run by Prof. Kayoko Nohara and includes contributions from guest lecturers from Tokyo Tech and Central Saint Martins college of art and design, University of the Arts London, UK. As part of an optional offer within the programme, a group of 5 participants joined creative director Dr Giorgio Salani and assistant director Kohei Kanomata in a tour of cultural institutions and innovation hubs in London, UK, which ended with a workshop day at CSM. The hosts accompanied the group in all activities, with Mr Kanomata providing Japanese translation throughout. The visit abroad provided further confirmation of the validity of the Hybrid Innovation approach and real cases of transdisciplinary innovation in action. Visits to museums, galleries and companies were accompanied by extensive discussions with professionals and within the group.
Visits to cultural hubs in London
The group was welcomed to the science museum by Jin Nirwal, Team Leader of Interactive Galleries, who gave an overview of the history of the galleries and their link to the Great Exhibition of 1851. This offered insights into the history of technology during the first industrial revolution and the role Britain (and Japan by contrast) played in the development of modern society. This was followed by a private tour of the Technicians exhibit in the David Sainsbury’s Gallery, a new space to help teenagers become technicians. Here, the group could experience various manufacturing and engineering processes in digital form, like a virtual welding machine, and complete a test to identify your future career as a technician by answering questions about interests and skills. The interaction with the exhibits produce memorable experience which informed comments and discussion in the group.
The Wellcome Galleries were next, where a museum guide introduced artworks related to medical science. The group discussed ‘Self-Conscious Gene’, a large bronze sculpture by Marc Quinn that – in addition to having a grand presence in the room – engages with issues around medical conditions, identity and self-awareness. This particular gallery was a perfect manifestation of the close historical link between art and science, not only hosting numerous artworks but also medical tools and models of great artistic beauty and greatly accomplished craftsmanship. After some time to freely roam around the galleries individually, the group moved to the Victoria & Albert museum nearby, where they had lunch in the oldest museum café’ in the world. Designs by William Morris and the British Arts & Crafts movement inspired conversations on Western history of art, its relationship with Japanese Mingei craft and the different aesthetic sensibility towards design and decoration (from ‘horror vacui’ to zen minimalism). The group then visited the museum individually and the guides helped identify artworks of personal preference within the collection. Pre-Raphaelites’ and John Constable’s paintings, the jewellery and ceramics galleries were particularly notable. The day continued with a historical tour of key architectural landmarks in the city centre.
The second day on site started with a visit to the permanent collection of the Design Museum, where the group engaged with the historical evolution of modern designs and reflected with the different narrative the museum offered when compared to Japanese cultural institutions.
“I learnt about the different ways of thinking about design from the exhibition methods I saw at the Design Museum, where the emphasis in Japan is on the product itself, whereas the emphasis is on the people who use it and the background to its design.” HI 2022-23 participant
After lunch in Kensington, the group moved to East London for a visit to SpaceLab, a company that self-identifies as an “exploratory architectural design studio that believes space unites us”. Creative Strategist First Sukpaiboon welcomed the team with a tour of the studio and a in-depth discussion of their approach, challenges and lessons learnt from collaborative projects in urban design. The intense Q&A covered ideas and models of innovation, difficulties with client and public engagement, working with professionals across disciplines and industries, and the value of art and design methodology in urban and architectural projects. Grateful for their time at the studio, the group then continued with a tour led by Mr Kanomata of cultural landmarks of East London, an area with a very distinct history and character from the city centre and West London, where their accommodation was located. Over the days the group engaged in optional cultural activities such as other gallery visits and evening music concerts.
“During a company visit to _Spacelab_, the participants learnt about community design methods. They learnt how to create projects that are different from those in Japan, such as the leadership style in working with citizens in ways other than developer projects.” HI 2022-23 participant
Exclusive tour and art-science experiments at Central Saint Martins
The third day was entirely dedicated to a visit to Central Saint Martins college of art and design, in the recently developed area north of Kings Cross station. This started with a walk in the new neighbourhood where the Google and Meta offices are located, before being welcomed to the university by Dr Joseph Wheeler, the Head of International Partnerships at CSM. The group joined Prof. Masahiko Hara from Tokyo Tech and other CSM academics for a networking event over coffee in the college’s stylish canteen. Dr Wheler then offered a tour of the facilities, explaining the rationale behind the architectural design and how it linked to the educational model in use at the university. The tour gave exclusive access to key areas in the building, including the departments of fashion and textiles, ceramics, industrial design, printmaking and digital fabrication. Librarians then welcomed the group to the library and its Materials and Products Collection, which hosts “new and innovative materials that represent current trends in design and manufacturing”.After lunch at the college, the group attended presentations by CSM staff on innovative approaches to collaborations with industry. Former and current students presented their work including award-winning art and design projects. The group had the chance to ask detailed and informative questions about their approaches to design and innovation.
“The workshop used many elements of philosophy in the way projects were carried out and research methods were used, and we saw the potential to use this in our own companies.” HI 2022-23 participant
The afternoon saw the participation in an experiment led by Heather Barnet, Pathway Leader MA Art and Science, and Prof. Masahiko Hara, coming from Japan as the Scientist in Residence at CSM. Thr group joined the scientists, artists, technicians and other staff in the Grow Lab, a biological laboratory located within the art college. A short lecture by Prof. Hara covered the need for alternative approaches to computation to overcome the limitation of current technologies. Slime mould, a free-living single-celled organism, offers interesting solutions to various mathematical problems because of its ability to produce “better than average” solutions, rather than rigid trying to reach the “best” one, which can often take a disproportional amount of time. These and other notions of ‘ambiguity’ and ‘uncertainty’ in natural sciences are the focus of Prof. Hara’s work, as anticipated in a HI session previously held in Tokyo. The group engaged with experimental design of patterns on a petri dish, onto which the food (rolled oats) and obstacles could inspire the organism to grow in certain directions over time. The experiment was to pose certain problems or questions to the slime mould and then use time lapse photography to record its behaviour over a period of a few days.
After setting up the dishes and discussing potential outcomes with the organisers, the conversation moved back to the lecture room with further presentations and networking opportunities. The later sessions were joined by the London office of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) which is a leading funding body for Japan-UK collaborative research. This was followed by a social event in the evening.The group visited the Grow Lab at CSM again the morning of the last day to check initial results of the experiments and discuss it with the scientists. They then visited the Tate Modern, a landmark art museum in the city before engaging in other visits and optional activities. The trip to London consolidated the HI network and offered multiple opportunities to experience first hand the union of art, design, science and engineering in a foreign context, with the potential to inspire further insights into the evolution of technology, innovative business models, art-science research and methodologies, and generally engage with a prolific and inspiring cultural environment for which London is known all over the world. The group then safely returned to Tokyo and will meet again at the HI Symposium to be held at Tokyo Tech on 14th April.
“I got the strong impression that the entire activity of the creative institutions we visited preached the importance of the process of reaching a conclusion. We learnt that in business, too, we should not only focus on the final deliverables, but also work more deeply on the process, even in the limited time available. Thank you for organising such a fruitful and wonderful tour.” HI 2022-23 participant
