As announced in Mercari’s press release on May 13 (Mercari and N High School Collaborate on “Project N,” a Problem-Based Learning Course), Mercari, Inc. and Kadokawa Dwango Educational Institute’s N School have started a class together called “Project 2040: Perspectives on Value Exchange 20 Years from Now.”
Mercari and N High School have based the course on “value exchange engineering,” a concept which mercari R4D is researching alongside The University of Tokyo’s Research Institute for an Inclusive Society through Engineering (RIISE). R4D members are also helping to run the class.
The following is from the Mercari press release:
From Wednesday, May 13 to Friday, June 26, 2020, Mercari, Inc. (“Mercari”) and Kadokawa Dwango Educational Institute’s N High School (“N High School”) will hold “Project 2040: Perspectives on Value Exchange 20 Years from Now,” a course about creating the businesses and services which will support value exchange in the future, as part of the school’s online problem-based learning course, Project N. The online class will connect students across the country, providing them with an opportunity to learn without the threat of COVID-19 infection.
Mercari’s mission is to create value in a global marketplace where anyone can buy & sell. This led to Mercari establishing mercari R4D (“R4D”), its research and development arm, in 2017. R4D conducts research centered on the core concept of changing value exchange through technology. R4D and RIISE’s joint research topic, “value exchange engineering,” is the basis for this Project N course.
The advancement of civilization has changed the way humankind exchanges value. Technological advancements in recent years have enabled people to exchange value without the use of currency notes—through credit, crypto-assets and other means. Project N sees students grapple with actual social issues which have no answers, to solve those problems and present solutions. In this way, N High School and Mercari are providing an opportunity for students to consider what the future will look like in 20 years, when they’re adults, and what kind of businesses and services will be beneficial to that future. For the final presentation, N High School students will present the best proposals, selected from among those submitted by students nationwide, directly to Mercari executives.
Overview of “Project 2040: Perspectives on Value Exchange 20 Years from Now”
[Date/Time] Wednesday, May 13 - Friday, June 26, 2020
[Class Description] Learn how value exchange has changed over time, take a good look at value exchange today, and think about the future of value exchange.
- Learn about how value exchange has changed over time.
- Conduct research into which services currently support value exchange and come to understand the mechanisms by which they work.
- Predict how society will change over the next 20 years, come up with a vision for the future of value exchange, and propose businesses and services which will support that value exchange.
*The class focuses on group work, based on lectures and special keynotes given by Mercari. For the final presentation to Mercari executives, the chosen groups will present their business or service which supports value exchange as they envision it in 2040.
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