【Call for Participants】Systemic Design Workshop

<By combining the theory of System Thinking with the practical methods of Design Thinking,
students will master an approach to dealing with more complex problems, such as global social issues.>
-Workshop to be counted as points for Entrepreneurship Courses, an event for SPRING program,
and students may participate without enrolling in the course–

Outline

Systemic Design combines the theory of Systems Thinking with the practical methods of Design Thinking to approach complex problems, and is gaining attention as a useful method in a variety of fields, including social change, the design of complex social systems, and environmentally friendly ecosystems. Systemic Design involves diverse stakeholders, uses systems thinking to understand complexity, discovers effective solutions to problems through a design process, and encourages reflection on one’s own behavior and mental models within the system through repeated experimentation and iteration.

Features of this workshop

・It will be a powerful tool for addressing global social issues that span multiple interests.
・You will gain an understanding of the essence of “design thinking” and “systems thinking.”
・You will be able to build new networks through discussions with diverse participants, regardless of major, year, or nationality.
・You will gain practical experience that will be useful in your job search.

Workshop Theme

Human activities are currently placing excessive strain on the Earth’s resources and sinks, resulting in serious impacts on ecosystems. This includes the successive occurrence of extreme weather events such as extreme heat, heavy rain, and warm winters. The 2022 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) presented a new perspective: “Behavioral change can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” Specifically, it reported that by changing individual behavior, greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced by 40-70% by 2050, offering great hope for the climate crisis we face.
In this workshop, we will use Systemic Design to consider “New common sense for resource circulation; turning cities into forests” to reduce urban greenhouse gas emissions. We will consider how all people can naturally change their behaviors to reduce emissions by recycling waste as a resource and transform cities into rich, forest-like environments.

Comment from the facilitator:

The Earth is currently reaching its limits. Excessive consumption of resources and the accumulation of pollution are not a coincidence, but the result of our accelerating lifestyles and business activities. It is up to each and every one of us to take action and change this situation. In today’s workshop, let’s think from a new perspective, reconsider how we use resources while maintaining our quality of life, and explore together “New common sense for resource circulation; turning cities into forests” with ideas for reducing emissions and pollution.
Your small realizations and actions will bring about major changes in circulation. Let’s turn what we’ve learned here today into our own actions. It is up to all of you here to make the Earth a better place in the future.

Recommended for:

・Students who are interested in projects that address complex global issues.
・Students who want to create new value.
・Students who are interested in Design Thinking and Systems Thinking.
・Students who want to gain practical experience that I can use in my job search.

Application to participate in the workshop

Please fill out the required information in the form below and submit it. We will contact you to let you know whether you can participate.
This workshop can be taken as part of the Entrepreneurship Course. If you want to enroll in the course, please read the information on the Intensive Course Enrollment Guide page and apply with other workshops.
You are also welcome to participate in the workshop as a one-time attendee. Please register using the form below.

Workshop Details

Category	Innovation
Date & Time	Saturday, February 7, 2026, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Venue	S4-202, 2nd floor, South Building 4, Ookayama Campus
Language	Japanese/English
Capacity	Maximum of 40 students
Eligibility	Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral students (You can participate even without enrolling in the course)
Points granted	7 points
Facilitators	Yutaka Iimori and Kazuya Sawai

Facilitators

Contact

Questions and requests for consultation are always welcome.
Keisuke Yamada
Specially Appointed Professor
Academy for Leadership(ToTAL)/Center for Entrepreneurship Education(CEE)
E-mail address: yamada.k.9f82@m.isct.ac.jp
Office: S6-309B (3rd floor, South Building 6, Ookayama Campus)