Co-Creation Workshop with Needknowers

Transform problems into value through co-creation design

Overview

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.

📂 Category	Innovation
📌 Keywords	Co-creation design, user research, idea generation, prototyping Need-Knower
🎯 Objectives	•User research methods • Idea generation methods through co-creation design • Prototyping method
🌐 Language	Japanese (English support available)
👥 Target Participants	Undergraduate and graduate students (all departments, all academic years)
🗓 Format	2 sessions (3 hours + 4 hours, attendance for all sessions recommended, in-person)
✅ Past & Upcoming Sessions	#1; May 10, 2026 (Saturday) 13:00-16:00 #2; May 17, 2026 (Saturday) 13:00-17:00 November 2025: To be held at the University of Tokyo. January 2026: Conducted at Tokyo Saiseikai Central Hospital
📍 Venue	EEI Building, 1st Floor, Midorigaoka Campus
🌟 Recommended for	・People who want to use their skills to solve social problem ・People interested in 3D printers (to be used in the second session) ・People who are interested in disability welfare, assistive devices, and social issues. ・People who are interested in product design and manufacturing based on needs.
📊 Points	7 points (3 in the first round, 4 in the second round) (Points to be awarded to students enrolled in the courses for credits. Please refer to the syllabus for details.)
🎟️ Capacity	20 participants

Main Content

Workshop Flow

Day1

This workshop will provide lectures on the theoretical background and practical methods in preparation for the “Co-creation Workshop with Need-Knowers” to be held on Day 2.　

1. Icebreaker
2. Overview of co-creation design
   1. General principles of co-creation design
   2.  Case study: TOMJAPAN
   3. Disability welfare and welfare engineering
   4. Examples of a co-creation design process
3. Why idea generation and interviewing techniques are necessary
4. Introduction of idea generation methods and interviewing techniques
5. Practice 1: interviewing to idea generation
6. Reflection of practice 1
7. Practice 2: interviewing to idea generation
8. Reflection of practice 1
9. Reflection of day 1

Day2

In this workshop, we will start with the voices of “Need-Knowers” who are actually facing problems, and all participants will delve into the issues, experiencing everything from idea generation to prototype creation.

1. Icebreaker for team formation
2. Needs sharing from Need-Knowers (people with disabilities)
3. The group organizes and redefines the issues.
4. Idea generation for assist devices and services
5. Prototype creation
6. Presentation and Feedback
   

This workshop provides a practical experience of the process of transforming problems into “value.”

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Facilitator

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Past Event Records

Voices from Participants

• I realized that when the participants are diverse, the solutions that emerge are also diverse. It’s a really great initiative, and everyone who came was positive about participating, so I think we had a good discussion.
• I realized that it’s crucial to thoroughly understand the needs of those directly involved, and that creating an environment like this workshop where we can actively participate is essential.
• I would like to apply this experience to develop a positive ideas toward how the challenges faced by people with disabilities can be addressed.
• I want to more actively implement both approaches: personally experiencing situations that closely resemble those of actual cases, and having real users test and evaluate the solutions.

Event Report

Contact Faculty

Yuri Matsuzaki, Specially Appointed Associate Professor, Academy for Leadership
📩 matsuzaki.y.77a9 [at] m.isct.ac.jp