Faculty and Instructors
QREC core teachers
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Director, Robert T. Huang Entrepreneurship Center of Kyushu UniversityProfessor, Department of Industrial Management, Faculty of EconomicsMegumi Takata
- Advanced Lecture in Core Competence Management
- Advanced Lecture in Idea Evaluation
- Advanced Lecture in New Value Creation
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Professor, Academic Research & Industrial Collaboration Management Office of Kyushu UniversityYuichi Harada
- Advanced Lecture in Research Skills Development (English)
- Innovation Management
- Practical introduction to Data Science
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Associate Professor, Intellectual Property and Venture Creation Group, Academic Research and Industry-University-Government Collaboration Division, Kyushu UniversityKosuke Kaneko
- Technology Marketing Game (spring and summer semesters)
- Self-Discovery for Career Design (first semester intensive, second semester intensive)
- Digital Fabrication Tutorial
- Digital Fabrication with Design Thinking (Design Thinking Engineering Exercise)
- Practice on Ideathon / Hackathon
- Entrepreneurship Bootcamp
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Associate Professor, Robert T.Huang Entrepreneurship Center of Kyushu UniversityYui Haraguchi
- Idea Lab I
- Introduction to Social Innovation
- Advanced Lecture in New Value Creation
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Assistant Professor, Robert T. Huang Entrepreneurship Center of Kyushu UniversityYuka Watanabe
- Entrepreneurship Career Design
- Technology Marketing Game (spring and summer semesters)
- Entrepreneurship Bootcamp
- Advanced Lecture in New Value Creation
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Assistant Professor, Robert T. Huang Entrepreneurship Center of Kyushu UniversityNergui Enkhzaya
- Global Seminar (English)
- Entrepreneurial Intention
- Introduction to Entrepreneurship (Fall Semester)
- Technology Marketing Game (English)
- QREC Internship
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Graduate School of Art and Design, Kyushu UniversityAssistant Professor, Strategic Design DepartmentYasuyuki Hayama
- Design Thinking Project
Megumi Takata( Megumi Takata )
career
After graduating from Kyushu University, he worked for a major manufacturer. After completing his master’s degree at the Graduate School of Engineering, Kyushu University, he worked as a consultant and then as Executive Vice President and COO of a technology transfer organization (currently TLO of the University of Tokyo) before assuming his current position. In 2009, he was a visiting researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States. He was a visiting scholar at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) in the U.S. in 2009 and participated in the establishment of QREC, where he has also served since 2010. RTTP(Registered Technology Transfer Professional).
Message to Students
Entrepreneurship is a challenge to the status quo. If we spend our days idly, the landscape is the same as it was yesterday, but if we look carefully and with a sharp mind, we will find that it is full of opportunities. We hope that through your studies and activities at QREC, you will acquire the knowledge and the ability to identify and seize opportunities and create a fulfilling life for yourselves.
Subject in charge
Research Activities
Industry-academia collaboration management, Management of Technology (MOT), Entrepreneurship
Yuichi Harada(Yuichi Harada)
career
After earning a degree in electronic systems at the Tokyo Institute of Technology in 1991, he submitted a proposal to Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden for research on a single electronic device that could be the basis of a superconducting quantum computer, which was accepted and moved to Gothenburg, Sweden. The results of his work there led him to the Basic Research Laboratory of Nippon Electron Telephone Company, where he continued his research. In 2015, he was appointed to the Global Innovation Center of Kyushu University, where he was in charge of the newly conceived Open Innovation Center (KOINE). He is in charge of launching new research projects based on innovation KOINE and giving practical lectures on research techniques to achieve excellent research results.
Message to Students
Entrepreneurship is not only about starting a business. The core of entrepreneurship education is to learn how to lead a fulfilling social life. In my lectures, I will discuss with you how to successfully conduct research in English and Japanese. I will also teach you the rudiments of data science, which will be the foundation of society in the future. I hope that you will be able to play an active role in the global society.
Subject in charge
Research Activities
Nanoscience, Nanotechnology, International Industry-University Collaboration, Technology Management
Kosuke Kaneko(Kosuke Kaneko)
career
He received his B.S. in Physics from Kyushu University in 2006, M.S. from Kyushu University in 2008, and Ph.D. from Kyushu University in 2014.
He started a software development circle when he was an undergraduate student at the university. While in the doctoral program, he and his lab mates commercialized the circle’s activities and developed various products together with local companies. In 2014, he became an assistant professor at the Center for Teaching Materials Development attached to the Kyushu University Library, where he is engaged in research on educational engineering. He will assume his current position in 2021.
Message to Students
We are living in an era called VUCA, where society is changing rapidly and the future outlook is uncertain. In order to survive in such an era, the abilities that entrepreneurs have traditionally possessed, such as “a spirit of challenge without fear of failure,” “an indomitable spirit to overcome difficulties,” “the ability to flexibly adapt to changes in society,” and “the ability to create new value,” are now required not only for entrepreneurs but for all of us living in modern society. Entrepreneurship education at QREC is not just about training entrepreneurs; it is also about cultivating the “ability to survive in society” in the broadest sense of the word. We hope that through QREC’s lectures, you will build the foundation of your ability to survive in today’s society.
Subject in charge
Research Activities
Information Science, Educational Technology
Yui Haraguchi(Yui Haraguchi)
career
After graduating from Kyushu University’s Faculty of Art and Design, Department of Design Strategy in 2011, he worked for an urban development consulting firm and a municipal government think tank before establishing YOUI Inc. in 2017.
He is currently working to maximize the attractiveness of people and cities through the design and management of projects that engage the efforts of diverse actors. His fields of activities include Director of Japan Living Lab Network, Director of Essential Workers Association, and Faculty of CRR Global Japan, LLC.
He has been in his current position since FY 2026.
Message to Students
In our complex world of VUCA, we are in a situation that demands dynamic and constant change, like catching a leaping beast, rather than a stopped target shooting attitude that says “this is the right thing to do.
In such a situation, it is difficult to bring about social change, and it may seem that one person cannot do anything on his or her own. However, change begins with the action of just one person. I believe that entrepreneurship is the power to take that first step. Let’s learn how to demonstrate entrepreneurship together.
Subject in charge
Yuka Watanabe(Yuka Watanabe)
career
MBA from Kyushu University, Graduate School of Economics, Department of Industrial Management, and studied at Taiwan Normal University.
After working in the Semiconductor Marketing Division of NEC Corporation, the Sales & Marketing Division of Pasona Taiwan and Pasona Asia (HK) Tokyo Branch, and the Property Management Division of Kowa Real Estate Co., Ltd.
Message to Students
I spent four years in the Asian region competing for global technical and management talent. In order to increase one’s value in the globalized labor market, it is important not only to deepen one’s expertise, but also to acquire entrepreneurship, leadership, communication skills, business knowledge, and language skills such as English to complement these skills. At Kyushu University, students can deepen their expertise through studies within their majors and learn complementary elements through programs such as QREC. I hope that students will actively take advantage of these opportunities.
Subject in charge
Research Activities
Entrepreneurship
Nergui Enkhzaya(Nergui Enkhzaya)
career
Graduated from the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, National University of Mongolia in 2012.
Completed the Department of International Management (IMBA), Graduate School of Business Administration, I-Shou (I-Shou) University, Taiwan in 2014.
Received a doctorate from the Graduate School of Economics, Hokkaido University in 2021.
Assistant Professor, Faculty of General Management, Aomori University in 2021. 2022 Assumed current position.
Message to Students
Life is like climbing a mountain, and each person has his or her own way to the top. Even if things go wrong or negative things happen along the way, there is always room for any number of opportunities. Believe in yourself and take on challenges at any time.
Subject in charge
Research Activities
Entrepreneurship
Yasuyuki Hayama(Yasuyuki Hayama)
career
D. (Design) at the Graduate School of Design, Politecnico di Milano. He researched Design Narrative Worldmaking (DNW), a narrative-driven approach to design. After graduating from Hitotsubashi University, Faculty of Commerce and Graduate School of Commerce with a Master’s degree in Business Administration, he worked as a management consultant at Deloitte Tohmatsu Consulting. Attracted by the method of innovation through design, he studied at Politecnico di Milano (Strategic Design) and supported companies in developing new businesses, products, and services as a strategic designer at AXIS Corporation. He promotes research and projects in the interdisciplinary area of design and management.
Message to Students
Entrepreneurship requires creating a new idea from scratch, drawing up a vision, materializing it, communicating it, and gaining buy-in from various people to create a big swell of support. Design is a powerful weapon in many aspects of this process. Let us explore and practice together the possibilities of design to give shape to and realize the entrepreneurial spirit that aspires to the creation of new businesses and social change.
Subject in charge
QREC Instructors
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Visiting Professor, Robert T. Huang Entrepreneurship Center of Kyushu UniversityPresident and CEO, 39 Drug Co., Ltd.Kenji Hirano
- Entrepreneurship Marketing Application
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Visiting Professor, Robert T. Huang Entrepreneurship Center of Kyushu UniversitySenior Managing Executive Officer, Senior Partner, Dentsu Consulting Inc.Masataka Sugimoto
- New Business Creation
- Advanced Lecture in Corporate Entrepreneurship
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Representative Director, Jicou, Inc.Kazushige Hirata
- Self-discovery for career design
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Executive Vice President, Slogan Inc.Certified Public Accountant, Certified Tax AccountantKitagawa Hironori
- Venture Finance
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Associate Professor, Faculty of Commerce, Kansai UniversityKatsufumi Matsui
- Advanced Lecture in Social Change Studio
Kenji Hirano(Kenji Hirano)
career
Born on May 28, 1959
March 1982 Graduated from Hitotsubashi University, Faculty of Commerce (majoring in accounting)
MBA in Marketing, San Francisco State University, January 1985
July 2003 Appointed Representative Director of 39 Drug Co., Ltd.
Apr. 2012: Appointed as Representative Director of Segment of One & Only Co.
Appointed as Director of the Japan Insurance Pharmacy Association, April 2014
June 2015 MCEI Executive of the Year 2014-15 Award
Book What I want to tell you who will work in drugstores and pharmacies in the future (2011)
Message to Students
I could not get used to Japanese universities where “professors talk and students listen,” “students read books and write papers” – I came to life when I was exposed to the interactive style of the MBA program. Basic knowledge is of course necessary, but practical learning is only possible when you apply it to business, which is only possible when you think and move people around. In my classes, I will train you through seamless thinking, speaking, and answering, including exercises. I will be happy if you enjoy it.
Subject in charge
Masataka Sugimoto(Masataka Sugimoto)
career
After graduating from the Faculty of Policy Studies at Keio University, he worked for a major railroad company, where he launched several new businesses in the corporate planning department. In March 2010, he graduated from the Graduate School of Economics, Kyushu University with a degree in industrial management (business school). He then moved to PwC Consulting Godo Kaisha, where he established and managed the Regional Development Team, which focuses on regional revitalization nationwide, and the Fukuoka Office, which is in charge of the Kyushu and Okinawa regions. In his current position at the Dentsu Group, he is working to increase the value of a strategic consulting firm whose core areas are growth strategy, new business, marketing, and branding.
He has lectured at the Japan Department Stores Association and business seminars, and has served as a judge for business plan contests, Startup Weekend coach, and local government business improver. He is a certified small and medium enterprise diagnostician and a first-class financial planning technician. He holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA).
Message to Students
While megatrends are rapidly changing on a global scale, such as the borderless global economy, the convergence of real and virtual channels, and the shift to a digitally smart society, new business opportunities and entrepreneurial opportunities are emerging in response to the rise of emerging economies and changing consumption styles. In these turbulent times of increasing uncertainty, we want to produce human resources who can take a global and local perspective and become “entrepreneurs” who can solve social issues on their own. To this end, we will provide “passionate” lectures based on our experience as a consulting firm with the world’s largest network!
Subject in charge
Kazushige Hirata(Kazushige Hirata)
career
Born in 1991 in Kanagawa Prefecture. Graduated from the School of Social Sciences at Waseda University. Joined Benesse Corporation as a new graduate. In 2017, he joined Indeed Japan K.K., where he provided consulting services to educational institutions in the Kyushu area and conducted numerous training programs and lectures for educators. He opened a Fukuoka office at Reapra Japan, where he is engaged in investment and hands-on support for entrepreneurs.
In 2021, he founded Jicou, Inc. with the mission of “creating a society in which all adults can continue to explore the richness of their own colors. Currently, he is developing a career support business for salespeople called “Corporate Sales Career Change Navi”.
Message to Students
In this lecture, we will explore your past experiences and the struggles and doubts you face in your daily university life, and explore the “character” that lies behind them.
There is no need to compare yourself to anyone else. There is no answer. Any answer is fine.
Through trial and error, let’s all search for our own “character.”
That is the beginning of entrepreneurship.
Subject in charge
Kitagawa Hironori(Kitagawa Hironori)
career
He joined Slogan Inc. as an intern in 2008 while a student at Meiji University’s School of Business Administration, where he was engaged in business management operations centered on finance and accounting during the start-up period for approximately three and a half years. In July 2015, he returned to Slogan Inc. and became Executive Officer and CFO in 2016. At Slogan Corporation, he was responsible for leading the company’s listing on the TSE Mothers (now Growth) in November 2021. He oversees a wide range of areas including accounting, finance, legal, labor relations, general affairs, risk management, corporate planning, public relations and PR, investor relations, internal audit, and internal control. He has served as an active and practicing faculty member of the Graduate School of Management, Globis University, and was appointed Executive Vice President in March 2023 (current position).
Message to Students
“Finance” is a very vast world. In this course, I will explain the relationship between finance and venture companies, interweaving my experience and the research and practice I have been accumulating at the forefront of the field, in the hope that it will be a useful learning experience for you after you enter society.
I also believe that accounting, which is closely related to finance, is one of the most important languages for measuring value in this world, and is a very attractive area in the future society, where it is necessary to create new relationships between people and organizations and finance and accounting.
We hope that by learning practical finance together that will be useful even after you enter the workforce, we can contribute to unlocking your future potential. Let’s enjoy learning together!
Subject in charge
Katsufumi Matsui(Katsufumi Matsui)
career
D. in Interdisciplinary Information Studies from the University of Tokyo after graduating from the Faculty of Letters, Kyoto University and working for Dentsu Inc. from the University of Tokyo. director of the Startup Promotion Department, Industry-Academia Collaboration Promotion Division, University of Tokyo (Hongo Tech Garage/ Entrepreneurship Education) from 2019. in 2025, Robert T. Huang Entrepreneurship Center of Kyushu University, Associate Professor, 2026-present.
Message to Students
What should students work on while they are students?
This is one of the most frequently asked questions I get from students. My answer is: “Take on a technology project.
Learn and practice entrepreneurship through technology projects.