Acceleration Program
Pioneering the future with new technology
Summary
The QREC Acceleration Program aims to promote innovation at Kyushu University by helping graduate students and post-doctoral researchers to rapidly implement (i.e. accelerate) their technology ideas into society. The program supports the acquisition of a PoC (Proof of Concept: verification of a project before it enters prototype development) in a short period of 8 weeks. Furthermore, for teams that wish to continue their projects after the program is over, we will support them in connecting to Kyushu University’s GAP Fund*¹, obtaining other public funds, and obtaining external funding as the next step in their social implementation.
*¹The fund will encourage the creation of university-launched ventures by providing universities with relatively small amounts of funds for prototype development and other activities to bridge the gap between technology and commercialization.
Eligibility for Application
- Teams of 2-5 members led by a graduate student or post-doctoral researcher from Kyushu University (undergraduate students may also participate as team members).
- Teams that have technical ideas that they would like to challenge for social implementation
- A team that can commit to and participate in an 8-week program that includes a total of 7 in-person sessions
If adopted
- Support by a companion mentor.Providing weekly online mentoring and other companionship support by experienced mentors
- Spot assistance through an on-call advisor system.Provides spot assistance from a total of more than 15 experts in six areas (customer, technology, business, IP, team, and financing)
- Grant provided, up to 300,000 yen per team in accordance with Kyushu University’s accounting rules (this is not a lump-sum cash grant).
- Offers a workshop and community space.Provides a workshop for MVP production and a community space for 24-hour work and meetings
- Next Steps Connection Support.Support for connection to public support such as Kyushu University’s GAP Fund, Fukuoka Unexplored, IPA Unexplored*², NEDO’s NEP*³, and other private sector support
*²“Unexplored IT Human Resources Discovery and Development Project” conducted by Information-technology Promotion Agency, Japan (IPA)
https://www.ipa.go.jp/jinzai/mitou/it/index.html
*³ “Project to Discover Talent and Foster Entrepreneurship in the Deep Tech Field / Project to Discover Talent and Foster Entrepreneurship in the Deep Tech Field” conducted by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), a national research and development corporation.
https://www.nedo.go.jp/koubo/CA2_100449.html
Mentors/Advisors
Accompanying Mentors
Accompany the team and provide regular mentoring.
Coming Soon…
On-call Advisors
Provide advice from professional expertise to teams that arise on a spot basis.
Coming Soon…
Schedule
Conducted in each Session face-to-face (BasE, 2F, Center Bldg. 6, Ito Campus, Kyushu University) *Except for Session 8
Deadline for applicant applications
Monday, June 3, 2024 – Monday, July 1, 2024 17:00
Session1
Kickoff Hypothesis and Deep Dive
Saturday, August 10, 2024, 13:00-17:00
Session2
Hypothesis testing.
Saturday, August 17, 2024, 13:00-16:00
Session3
Strengthen your team / Prepare for the pitch
Saturday, August 24, 2024, 13:00-16:00
Session4
midterm review
Saturday, August 31, 2024, 13:00-16:00
Session5
Thinking about commercialization from the customer’s point of view
Saturday, September 14, 2024, 13:00-16:00
Session6
Obtaining Resources
Monday, holiday, September 23, 2024, 13:00-16:00
Session7
final review
Saturday, September 28, 2024, 13:00-16:00
Session8
Follow-up Session
Saturday, October 5, 2024, 13:00-15:00
*Online (Zoom)
Application Guidelines
Activities required
- Repeated creation and revision of approximately 50 interviews with potential customers and MVPs (= prototypes containing minimal value provided) to test hypotheses for social implementation of technology ideas.
- Listen to the advice of mentors and advisors and the opinions of potential clients, while proactively discerning the information and opinions obtained
- Open to learning and proactive in seizing various opportunities to learn
- Be a good team worker and grow with your team
- Move your hands, move your feet, and act with a lot of activity.
Review Criteria
Review at the time of adoption
- Is it technically novel and willing to try new things?
- Are the challenges and solutions well communicated to the judges?
- Do you have a problem and a hypothesis of a solution that can be used to obtain a PoC for social implementation in an 8-week program?
- Can you commit to and participate in an 8-week program that includes 7 in-person sessions?
midterm review
- Is it technically novel and willing to try new things?
- Are the challenges and solutions well communicated to the judges?
- Are the hypotheses of issues and solutions being verified through repeated interviews with approximately 20 potential customers and modifications to the MVP?
- Is progress being made in formulating issues and solutions?
final review
- Is it technically novel and willing to try new things?
- Are the challenges and solutions well communicated to the judges?
- Since the interim review, have the hypotheses of issues and solutions been verified through approximately 30 interviews with potential customers and repeated revisions of the MVP?
- Has a PoC for social implementation been obtained?
Number of adopted teams
Around 5 teams
Interruption of support
- After the interim review, the project support may be suspended upon agreement between the team and the judges. In that case, the project will no longer receive support from the following week
- If QREC determines that you have not committed and participated in the program, including in-person sessions, we may suspend support for the project with prior notice if no improvement is seen by 10 days after an email warning.
How to apply
Application period
Monday, June 3, 2024, 9:00 a.m. to Monday, July 1, 2024, 5:00 p.m.
How to apply
Fill out the form below to submit your application.
Selection process
First screening : document screening
Result notification: Monday, July 8, 17:00
Second screening: Online interview (20 minutes)
Implementation period: July 10 (Wed.) – 17 (Wed.)
Result notification: July 22 (Monday)
*Please note that some of the above information is subject to change.
Contact Us
QREC Accelerator Program Office (in QREC office)
- TEL：
- 092-802-6060
Hours: Weekdays 9:00-17:00 *Except Saturdays, Sundays, national holidays, year-end and New Year holidays, etc. If you are in a hurry, please call us.
Please change ★ to @ in your e-mail address.