Tokyo Institute of Technology Students Win 2nd Engineering School E×S Challenge
An interdisciplinary group consisting of students from Tokyo Tech and National Taiwan University have won the second E×S Challenge with their proposal for a treatment method for cataracts. The group collected the School of Engineering E×S Award and their JPY1 million development fund, supported by the Tokyo Tech Fund, after winning the LAUNCH contest — the final round of the challenge — on November 26, 2022.
The School of Engineering’s E×S Challenge, held for the second time in 2022, encourages students and young researchers to utilize their engineering (E) skills and pitch feasible business ideas that aim to achieve a more sustainable society (S). The contest, which focuses on the achievement of the world’s Sustainable Development Goals, rewards the most innovative participants with prize money and development funds to help them realize their solutions. The challenge consists of three stages — PITCH, STORM, and LAUNCH.
The second E×S Challenge included seven teams from Tokyo Tech’s School of Engineering and five teams from universities in Taiwan. These 12 groups initially competed in the PITCH contest on September 3, 2022, with a 3-minute English presentation. This was followed by the STORM phase, in which groups were reorganized to achieve a dramatic evolution of ideas and a higher level of feasibility. During this phase, the original 12 groups were reshuffled into five groups, four of which were international teams that included members from both Japan and Taiwan. There were many obstacles during the discussions among members who had never met in person. However, the participants determinedly aimed to develop feasible business plans that can solve social issues with generous support from young and mid-career strategic consultants at the Consulting Division of Nomura Research Institute. All these efforts would culminate in the LAUNCH, the final judging event, held in November.
On the day of the LAUNCH contest, each group presented their business concept, consisting of innovative ideas backed by technology, to an audience consisting of both Tokyo Tech members and external professionals. The presentations were judged by an international panel of judges that included an Indian entrepreneur with a successful track record in sustainable business.
The judges selected a student group proposing a new method for the treatment of cataracts as the overall winners. The group was led by Biomedical Engineering student Wu Yueh-Feng from National Taiwan University and included sub-leader Yang Yuqiao, an Information and Communication Engineering student at Tokyo Tech.