Initiatives for female students

Notice from GCON Secretariat

Click here for the official homepage of National College of Technology GCON2024　https://gcon.kosen-k.go.jp

3nd KOSEN GIRLS SDGs x Technology Contest (KOSEN GCON2024) Application Guidelines

Click here for recruitment guidelines (PDF version)

The application form isClick here for the guidelines.から
What to fill in the entry formClick here for the guidelines.から

* Regarding last year's "GCON2023"Click here for the guidelines.Please see from!
* Regarding last year's "GCON2022"Click here for the guidelines.Please see from!

【the purpose】 
  The realization of a diverse society is required in all fields in order to protect the dignity of human rights and build a prosperous society in an increasingly diverse world. "Gender equality and women's empowerment" is an important theme of the SDGs, and Goal 5 of the SDGs includes "realization of gender equality" as an independent goal.
　On the other hand, it is also true that the active participation of women in science fields is not progressing in Japanese industry. In particular, the low percentage of female engineers and researchers in companies and universities is a problem, and there is an urgent need to increase the number of female science majors in junior high and higher education.
　In this contest, teams consisting mainly of female technical college students will further grow as future researchers and engineers by proposing technology development to solve social issues based on the results of their daily learning and research from the perspective of SDGs. Through the contest, we aim to encourage women to increase the number of female engineers and researchers in Japan.

[Participation conditions]
　Teams of 2 to 5 students, mostly female students, enrolled in regular and major courses at national, public, and private colleges of technology nationwide. Male students are welcome to participate, but the leader must be a female student and at least half of the team must be female students.

[Recruitment theme] 
We are broadly soliciting proposals for technological development and ideas aimed at solving various social issues centered on the SDGs.

• Proposals that are based on the research and learning that technical college students conduct on a daily basis and that can contribute to solving social issues from the perspective of SDGs
• Passionate proposals to solve problems that have feasibility, novelty, and uniqueness and will lead to new markets and business opportunities that have never existed before.

*In addition to the above, we recommend proposals for creating a society in which women can play an active role and expanding the range of female engineers and researchers.

【Schedule】
April 10th (Wednesday): Outline presentation
May 1st (Wednesday): Pre-entry begins
May 22nd (Wednesday) 16:15-17:15: Briefing session [online] (*Video of the briefing session will also be distributed in the archive.)
Early June to mid-September: We are planning to release videos from time to time that are useful for realizing GCON's SDGs, innovation, and a diverse society, as well as for proposal activities and creating entry materials, and we are planning to hold related events.
October 10nd (Wednesday): Entry deadline
Early to mid-October: Document screening
Mid-October: Announcement of teams that will advance to the interview screening (about 10 teams)
Late October: Interview screening [online]
Early November: Announcement of teams advancing to the finals (11 teams planned)
December 12th (Sat): Opening ceremony and social gathering
December 12th (Sunday): Final round (results presentation) Venue: Nikkei Hall (Otemachi, Tokyo)

[Entry flow] 

pre-entry
　Teams wishing to enter must first register their team name, supporting faculty, participating students, etc. in the pre-entry form. Team names etc. may change before this entry. (The URL will be announced in late April.)
　Although pre-entry is not required, we recommend that you pre-enter as we will provide support for your entry.　

Register for GCON2024Teams
　After pre-entry, the GCON secretariat will invite support faculty to GCON2024Teams. After registration, the support faculty member should register all student team members to teams.

Main entry (submit entry sheet)
　Please submit your entry sheet using this entry form.
　Entry deadline: October 10nd (Wednesday) 23:59
　Details of the entry sheet and how to submit it will be announced at the information session (held in mid-May).

[About screening items] 
The judges are expected to be experts (famous people), technical college teachers, and people from cooperating companies.

1. Understanding the SDGs and my relationship with them
   • Clarifying the social issues you want to solve
   • Backcasting, multi-stakeholder, thinking on your own
2. innovation perspective
   • Novelty such as proposals that lead to unprecedented new markets and business opportunities
   • Uniqueness devised from own experience
3. The path to realization
   • Understanding of previous research/case studies, technical issues and accuracy of support for solutions
   • Clarification of our own research and development results and the specific areas that members have worked on
   • Team building, ability to involve external parties, etc.

*Proposals for creating a society in which women can play an active role, proposals for expanding the range of female engineers and researchers, etc. will be subject to additional points for "understanding of the SDGs."
*Proposals that are not at the demonstration stage of technology development are possible, but please explain how your existing research and learning will be useful.
*In addition to ①, ②, and ③, the final selection will also be judged on ``presentation'' (is the presentation easy to understand for a large number of people, and is it able to convey their thoughts).
*For themes that are being continuously researched in laboratories, etc., please write so that we can clearly see what you have been specifically involved in.
*You can enter with a similar theme from last year (GCON2023). However, for teams that advance to the interview/final round, their activities after the interview or the announcement of the final round will be subject to review.

[Flow of examination] 
◆Initial screening
Early to mid-October Document screening: Applications will be judged based on the submitted entry sheet.
Mid-October: The team conducting the interview screening will be notified by email. (about 10 teams)
Late October Interview screening: Screening will be conducted through online Q&A. (Approximately 10 minutes per team) Details will be provided to the participating teams.
Early November: Announcement of teams advancing to the finals (11-XNUMX teams scheduled)

◆Final selection
12/15
　Presentations will be judged at the final venue.

[About the finals (results presentation)] 
Date: Sunday, December 15, 2020 10:00-18:00
Venue: Nikkei Hall (1-3-7 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo)

• Presentation (6 minutes) + Q&A (5 minutes)
• Live and archive distribution by Nikkei Channel
• The details of the contest will be published in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun at a later date.

*A poster session will be held in the morning for interested parties and supporting companies.
*In the afternoon of the previous day (the 14th), we will hold an orientation session for the final round and a networking event between participating technical college students and supporting companies.

[Prizes/Supplementary Prizes (for teams selected for finals)] *Schedule 
Grand Prize 1 team: Certificate, shield, supplementary prize (equivalent to 100,000 yen gift certificate)
Excellence Award: 2 teams: Certificate, shield, supplementary prize (gift certificate equivalent to 50,000 yen)
In addition, we are planning to receive awards and supplementary prizes from supporting companies.
*All teams that advance to the finals will be awarded a "Finalist Certificate" as proof of their success.
　In addition, as a supplementary prize, travel expenses for participating in the final competition will be covered. (students only)

[Award for teams other than the finalists] 
The following awards will be presented to teams that did not qualify for the final round.
　SDGs Encouragement Award for 1 team: Certificate and supplementary prize (equivalent to a gift certificate of 30,000 yen)
　Innovation Encouragement Award for 1 team, certificate and supplementary prize (equivalent to a gift certificate of 30,000 yen)
　Diversity & Inclusion Award
　Details of the youth award (for teams whose team members are all third graders or younger) will be announced at the information session in May.

 [External communication/communication with participating teams]

• National College of Technology GCON2024 Official Site (https://gcon.kosen-k.go.jp/)
  We will provide an introduction to the purpose and overview of the National College of Technology GCON, the latest information related to the contest, advance event announcements, introduction of entry teams and selection information, etc.
• Communication between participating teams and steering committee
  "Teams" will be used as a means of communication from the steering committee, questions from participating teams, and learning information about GCON. Students (all members) and faculty members of teams planning to enter should first register on Teams. Details will be given at the briefing session.

[Matters to confirm when entering] 

　Please check the information below before entering.

• You can also enter ideas that have already been presented in other contests.
• We cannot respond to individual inquiries regarding screening results.
• Travel expenses for students participating in the final round will be borne by the organizer.
• When making an entry, please be careful not to infringe on the intellectual property rights of others or violate non-disclosure agreements with co-researchers, and take the necessary precautions to protect your own intellectual property rights. .
• Applicants own the copyright to the content of their entries, but the following submissions, etc., may be used by the organizer, co-sponsor companies, supporting companies, supporting companies, other advertising media companies that came to cover the project, and each technical college for educational purposes.・Only for the purpose of public relations activities/corporate PR, you may modify, alter, edit, adapt, and use the information free of charge to the extent necessary for publication on websites, SNS, pamphlets, video recordings, newspapers, etc.
  1.  Submissions at the time of entry and presentation content for the final round
  2. Photos, videos, etc. used during presentations
  3. Photos and videos taken of the finals (results presentation) and pre-events, technical college names of entry and finals teams, names of participants, and presentation content may also be introduced in various media. Please be aware of this before applying.
• The personal information you provide will be used only for public relations, reception, and administrative tasks for this contest. For these purposes, personal information will be provided to Nihon Keizai Shimbun, which operates this contest. Please note that personal information may not be used for purposes other than those listed above, unless there is consent from the person concerned, a disclosure request based on laws and regulations, illegal acts such as unauthorized access or intimidation, or other special reasons. We will not disclose or present personal information to anyone other than the above-mentioned recipient (including the party to whom the above-mentioned recipient entrusts part of the business based on the contract).

[Organizers, etc.]
Sponsor: National Institute of Technology, Independent Administrative Agency
Co-sponsored by: Nihon Keizai Shimbun
Management: National College of Technology GCON2024 Executive Committee
Sponsorship: [Including planned and pending applications] Cabinet Office, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, National Women's Education Center, National Federation of Colleges of Technology, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Nippon Kikai Academic societies, Japan Robot System Integrators Association, Japan Deep Learning Association, Japan Women Engineers Forum (JWEF), Waffle, Shintaro Yamada D&I Foundation, Japan・Women's Innovative Network (J-Win), Technical College Association
Sponsorship: Planned to sponsor 15 to 25 companies.
Cooperation: Anchor, Kosen Career Education Research Institute, Leave a Nest Co., Ltd.

[Contact] 
National Institute of Technology, Research Promotion Division, Research Promotion Section
Person in charge: Suda, Shinpei, Takeda
TEL: 03-4212-6832
Mail:gcon(☆)kosen-k.go.jp       
*Please change (☆) to an at mark.