Lean Startup Entrepreneurial Training

Date

Saturday, September 12, 2026 - 09:00 to Sunday, September 13, 2026 - 18:00

Location

C209 and C210 (Main Campus Center Building)

Description

Lean Startup Entrepreneurship Training

September 12 (Sat)-13 (Sun), 2026 | C209 and C210 (OIST Center Building)

October | 2 online meetings | mid-point check-in and final presentation

Discover the Lean Startup Methodology

Innovation begins in the lab. But taking the first step outside the lab requires the right mindset, methods, and mentors. This program is your launchpad.

Learn how to identify commercial opportunities that can emerge from academic research by working on a real technology development case. In this program, participants will use, as case studies, technologies developed at OIST and will apply skills learned in the course to identify potential customers of the technology.

Led by experienced instructors from the U.S. National Science Foundation I-Corps™ network—one of the most respected startup training programs in the world—this three-day workshop equips participants with the tools to test, validate, and refine their ideas using real-world feedback.

Who Should Join:

  • OIST Researchers, students, and administrators exploring innovation
  • OIST Proof of Concept (POC), Technology Pioneer Fellows (TPF), and COI-NEXT funded projects
  • Anyone considering applying for Proof of Concept funding programs
  • Aspiring entrepreneurs
  • PARKS* PJ学生, Step 1, Step 2-1, and Step 2-2 gap funded projects                                                       (* Platform for All Regions of Kyushu and Okinawa Startup Ecosystem)

Teams

Sign up either as a team or as an individual with or without a technology. Closer to the time the list of technologies and ideas that participants are bringing to the Lean Startup workshop this year will be shared here. If you sign up as an individual without a team you may be assigned to work on one of these exciting projects.

Program

This course consists of one weekend workshop, online mentoring sessions (minimum of 2), and 20 customer discovery interviews. The first 2 sessions are in-person.

  • First mentoring session | online | scheduled between Sept. 4-11
  • Weekend Workshop:
    • Saturday, September 12th 09:00-17:30 in-person
    • Sunday, September 13th 09:00-17:30 in-person
  • Second mentoring session | online | scheduled between Sept. 14 - Oct 1
  • Mid-Point Check-In (mandatory group session) | online | Date TBD October 8:00-10:00am
  • Final Presentation (mandatory group session) | online | Date TBD October 8:00-10:00am

This training is supported by OIST's Innovator's Toolbox sessions. If you are planning to join this training please also join:

1. Innovator's Toolbox: Introduction to Lean Startup | August 13, 2026 | 13:30-15:30 | C209

2. Innovator's Toolbox: Lean Startup Pre-Course Deliverables | September 3, 2026 | 13:30-15:30 | C210

Register HERE

Certificate

Awarded to participants who complete the required number of interviews (20).

Questions?

Contact Venture Development: vd@oist.jp (Attn: Caitlin Clouse)

All-OIST Category: 
Innovation

Subscribe to the OIST Calendar: Right-click to download, then open in your calendar application.