More than a study abroad course — a cross-cultural venture studio
where Leeds students and Nagoya University students build
AI ventures for the societies of tomorrow.
AI & Mobility for Tomorrow's Societies is offered through the Management Information Systems program at CU Boulder's Leeds School of Business — but it runs less like a classroom and more like a seed-stage accelerator.
Developed and led by Matthew Brady, founder of the Human-Centered Technology program, in partnership with Samuel Goodman of Ludus Labs, the course brings CU students together with Nagoya University peers to study Japan's aging society, conduct field research, prototype technology-enabled solutions, and pitch startup concepts grounded in real human needs.
Interdisciplinary. Global. Applied.
Human-centered. Outcomes-driven.
Why Japan?
Japan is the world's most vivid preview of pressures already emerging across every advanced economy: labor shortages, elder care needs, rural depopulation, healthcare strain, mobility barriers, and social isolation. The course positions Japan not as a destination — but as a living test market for tomorrow's societies.
Workflow automation, care support, and workforce augmentation.
Elder care technology, medication support, and mobility systems.
Clinical decision support, patient communication, remote monitoring.
Community infrastructure, transportation, distributed care models.
Mental health, social connection, and community resilience.
Digital tools for knowledge transfer and local continuity.
Technology is not
the protagonist.
People are.
The semester moves like a venture funnel — system first, then tools, then people, then market. Students study Japan from Edo to Reiwa, learn LLMs, AI agents, n8n, Claude Code, Glide and Lovable, then take their ideas to Japan for field validation.
Historical, institutional, and demographic change — Edo to Meiji, Shōwa to Heisei, and into the Reiwa era.
LLMs, AI models, automation, SaaS tools, AI agents, and workflow systems — capability, not magic tricks.
Team formation, ideation, "How might we" questions, and product sketches.
Intercultural teams form online in spring, working across time zones, languages, and ways of thinking.
Hospitals, clinics, elder care, startups, robotics labs, the public sector, and rural communities.
Startup-style pitches at Nagoya University before industry experts, clinicians, and ecosystem leaders.
Microcredentials, portfolio artifacts, networks, confidence — and a roadmap for the next cohort.
Startup ecosystem dynamics, founder support, scaling models.
Accelerator operations, mentorship, venture growth.
Healthcare workflows, patient and clinician needs, medical innovation.
Extended reality in medical education, simulation, and safer care.
Regional startup policy and public-private innovation in Central Japan.
University-based entrepreneurship education and incubation.
Data-driven health coaching and remote lifestyle-disease prevention.
Assistive robotics, rehabilitation, aging-society technology.
Driving simulation, autonomous mobility, aging-community transport.
Rural primary care and community-based healthcare delivery.
The lived experience of aging, end-of-life care, care worker realities.
Public-sector context, policy environment, institutional perspective.
Teams didn't present "ideas." They presented early venture theses — problem, user, technology architecture, go-to-market logic, pricing, risks, and implementation path.
AI-powered clinical documentation and care intelligence — offloading paperwork so clinicians can spend more time delivering care.
A knowledge-sharing platform that raises the bar for how medical teams capture, access, and improve professional expertise.
A multisided marketplace matching corporations seeking meaningful retreats with rural villages facing population decline.
An automatic pill-dispensing and adherence-monitoring system pairing a physical device with a caregiver-facing app.
A privacy-first safety network for elder care: LiDAR, micro-radar, robotics, and app coordination — no cameras, local processing, encrypted.
Students reported measurable gains in the adaptive skills founders and product leaders actually need.
Connected learning to real-world issues (FCQ)
xR Center & medical innovation session rating
Overall program satisfaction
Likelihood to recommend
Best and most insightful two weeks I've had.
The presentation had the biggest impact on what I thought I could personally achieve.
This program gave me the tools to create a usable prototype and present it in front of a board.
Immerse yourself in one of the world's most pressing issues. Japan sits at the forefront of addressing societal challenges — explore how technology, culture, and policy converge to develop solutions the world may depend on tomorrow.
Begin with an online prep course in spring, then join intercultural teams in Japan each May. Design and pitch a startup idea that addresses the challenges of population collapse in a Design Thinking Sprint that blends creativity with practicality.
Workshops, lectures, and field trips led by industry leaders and academic pioneers — AI & Ethics, AI & Epistemology, and How to Know Truth — new perspectives on technology's role in shaping society.
Learn to think critically, adapt to change, and innovate with purpose. Leave with real-world experience, portfolio artifacts, and portable credentials that make you stand out as a future-ready leader.
From cultural immersion to high-impact networking, NUCU is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to grow personally and professionally — and to form lasting connections with peers and mentors from around the world.
"I did not just study AI. I used it to build something for real people in a global market." The microcredential layer translates the course's competencies into market-readable signals.
International venture creation, design thinking, market research, and startup readiness.
Issued on Credly → 技Applied AI, automation, prototyping, and Japan-centric innovation experience.
Issued on LinkedIn →CU Boulder's Leeds School of Business covers the 2026 cohort's two weeks in Tokyo and Nagoya — five student ventures pitched alongside Nagoya University teammates, including first-place winner Anshin Care, a smart medication-adherence system.
Read the full story on colorado.edu →Offered every spring semester at CU Boulder. Seats are limited — the studio runs as a small cohort of roughly 20 students.
Early-bird registration closes
Final registration for the spring cohort
Online prep + NUCU team formation begins
15 days: Tokyo → Nagoya
Questions? Contact Sam Goodman, Program Director
Matthew Brady, Instructor & Founder, Human-Centered Technology
