The final selection of the KOSEN Open Innovation Challenge 2026 was convened by JICA and Nagaoka University of Technology

On June 13, the final session of the KOSEN Open Innovation – Challenge from Africa 2026 (KOI), a hackathon for students of Japan’s National Colleges of Technology jointly organized by JICA and the Nagaoka University of Technology (NUT), was held at the university’s Regional GX Innovation Co-Creation Center in Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture.
Out of 15 teams that applied from across Japan, nine teams representing eight colleges advanced through the document screening stage and gathered for the final round, where they delivered presentations in English and competed with ideas aimed at addressing social development challenges in Africa.

This year, Madagascar and Malawi were selected as the target countries for the competition. The themes were “Turning Unused Biomass and Water Resources into Value” for Madagascar and “Stop the Sound of Rain. Protect Learning.” for Malawi.

The participating teams proposed solutions developed through activities such as experiments conducted at their schools and preliminary interviews with local residents, aiming to address the challenges faced in these countries.

On the day of the final round, presentations were evaluated by a distinguished panel of judges from the public sector, academia, and private industry, including Tadachika Nakayama, Executive Vice President and Professor at NUT, who also serves as Secretary General of KOI.

During the Q&A session, the judges commented that the quality of the presentations improves every year and that participants are effectively incorporating feedback from past participants. Also, many questions focused on the practical implementation and dissemination of the proposed solutions in local communities, such as: “How much would the solution cost and how much effort would be required to implement it?”, “How long could the product continue to be used?”, and “Who would be responsible for spreading the technology locally?” These discussions highlighted the judges’ strong interest in the feasibility and sustainability of the proposals in real-world settings.

Following a rigorous evaluation and voting process by the judging panel, Hachinohe Kosen and Fukushima Kosen were selected as award-winning teams. The teams will next proceed with prototype development and proof-of-concept testing in Japan. Afterward, each team is scheduled to travel to Madagascar or Malawi to conduct field trials and validate their solutions in local settings.


Panel of Judges
●Yoichi Oya – Former Ambassador of Japan to the Republic of Malawi
●Toshihide Nakayama – Vice President, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies(TUFS)
●Mayumi Terano – Associate Professor, Akita International University (AIU)
●Sunyoung Lim – Assistant Professor, Osaka Metropolitan University (OMU)
●Masayuki Sakata – Senior Manager, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu LLC
●Tadachika Nakayama – Professor and Executive Vice President, Nagaoka University of Technology
●Tomomi Kuribayashi – Senior University Research Administrator (URA), Nagaoka University of Technology
●Toshiyuki Nakamura – Special Advisor to the President, JICA
●Mai Tomori – Senior Deputy Director, Africa Department, JICA

●Madagascar Theme: “Turning Unused Biomass and Water Resources into Value”
・Award Winner: Hachinohe Kosen ”One Grain, Zero Waste: Healing Madagascar's Land Through Rice-Based Charcoal & Craft Alcohol Circular Economy”

●Malawi Theme: “Stop the Sound of Rain. Protect Learning.”
・Award Winner: Fukushima Kosen ”A Project to Improve Learning Environments in Malawi through the Introduction of a Rain Noise Reduction System for Corrugated Metal Roofs Using Plant”

In addition, the following teams were recognized with Special Awards.

●Communication Award：Ibaraki Kosen（Madagascar）”KOI TAN ～Rice Husk Biochar for Sustainable Agriculture～”
●Idea Award：Kagoshima Kosen（Madagascar）”One Waste, Two Solutions, Infinite Future From Waste to Sea and Soil”
●Management Award：Akashi Kosen（Malawi）”PAMODZI NDI MVULA Building a Regional Circular System in Harmony with the Rainy Season”
●Idea Contribution Award：Oita Kosen（Madagascar）”Safe Water from Local Resources ～Developing Affordable Filtration Systems for Madagascar～”

Since 2019, KOI has been held 7 times to date, with a total of over 300 participants from 20 Japanese national colleges of technology.

In the past KOIs, students were sent to countries such as Kenya (Nagaoka National College of Technology: development of fertilizer and fodder for American watermilfoil), Rwanda (Kitakyushu National College of Technology and Miyakonojo National College of Technology: development of automatic sugar content measurement device for coffee beans, Ube National College of Technology: development of nutrition and health improvement guidance application with game function), and Nigeria (Sasebo National College of Technology and Kitakyushu National College of Technology: development of self-powered water meter).

The ultimate goal of the project is to apply the solutions (devised by technical college students who have conducted demonstration tests in Africa) to local issues in Japan (reverse innovation). The fertilizer/animal feed project of the American watermilfoil is in fact being put to practical use in Japan after demonstration tests in Africa.

The fertilizer and animal feed production business of the American watermilfoil is now being commercialized in Japan after demonstration experiments in Africa. In recognition of its attempt to combine reverse innovation with efforts to address social development issues in Africa, KOI was awarded the Grand Prize (Prime Minister's Award) of the 2023 Japan Open Innovation Awards (Organized by the Cabinet Office).

●Kosen OI Official Website (in Japanese)
Kosen open innovation challenge | オープンイノベーション (kosen-oi.com)

●Kosen OI 2025 Event Report
The final selection and award ceremony for the winners of the KOSEN Open Innovation Challenge 2025 was convened by JICA and Nagaoka University of Technology ｜ Africa Plaza - JICA