Toyotani Seminar

Seminar

Seminar Learning Content

Beginners are welcome. Students learn IT, data science, and artificial intelligence programming while collaborating with companies on real-world business and management challenges. Through these collaborations, students work on marketing and product planning projects, create social media content, and participate in regional revitalization activities together with local businesses and shopping districts.
By engaging in joint research with companies, students analyze real data rather than theoretical examples, learn how business leaders think, receive feedback on their own ideas, and build practical experience for their future careers.(The content of the assignments is updated and implemented each year based on the needs and requests of the participating companies.)

Social contribution / Local contribution

This is the scene when Toyotani Seminar received an award for contributing to the revitalization of the local area through the Ramen Stamp Rally at the special stage of Narashino Kiratto, Narashino City's largest festival. The mayor of Narashino, the president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the chairman of the executive committee of the Ramen Stamp Rally, President Tokishige, and the seminar leader and vice-seminar leader of the Toyotani Seminar, Toyotani, are lined up.
Nihon University Industrial Engineering students cooperate with local event in Narashino, utilizing SNS and AI (2023/11/08)
Toyotani Seminar, which supported the Ramen Stamp Rally Received a letter of appreciation and commemorative gift from the committee (2022/10/9)
Okubo Mimo Ramen Stamp Rally 2022 Eat, apply, and support the city! (2022/9/3)
Toyotani Laboratory will be hosting the "Okubo/Mitsumi Ramen Stamp Rally" Technical support for operation (2022/06/03)
Ramen restaurant stamp rally in Narashino 14 participating stores (2023/10/27)

WEB/SNS marketing

　This example is an example where when an event was held in collaboration with a region, information was distributed using the homepage and Twitter, and access analysis was conducted on both sides to investigate the marketing effect. The upper part shows the transition in the number of accesses on Twitter, and the lower part shows the transition in the number of accesses on the HP side. At first, the number of accesses to the web homepage increased due to access to the event application page, but since then, the number of accesses to the homepage has not increased because there is no need to refer to the homepage. However, when we analyzed the access to Twitter, we found that the number of accesses was increasing, such as following the instructions posted and referring to the accounts for each store without changing the screen to the website.

Contributing to the Community

To energize local ramen shops in Nara, Chiba, we are conducting a stamp rally event using smartphones. For this purpose, students from Toyotani Seminar are creating and supporting the operation of Twitter accounts, websites, and other necessary information distribution channels as part of practical marketing education.
Nihon University Industrial Engineering students cooperate with local event in Narashino, utilizing SNS and AI (2023/11/08)
Toyotani Seminar, which supported the Ramen Stamp Rally Received a letter of appreciation and commemorative gift from the committee (2022/10/9)
Okubo Mimo Ramen Stamp Rally 2022 Eat, apply, and support the city! (2022/9/3)
Toyotani Laboratory will be hosting the "Okubo/Mitsumi Ramen Stamp Rally" Technical support for operation (2022/06/03)
Ramen restaurant stamp rally in Narashino 14 participating stores (2023/10/27)

Practical WEB & SNS Marketing

Through collaborative research with small and medium-sized enterprises, we conduct access analysis of websites and SNS. We investigate where the causes lie for stagnant sales of products and services, and what products customers are interested in based on current analysis. Then, through discussions in the seminar, we propose improvement ideas, utilizing perspectives different from those of the companies and leveraging unique student insights. We also analyze the reactions to actual distribution of the ramen stamp rally, examining data and devising improvement strategies.

Community Contribution

The shopping districts around Keisei-Ōkubo Station and Mimomi Station, where our university is located, have seen shops closing down and being replaced by parking lots or condominiums, leading to a decline in the vibrancy of the local area. It all began when Mr. Takeya, the president of the Ramen Carnival organizing committee, consulted with me about revitalizing the declining shopping district. At that moment, I felt that using IT to support the local community in Narashino, Chiba, alongside students from my seminar, was something I could do.
The photo shows a special stage set up for "Narashino Kiratto," the largest festival in Narashino City. This was taken when the Toyotani Seminar received an award for contributing to the revitalization of the local community. In the photo, you can see the Narashino City Mayor, the Chamber of Commerce President, the Carnival Executive Committee Chairman, the President of Tokishige, alongside the seminar leader, assistant leader, and Toyotani, all lined up together.

Learning AI and Data Science from the Basics

You can learn AI and data science from the basics using the programming language Python. This skill is in high demand worldwide, and data scientists and AI engineers are in a very high-demand situation in the job market. With this, you can develop new services and products that were previously unimaginable using IT and AI, and automate tasks that people find tedious. This knowledge and technology can be described as revolutionary and disruptive innovations that have the potential to change the world.

Learning the Basics of IT and Management

You can learn the basics of IT while developing smartphone applications based on HTML. Through this, you can gain a solid foundation in IT. Instead of mere textbook exercises, you will experience a great sense of accomplishment by designing and building something yourself or in a group, aligned with a specific theme. The programming skills you acquire will undoubtedly become a significant asset in your future endeavors in society.
You'll learn to consider different perspectives and think about how to make a team successful by listening to viewpoints different from your own. This is crucial, and through seminar assignments, you'll simultaneously learn technical skills. With these skills, in your fourth-year graduation research, you can develop applications or systems that don't yet exist in the world. This programming ability is essential for those aspiring to become IT engineers. Additionally, for those interested in becoming future managers or executives, being able to develop systems or applications on their own will enable them to realize their ideas more quickly and concretely. Moreover, since they can provide very specific instructions to vendors or subordinates based on their own understanding, this knowledge becomes a powerful asset.

Utilizing AI for store management

　 In collaboration with [MELON LAB. × DANISH LAB. Mimomi Store (Melon Bread Shop)] located at Mimomi Station, we have started initiatives to utilize AI in management, such as predicting sales and preparation quantities based on past visitor numbers, sales figures, temperature, humidity, weather, and seasons.

SNS marketing practice

　We are currently conducting research on SNS marketing in collaboration with two Japanese confectionery companies. Utilizing the unique ideas of students, we provide support such as taking photos for X and Instagram and creating promotional videos. We also enhance content by analyzing access to our homepage and SNS. By verifying the results and incorporating management opinions, you will gain a management perspective. Even if a large number of customers suddenly arrived at the store, the dough could not be baked right away. It requires a process called fermentation. To this end, advanced prediction calculations using highly accurate AI are required.