**Abstract**

Our Japanese industry and university project group at Aoyama Gakuin University carried out two types of development and demonstration classes as part of new educational programs to create human resources focused on future strategy design over several years. In response to social issues related to SDGs and the circular economy (CE) that may arise in the future, new human resources who can formulate SDG/CE business scheme documents to solve these social issues are called "business producers." New educational methods that combine both project-based learning (PBL) and active learning (AL) to create business producers were developed to accommodate hybrid group work exercises. Specifically, educational digital transformation (DX) technology was integrated to ensure a flexible response to the new normal following COVID-19. As prerequisites to develop the four types of human resources that make up the SDGs/CE business scheme, the learning of theories and mechanisms pertinent to the various advanced technologies is desirable. These new human resources equipped with specialized knowledge and practical skills are called "system creators." A practical hands-on training program to enhance the skills of the system creators through future strategy design was created to cover the following subjects: IoT and platform services, as well as metaverse experiences.

**Keywords:** future strategy design, business producer, hybrid group work exercise, system creator, hands-on training program, sustainable development goals (SDGs), circular economy (CE), education DX

## **1. Introduction**

The Future Strategy Design Promotion Conference features a focus onindustryacademia collaboration, of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Human Resources Development Partnership Research Institute of Aoyama Gakuin University in Japan aimed to develop two types of new human resources over several years: (1) business producers who are capable of future strategy design (hereafter business producer) and (2) system creators who are capable of future strategy design (hereafter system creator). In response to social issues related to the SDGs and the circular economy (CE) that may arise in the future, the present research group aimed to create new human resources who could formulate SDGs/CE business scheme documents to solve these social issues and thus called "business producers." As a prerequisite to the development of the four types of group human resources that can formulate SDG/CE business schemes, learning the theories and mechanisms related to the various advanced technologies is desirable. Therefore, a new human resource group equipped with specialized knowledge and practical skills is called "system creators."

The research team has been working on developing and demonstrating programs to be implemented in university education. Specifically, the research group focused on hybrid-type group work exercises for business producers and hands-on training education for system creators.

The COVID-19 pandemic made it impossible to conduct face-to-face classes for all subjects, and there was an urgent need to introduce online classes in the form of ondemand, real, and hybrid classes. As part of a digital transformation (DX) subsidy project promoted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) in 2021, advanced higher education institutions in Japan further accelerated the conversion to educational DX in the post-COVID-19 era.

Therefore, to develop these new human resources, the research team has been engaged in developing new educational methods for hybrid-type group work exercises that combine both project-based learning (PBL) and active learning (AL) in industry-academia joint research.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) uses the broad term "Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM)" to encompass the fields of chemistry, computer science, information technology (IT), engineering, geosciences, life sciences, mathematical sciences, physics, astronomy, social sciences (anthropology, economics, psychology, and sociology), and STEM educational research [1]. The character of STEM education has evolved from a set of overlapping disciplines into a more integrated and interdisciplinary approach to learning and skill development. This new approach includes the teaching of academic concepts through real-world applications of theory and combines formal and informal learning methods in schools, the community, and the workplace. It seeks to impart various skills, such as critical thinking, problemsolving, cooperation, and adaptability.

Therefore, the research team has been engaged in developing another new practical hands-on training program to promote the future strategy design capabilities of system creators, aiming to promote the experiential learning of the theories and mechanisms for the various advanced technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), platforms, artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR)/augmented reality (AR), and metaverse.

Thus, this research paper is organized as follows. Section 2 discusses two types of human resource development programs for future strategy design, with a specific focus on hybrid group work exercises for business producers and hands-on training

*Educational Programs of Business Producers and System Creators for Future Strategy Design… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110029*

for system creators. Section 3 discusses curriculum design and SDGs/CE business schemes for business producers, with a focus on hybrid group work exercises combined with PBL and AL. Team-based PBL as part of the multi-side platform (MSP) business model aimed at solving issues related to SDGs and CE are also discussed. Four different types of group roles for AL and SDGs/CE business schemes as final deliverables for each team/group are also outlined. In Section 4, shared digital whiteboards and DX learning environment systems for business producers are highlighted. Class operation management methods before, during, and after classes and how to use DX learning environment platforms (Eps) corresponding to regular class times are shared. Furthermore, class operation management methods corresponding to special class times and DX learning EP are discussed. In Section 5, the factors affecting the handson training of system creates are outlined. Specifically, these factors include the curriculum, the use of Micro:bit, the use of obniz, and experiences of the metaverse on the Spatial platform. This paper ends with a conclusion.
