Yusuke Mizuno, CEO of Life is Tech Co., Ltd.

2024.12.16

Spreading exciting education around the world

◾️Profile
Born in 1982, he graduated from the Faculty of Science and Technology at Keio University and completed his graduate studies there. While attending graduate school, he worked as a part-time physics instructor at Kaisei High School for two years, then worked for a human resources consulting company before founding Life is Tech in 2010. While focusing on combining education and technology to enable each junior and senior high school student to "learn to change the world," he also works with companies and local governments to develop the next generation of digital entrepreneurs who will change society for the better.

Yusuke Mizuno, CEO of Life is Tech, has had a strong interest in "education" and "society" since his student days. After gaining experience as a teacher, he felt the need to change society as a whole in order to realize his ideal education, and decided to start his own company. We spoke with Mizuno, who now combines education and IT to provide learning opportunities that are useful in the real world.

Ever since I was a student, I have had a deep interest in "education" and "society." I was particularly passionate about physics, a science-based subject. However, at the same time, I also had deep doubts about the education system. Looking at the students around me, it increasingly seemed as if they were studying only to get into college, and I myself began to wonder, "Is this really the way it should be?" It was at this time that I began to seriously consider what my ideal education was and how to make it a reality.

Existing education is very rigid and uniform. I have always believed that the study of physics itself is a "science that seeks the essence of things." However, I had strong doubts about the existing education system that teaches "correct answers" imposed by society, and I began to believe that education that respects individuality more was necessary. This thought drove me to pursue a teaching license.

◾️Change not only education but society as well

For four years, starting from my freshman year of university, I pursued my teaching license with the desire to change the education system. While juggling teaching practice and studying for my teaching license alongside a busy science curriculum was quite challenging, it often gave me a sense of fulfillment. During my teaching practice, interacting with students reaffirmed my desire to realize the ideal education. After that, while continuing my graduate studies, I taught part-time at a private high school for two years. This experience determined the direction of my future career. While working as a teacher, I realized that "you can't really understand true education until you get out into the world." I gradually came to believe that "to change education, we need to change not just the classroom, but society as a whole." So, to gain work experience, I decided to work for a human resources consulting company that was attracting attention as a venture.

In my work, I often had contact with presidents of small and medium-sized enterprises, and seeing their spirit of challenge and passion for their businesses gave me a strong desire to "do something new myself." Through these experiences, I developed a strong sense that not only academia, but society as a whole was "demanding change," and I became determined to take action to change education.

◾️For ideal education

After my experience working in a company, I decided to start my own business. My team members were friends from my tennis club and colleagues who had worked at the same venture company.

At first, rather than considering the specific business model or service content, I was more focused on "what kind of education I wanted to provide." To provide the ideal education, it was important to first create a worldview and share that vision with everyone. During this startup phase, I read countless books and studied case studies of various successful people. The most memorable story was that of Soup Stock founder Masamichi Toyama. His idea of "A Day in Soup" inspired me to believe that education, too, can be told as a story. Rather than simply providing education, I clearly outlined a vision of "what kind of world we wanted to create" and "what kind of people would lead what kind of lives," and resolved to reflect this in our service. Shortly after starting the business, we planned a work experience camp for junior and senior high school students, but this never came to fruition. As I pondered what to do next, I remembered how, during my time as a part-time lecturer, many students who loved IT would ask me to "look at what I created!"

I happened to learn that an IT camp for children was being held in Silicon Valley, and I wanted to bring it to Japan. I actually went to Silicon Valley to inspect the site and held a programming camp for junior and senior high school students interested in the IT field. This was the beginning of "Life is Tech." Since then, I have ventured into various businesses, and am now focusing on providing "Life is Tech Lessons," online programming learning materials for schools. This has enabled us to deliver high-quality digital education to more junior and senior high school students, regardless of geographical location. We have also expanded into areas such as corporate reskilling support and DX (digital transformation), working to bring about change not only in education but in society as a whole.

In addition, the junior and senior high school students at the Life is Tech camp are taught by university student mentors. The university student mentor training program "Leaders' is also held.

◾️Message to students

I highly recommend going abroad while you're a student. Once you graduate and start working, you'll find yourself with less and less time. Rather than living by your own values, learning about diversity and seeing other people's ways of life will be the greatest investment you can make in yourself. And live each day with passion and determination. In my case, my passion for education and my desire to change society as a whole led me down the path of entrepreneurship. I hope to continue working hard to influence more people and lead society in a better direction through the field of education.

Interviewed by Student Newspaper Online on October 7, 2024 by Chuo University third-year student Renpo Maeda