This year, Hokkaido University's Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere (FSC) will launch "HOKUDAI Tech Academy (HUTA)," a practical data human resource development program.

This program is a hands-on program for Hokkaido University students that combines field science with cloud computing and AI. Participants will go out into the field, such as forests and zoos, to confront real-world data and aim to find solutions to real-world problems with their own hands. There are no restrictions on faculty, year level, major, or prior knowledge.

■Program Structure
This program consists of three modules.
Since all modules are interconnected, participation in all sessions is generally required.

• Module 01 | Field x Data Fundamentals
  July 2nd (Thu) & 3rd (Fri), Hokkaido University Campus
  Use your smartphone to 3D scan trees. By combining this with open data, you'll develop the perspective and methods for capturing on-site information as data.
• Module 02 | Cloud and AI Fundamentals
  August 21st (Fri) and 24th (Mon), Hokkaido University Campus
  Engineers from Google Cloud (Google Cloud Japan LLC) and Amazon Web Services (AWS (Amazon Web Services Japan LLC)) will visit the university in person. Through hands-on training, students will learn the fundamentals of cloud tools used for organizing, sharing, and visualizing data.
• Module 03 | PBL on Regional and Social Issues
  September 8th (Tue) Maruyama Zoo / September 17th (Thu) Hokkaido University Campus
  Using real data from Maruyama Zoo as a case study, teams will work on data analysis. They will discover "the value of Maruyama Zoo that no one has seen yet" and compile their findings into a presentation.

■Overview

• Event Period: July to September 2026, 6 days total + office hours
• Event hours: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
• Planned venues: Sapporo Campus and Maruyama Zoo (Sapporo City)
• Target audience: Undergraduate, master's, and doctoral students of Hokkaido University (excluding students taking individual courses).
• Capacity: 20 people (first-come, first-served)
• Participation fee: Free
Application deadline: June 26, 2026 (Friday)

For more details, please click here. *This will take you to the website of Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere (FSC) at Hokkaido University.