Emerging MOT education in Japan

Formal MOT (management of technology) education programs have boomed in the past year after a long period of fermentation. The coming of MOT education provides an additional approach for Japanese firms and industries to revitalize their global competitive advantages that have eroded in the past ten years. This paper analyzes the back-ground of this phenomenon and explores basic driving forces behind it. On the one hand, firms and industry have need for creative professionals in identifying opportunities in emerging technology, planning proper projects and leading timely actions for selected targets; on the other hand, government has a strong desire to create dynamic venturing business by supporting suitable education programs for supplying needed talents. Japan is experiencing a fundamental paradigm shift from technology follower to front-runner in many industries. Firms operating in the new paradigm require workers with different capabilities than those demanded in the previous paradigm. However, the current education system for technology management has failed to provide the requisite creativity and leadership. Needed today are leaders who can generate creative product concepts, formulate strategies to realize those concepts, and implement the chosen strategy; these are the so-called "techno-producers", the concept of which was proposed earlier by Kameoka. Under most circumstances, these key persons do not appear spontaneously. Rather an education system that provides formal training in management is needed to systematically supply these innovators, who later may become techno-producers, especially in high-tech and high-growth industries.