A team consisting of graduate students of the Mechanical and Systems Engineering Division at Okayama University’s Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology was awarded an encouragement award at the 2018 Campus Venture Grand Prix Chugoku held on January 21 under the sponsorship of The Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun. A team of Okayama University students won a prize at the competition for the eighth consecutive year.

A total of 85 entries from 15 universities or colleges, junior colleges, technical colleges, and vocational schools in the Chugoku region applied for the contest. Focusing on the inconvenience and problems, including losses, of a credit card, the team of Hironori Masuda, Atsushi Arakawa, and Naoki Ueda of our university’s Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology proposed a “virtual credit system utilizing biometrics.” The originality of the proposal, which they came up with based on the idea of wearing a credit card, was valued highly, leading to the team receiving the award. 　
The winning idea was proposed at a lecture of “Advanced Engineering Design” of the Mechanical and Systems Engineering Division of the graduate school.
This competition was held for the purpose of granting awards to outstanding plans, supporting students aiming to start new businesses, creating new industries, and developing human resources.