The Daiwa Securities Group is determined to help society enjoy sustained development. Now, it is giving back to the community, using its knowledge of its core business and its expertise accumulated over the years. One of these activities is education of young people in the areas of economics and finance.

The Daiwa Securities Group is keenly aware of the importance of education and research in the fields of economics and finance. Its initiatives address two main areas.
　 The first is the sponsorship of education and research through partnerships with universities and graduate schools. The Group is providing programs that teach practical business know-how, such as financial business courses by group employee instructors, while offering research positions with a focus on cutting-edge financial technology.
　 The second initiative entails support for programs that are carried out in the classrooms, as well as promotional activities to popularize the study of economics among elementary, junior high, and senior high school students. By learning about economics and society in secondary school, students will understand social interaction and discover the importance of work.

The Basic Course of Entrepreneurship and Business Planning, a Daiwa Securities Group-sponsored course at Waseda University, provides practical financial and securities markets expertise. The course is taught by part-time instructors who are actual Daiwa Securities Group employees engaged in work in this field.

The Basic Course of Entrepreneurship and Business Planning is a course that provides fundamental knowledge to university students ready to take on the challenge of becoming real entrepreneurs. The precursor of this course, the Waseda/Daiwa TLO* Pilot Project, was started in 1997.
　 The course is offered to undergraduate students in their first through fourth years. Successful managers and young executives at newly listed companies are invited to come and speak to students about their experiences. These basic lectures cover topics such as the importance of management philosophy and vision, finance and accounting, legal matters, and approaches to intellectual property.

Lecture by Eiji Azuma, Senior managing director at the Daiwa Institute of Research

　With this basic knowledge, the students prepare actual business plans. Employees at NIF SMBC Ventures Co. Ltd., the venture capital division at the Daiwa Securities Group, provide guidance including pointers on creating a presentation to venture capitalists. The course follows actual business practices, and offers guidance and evaluation from actual business professionals. The course culminates in a Business Plan Contest. The creator of the winning business plan is given free use of an office at the Waseda University Intellectual Property Center for one year.

Lecture by Eiji Suzue, Executive officer at the Daiwa Institute of Research Ltd.

"I learned things that are actually useful, ranging from financial affairs to effective presentation methods. Furthermore, I received expert advice from a professional, which I was able to put to use in my business plan." These are the words from a student at the School of Political Science and Economics at Waseda University, Mr. Taichi Murakami, who won the 2005 Business Plan Contest. "I received an internship at the Daiwa Institute of Research, and at class, I heard entrepreneurs recount their stories. It was a great experience."
　 By helping outstanding, enthusiastic student entrepreneurs with good ideas to realize their dreams, the Daiwa Securities Group is contributing to the revitalization of the Japanese economy.

Mr. Taichi Murakami in his company start-up office at the Waseda University Intellectual Property Center, after winning the Business Plan Contest.

Since June 2005, the Daiwa Securities Group Inc. has been providing support to Finance Park, an educational facility set up to imitate a real economy and provide students an interesting way of learning economics and finance. The park, located in Tokyo's Shinagawa-ku, is the first of its kind in Japan. Established by the NPO Junior Achievement Japan*, Finance Park gives children an opportunity to learn and experience economics. There are about 1,500 students from 18 public junior high schools in Shinagawa-ku. The students, playing different roles in society, learn about how their local community works and the function of economics within the community. They also learn how to manage their lifestyle, deciding on various plans that target living expenses and actual expenditure, as well as plans for individual investment. The students then go round to different booths set up by 14 participating companies and organizations. By putting principles learnt into action, the students not only accumulate knowledge, but also learn practical skills. At the Daiwa Securities Group Inc. booth, the students learn how to invest in stocks for asset management.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. booth at Finance Park.

Finance Park opening ceremony.

* Junior Achievement was founded in 1919 in the United States, and promotes education in the areas of corporate management, economics, and finance, together with practical experience. Currently, the organization receives both financial support as well as human support in the form of instructors who are, in fact, corporate executives and employees from some 40,000 firms. Every year, 4.5 million youths participate in Junior Achievement programs worldwide. Junior Achievement Japan was established in 1995.

The Student Company Program (SCP) offered by Junior Achievement Japan is a program for senior high school students to learn about economics through practical experience. The students establish and manage a real company and thus learn how a company operates and the economy functions. Through this exercise, students develop the ability to make independent judgments and hone their decision-making skills. They also learn to take responsibility for the company's results. Since fiscal 2003, the Daiwa Securities Group Inc. has supported the SCP in Ritsumeikan Senior High School in Kyoto, as part of the school's regular curriculum. Group employees are sent to the school to provide practical business advice as "external directors" to the company established and managed by the students. The students show remarkable growth and maturity through the program by directly tackling business problems, and using their own abilities to solve them.

SCP participants discussing company business.

Candleholder produced by student enterprise, Sho Inc.