Nissan program exposes 5th-graders to manufacturing

Nissan Motor Company Ltd. on July 5 kicked off the "Nissan Monozukuri Caravan", an educational program aimed at providing fifth-grade primary school students in Tokyo, Japan, with hands-on manufacturing experience in a classroom environment.

Original program logo created by Nissan Design Center		Scene during trial lesson

The Nissan Monozukuri Caravan is a unique program from Nissan to introduce students to the interesting world of manufacturing. It was designed to be an experiential program to enable the students to experience the fun of monozukuri in the classroom. The Caravan comprises a 90-minute lesson delivered in two sessions. First, the students learn about process improvement (kaizen) using assembly blocks. In the second session, the students get to experience "actual" monozukuri as they come into contact with actual automotive parts and tools under the supervision of experienced vehicle assemblers.

This program was developed for elementary schools in Kanagawa Prefecture. One of the pilot lessons will be conducted with the fifth-grade students at the Yokohama Municipal Tateno Elementary School (Naka Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture; Principal Michiko Ouchi), scheduled on July 10.

Nissan's corporate citizenship activities are founded on three pillars - education, environment and humanitarian efforts. This Caravan program forms a part of Nissan's educational outreach program, which leverages off Nissan's strength and expertise in monozukuri. The program has been achieved in cooperation with the Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education. Nissan's other educational activity includes an environmental lecture program with the elementary school in Kanagawa Prefecture, using the X-Trail Fuel Cell Vehicle to demonstrate Nissan's environment-friendly technology.

Nissan vice chairman Tadao Takahashi, who led the development of the program, said he was extremely pleased to kick-off the Nissan Monozukuri Caravan in Kanagawa Prefecture, the birthplace of the Nissan company. He reiterated that Nissan will continue to utilize its capital and knowledge resources to contribute to long-term corporate citizenship activities in order to create a prosperous society.

Nissan Monozukuri Caravan Program Outline
Period: From July 2007 onward
Target: Primary schools in Kanagawa Prefecture
Application method: Introduction from Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education
Lesson content (total 90 minutes): Session to experience process improvement activities using assembly blocks and session to experience "actual" manufacturing