News

The Waseda University Institute for Business and Finance (Director: Hiroshi Kanno, Professor, Graduate School of Business and Finance, Faculty of Commerce, Waseda University) will launch the second cohort of The Global Leader Accelerator Programme (GLAP), an executive development program jointly developed with the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School.

For a second time, the program has been selected for the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) initiative to build an industry-academia reskilling ecosystem for industrial growth, following its selection last year.

In the previous GLAP cohort, 41 leaders from 27 leading Japanese companies participated.

Building on the outcomes of the previous cohort and feedback from participating companies, this year’s program has been further enhanced to develop the next generation of business leaders for Japanese companies.

Developing the Business Leaders Japanese Companies Need

Companies are operating in an increasingly complex environment shaped by demographic decline, digital transformation, geopolitical risk and other major changes. Against this backdrop, developing leaders who can take a global view of society and industry and envision the future of their companies in response to change has become a critical factor in corporate competitiveness.

A Practice-Oriented Program Jointly Developed with the University of Oxford

GLAP is an executive development program jointly delivered by faculty members from the Waseda University Institute for Business and Finance and the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School.

The program combines preliminary online sessions with an intensive five-day residential program in Tokyo. Through lectures and action learning, participants will develop strategic plans addressing real management challenges within their own companies. Japanese–English simultaneous interpretation will be provided, allowing participants to take part in the program regardless of their language proficiency.

Program Enhanced Based on Last Year’s Experience

For the second cohort, the program has been further developed to reflect feedback from last year’s participants and the companies that sponsored their participation.

Key enhancements include:

• Encouraging multiple participants from each company to strengthen the sharing of learning within organizations
• Expanding guest lectures by senior business executives
• Building a community in which participants can continue learning from one another after completing the program
• Continuously improving the program through ongoing feedback to participating companies

The program is designed not only to support individual learning, but also to contribute to leadership development within participating companies.

■ Program Overview

Program: The Global Leader Accelerator Programme (GLAP)
Program period: December 2026–February 2027 (scheduled)
Format:
Online pre-sessions
Five-day intensive residential program in Tokyo
Language: Japanese and English (Japanese interpretation provided for English presentations)
Key topics:
Global business environment
Purpose and corporate strategy
Organizational transformation
Leadership
Analysis of management challenges and strategy development through action learning
Applications:
Details will be posted on the following website (Japanese only). https://www.waseda.jp/fcom/wbf/education/executive/glap

◆ About the Waseda University Institute for Business and Finance

The Waseda University Institute for Business and Finance promotes both fundamental and applied research in the fields of business and finance and serves as a core research institution in these areas. It also seeks to contribute broadly to society by sharing research outcomes and developing professionals with advanced expertise.

The Institute was established on September 1, 2017, building on the former Waseda University Institute for Research in Business Administration and the Waseda Business School Research Center. While continuing the activities of these two predecessor centers, it undertakes a wide range of initiatives, including non-degree executive education, joint and commissioned research with companies, organizations and external research institutions, as well as publications, lectures and symposiums.

For Corporate Inquiries

Institute for Business and Finance, Waseda University
E-mail:  [email protected]