Senden Kaigi Award, Junior High and High School Student Category
Screening Report Vol.1
What is the answer that
junior high and high school students gave to the challenge that the pharmaceutical industry is an innovative industry?
The judging report of "Senden Kaigi Award, Junior High and High School Student Section
Drug discovery through AI, the use of digital data, and rapid response to unknown viruses.
The pharmaceutical industry is now entering an era of great change. How will junior and senior high school students, who will lead the next generation, perceive this industry that continues to evolve at an unprecedented speed, and in what words will they express their views?
The theme for the 63rd Senden Kaigi Award in the category of junior high and high school students was "a catchphrase that expresses that the pharmaceutical industry is an innovative industry.
The challenge was to go beyond the image of the industry as
simply
"an industry that makes drugs," and to put into words the innovation, passion, and challenges for the future that lie behind the industry.This task, which is not easy even for adults, was earnestly tackled by junior and senior high school students from all over Japan, and numerous entries were received.
This article reports on the behind-the-scenes selection process for the "Sponsor's Award," which was conducted while taking in the thoughts and feelings that went into each of the words.
The Keyword "1/30,000" Stimulated the Ideas of Junior High and High School Students
When you hear the word "pharmaceutical company," what comes to mind? Generally speaking, you may be familiar with cold remedies and ointments. However, there are so many medicines in the world, including those prescribed in hospitals and used for various treatments. The probability of a single new drug being released into the world is a mere 1 in 30,000. It takes 9 to 16 long years and a huge amount of money to go from basic research to approval. Even so, the pharmaceutical industry never gives up and continues to take on challenges, making full use of cutting-edge science, for the sake of patients facing diseases for which there is still no cure. This is the pharmaceutical industry.
We would like to make the values and challenges of
the
industry more accessible to the younger generation, to improve their understanding of the industry, and to develop human resources for the future. With this in mind, we have decided to sponsor the "Senden Kaigi Award for Junior and Senior High School Students".The speed of technological innovation, such as cutting-edge biotechnology and AI drug discovery, has been accelerating in recent years. However, no matter how much technology advances, it is meaningless unless it has social value and leads to people's happiness. In particular, the pharmaceutical industry's perspective alone is not sufficient to promote "drug discovery innovation" and "realization of drug discovery with patient and citizen participation" through "co-creation," as stated in our "Industrial Vision 2035. The sensitivity of patients and consumers, who are the recipients of medical care, and especially the young people who will play the leading roles in the future, will be indispensable for new drug development in the future. For this reason, we have invited junior high and high school students to submit catchphrases that express the innovation, passion, and excitement for the future of the pharmaceutical industry from their unique perspectives and words.
The number of entries exceeded expectations and the screening process was unprecedented.
It is not easy to express the complexity and scale of the pharmaceutical industry in a short catchphrase. In addition to the broad meaning of the word "innovative," it is also difficult to describe not only the products themselves, but also the thoughts of the people behind the products and the technological advances.
This assignment was an extremely difficult one, requiring a solid understanding of the essence of the pharmaceutical industry and the sensitivity of junior and senior high school students to put it into words.
However,
the number of applications received during the two-month application period far exceeded our expectations. This is the best proof that many junior and senior high school students were interested in the unknown field of the pharmaceutical industry, and were willing to weave together their words despite their worries. In response to their enthusiasm, the screening process was conducted in five stages, involving a total of more than 100 people, including JPMA executives. This was an unprecedented attempt by the JPMA to involve such a large number of people and to make decisions based on repeated discussions.
The judges were asked to consider the following questions:
"
Why did you think this copy was good?""What thoughts did the junior high and high school students put into this expression?"
Because many of the entries were of such a high level that it was hard to believe they were from junior high and high school students, each of the judges took the selection process seriously, and sometimes had to wrack their brains to decide. It was a moment when the words of junior high and high school students moved the hearts of adults and elicited serious discussion.
The words, which were easy to understand but hit the essence, "gave me an "aha" moment.
Throughout the judging process, many of the judges were unanimous in their appreciation of the high level of translation ability of the junior high and high school students. When you have been in the industry for a long time, you tend to get caught up in technical terms and precise definitions. However, the works of junior high and high school students were told from the viewpoint of "what kind of hope it would bring to the patients," rather than from a verbal technique. It was not a matter of logic, but a real-life experience of "how I would feel" as a consumer. I feel that this honest perspective was a major factor in moving the judges' hearts. The four judges who had just finished the screening also reflected on their efforts this time.
A perspective unique to junior high and high school students, full of surprises and discoveries
I was genuinely surprised by the number of applicants. I was deeply moved by the fact that young people were so highly motivated to submit their own ideas on this difficult theme. When I looked at the entries, there were a variety of expressions used, and when I looked at the intent of why they chose the words they did, I often thought, 'I see.
This time,
the theme was innovative industry, and I was amazed at the softness of young people's minds. When you are in the industry, the theme of innovation tends to be clichéd and rigid, but the junior high and high school students did not use direct words, but used words such as "hero," for example, and in some cases they used soft expressions such as "a person who helps us when we are in trouble," which was very refreshing.JPMA
is now focusing on "co-creation," or co-creation as its keyword, and we would like to incorporate this spirit into our future activities. Medicines are more familiar to us than we think, and there will be times in our lives when we will need them. We hope to "create together" with junior and senior high school students the image of the importance of this industry and the value of medicines, as shown in the entries this time.
Chairperson, Public Affairs Committee, Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association
Takeshi Tada (TAKEDA PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY LIMITED)
The sharp perspective of junior high and high school students that breaks the mold of the "frog in the well
The difficult part of the judging process this time was narrowing down the entries from a large number of very high-level entries. As for the judging criteria, we had to choose words that evoked the theme of the association, "Innovation," as the first priority. There were many entries that we had to reject because they were slightly out of line with the theme, even though they were very interesting ideas or showed great ability. Those of us in the industry tend to be "frogs in the well," and we tend to use difficult technical terms as a matter of course. However, many of the junior and senior high school students were able to express the difficult concept of drug discovery innovation in simple terms, and at the same time, they had a sharp point of view. They used easy words, yet they hit the essence of the concept. It was a great discovery to come across such works. As we have been telling our students in the on-site classes, we believe in "not being discouraged by failures" and that "innovation is born from failures. Thinking through the causes of failure gives birth to new ideas, and at the end of this chain of events, a medicine is born with a probability of "1 in 30,000". This steady and honest challenge is what the pharmaceutical industry is all about. I would be very happy if, through
this
Sendenkaigi Award, you could learn about the industry and, as a result of your interest in researching it, enter the industry in the future.
Vice Chairperson, Public Affairs Committee, Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association
Yoshimasa Kyokawa (SHIONOGI & CO., LTD.)
Public Affairs Committee, Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association
Ryuta Imura (ONO PHARMACEUTICAL CO., LTD.)
Selecting the best works that exceeded expectations from multiple perspectives
I was very excited and curious to see what kind of catchphrases would be created by junior and senior high school students who knew little about the industry, but in fact there were so many surprisingly good entries that I was really worried about the selection process.
Among them, I set several viewpoints in my own way for the selection. For example, "from a viewpoint centered on the challenges of the pharmaceutical industry" and "from a viewpoint centered on the needs of patients.
I compared the entries from each of these perspectives, thought about which copy would resonate with me, and carefully selected each one."
Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, Public Affairs Committee
Yusuke Mori (Sumitomo Pharma CO., LTD.)
Ideas that will not be buried even in the age of AI, and that can be found in as many ideas as there are people
"Despite the age of AI and other technologies that can be utilized, no two were the same, and many exceeded our expectations.
Although the selection process was extremely difficult, it was a very stimulating time for me as I was exposed to diverse ideas from junior high and high school students, which broadened my own perspective."