Japanese TV Highlights Student Apps Recognized at the MIT App Inventor Summit

Two award-winning App Inventor projects from Japan recently got some well-deserved attention from local television.

QAB’s CATCHY sat down with high school student Karen Kochi to talk about Kokyo, an app she created after her family became spread across Okinawa, Osaka, and Tokyo. Inspired by her mother’s experience eating alone, Kokyo helps families find time to share meals online, think about nutrition, and keep the conversation going even when they live far apart. Karen brought the project to the MIT App Inventor Global Education Summit this summer, where it received the Design Excellence Award.

It’s a wonderful look at the story behind the app and at how a very personal problem can become the starting point for technology with much broader potential.

Another Japanese team was recently featured by TV Kanazawa’s Telekin NEWS. The four students behind My Stick mapped accessibility information at restaurants in their community, down to details such as step heights and door widths. Their work even prompted one restaurant to add a ramp. My Stick received the Summit’s Community Impact Award.

Both projects reached the Summit through the Japan Wagamama Awards, organized by IRODORI/Wagamama Lab in partnership with the App Inventor Foundation.

Thanks to QAB and TV Kanazawa for sharing these students’ stories!