Nobuyuki Otsubo, President, Copel Corporation
In the days of mechanical learning, CopelCo.ltd brings an innovative way of learning at an early age for children from 0 to 6 years. The company believes that instead of ‘getting rid of what you can’t do, extend what you can do’, instead of ‘teaching, delivering the maximum environment for learning yourself’. With this method of teaching, Copel allows children to demonstrate their strength and learn their full potential. Incepted in 1992, the company has established its footprints in Japan and abroad with 400+ schools. By the end of 2022, Copel aspires to increase the numbers to 600 schools as it marks its 30th anniversary.
Pioneer of Innovative Education
Nobuyuki Otsubo the man behind the Copel Co. was a consultant at IBM Japan before Copel. Otsubo says, “I became aware of the importance of early childhood education and started an early childhood school.” When he first opened Copel school, children were happy to attend, but after a while, they were bored and stopped participating in the lessons altogether. Soon, the team researched and learned that children’s ability to concentrate is limited to age +1 minute and children don’t concentrate on materials they have seen before. To solve this, Otsubo and his team created 2000 different types of material to engage students and run a preschool class. Since there are only 200 materials available in the world, Copel created its own materials. The teaching material used brings out the stimuli in children and engages them in learning effectively and for the developmental support, it helps in recognizing a child’s personality and be positive about everything one aims to work on it.
Currently, Copel has 2000 kinds of teaching materials, 13000 original card materials, 7000 printed materials designed to be enjoyed, and more than 100 original songs to make their lessons like a show. Otsubo shares, “When asked which theme park they would like to go to, a child said, “I want to go to Copel!” We give non-stop lessons intensively.”
The Copel Way
Copel Corporation’s service is characterized by its ability to bring out the maximum potential in children and to teach parents how to treat their children. The company also has the largest number of classrooms in the field of specialized medical education for children with developmental disabilities. Mr. Otsubo assures that instructors go through intensive training for one month to acquire certification that makes them professional trainers. In addition, he makes sure that the trainers take a test every year to renew their license.
“We stand apart from our competitors by providing results and supporting the clients through the wide variety of teaching materials and the level of the instructors who use them. We also have a system in place for parents to become teachers together with their children, so that instructors and parents can work together to provide education,” asserts, Mr. Otsubo.
In addition, in joint research with Tohoku University, the most advanced university in Japan in terms of brain science, the results of a comparison between children who attended Copel and those who did not were astounding, showing that Copel surpassed the children’s cognitive and non-cognitive abilities in all aspects.
The institution also analyses the behaviour of children with their development difficulties based on ABA theory and guides them to appropriate behaviour.
Mr. Otsubo shares, “At Copel, we have a style where parents are also invited to watch every lesson, and we get feedback after the lesson is over. In this process, we teach parents how to work on their own at home, but at the same time, we also listen to parents’ concerns. By continually listening to the parents’ concerns, after six months, we can build a close, trusting relationship in which we can appreciate each other as if we were relatives.”
The company has received many positive feedbacks from the parents including ‘It is miraculous’ and ‘I am very impressed by the wonders Copel is making with their child.
Values and Culture of Company
The ardent leader believes in the motto, “When a child’s eyes light up, a beautiful future begins.” Mr. Otsubo aims to create a peaceful world where 50 years from on people say, ‘Thank goodness Copel exists.’
He says, “Our vision is to be the world’s number one company that pursues “happy families. We will become the world’s No.1 Company that pursues happy and loving families for a beautiful future, and create a peaceful world filled with love.”
As a company, Copel offers three values as a sign of commitment;
A beautiful heart – With a pure heart, the team provides moral education to the children. It values a beautiful heart as the base of everything they do
Proud heart – The team inspires a lot of people with its symbiotic ideas. With their proud hearts, they lead the children with love and compassion.
Seeking Heart – The team pursues perfection for the world and others in it. They continue to grow without being satisfied with the status quo.
Realizing Our Vision
Copel aims to bring this educational method to children around the world, by starting Copel Nursery School in addition to its preschools.“We all hope that children around the world who grow up in Copel will become leaders. When they become presidents or prime ministers at a summit in the future, they will say, “Are you also a Copel student, or did you study at Copel, too? Then you understand! Let’s stop the nuclear war, which is the image of our education,” concludes Mr. Otsubo.
