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We are a startup incubator focused on creating impact by leveraging emerging technologies with global reach. Join cross-university teams from around the world to solve critical challenges in healthcare, climate change, and education. The work of Ludus Labs is made possible by our visionary sponsors, university partners, volunteers, and mentors.
Explore ProgramsUpcoming Programs
NUCU 2026 - Build in Japan: AI & Automation for Tomorrow's Societies
Nagoya University & University of Colorado, Boulder
This experiential program, where "Study Abroad Meets a Startup Studio", combines global entrepreneurship, AI-driven automation, and cross-cultural collaboration to tackle the challenges of population collapse. Through a design sprint, test market research, and an international pitch competition, students will gain hands-on experience in tech-driven innovation and startup development in an intercultural environment.
Who Will Benefit
The old safety nets are gone, but so are the barriers.
Purpose Driven Builders
For students who want to test bold ideas, launch meaningful ventures, and shape their futures through creation, not just consumption.
Creative Technologists
For those who see emerging tech as more than hype: they want to build immersive, human-centered experiences that redefine how we live and connect.
Systems Hackers
For changemakers ready to tackle big, messy problems and experiment their way toward better solutions.
Global Team Players
For collaborators who thrive across cultures and time zones, growing as communicators, leaders, and innovators in diverse, real-world teams.
What You'll Learn
Cross-Cultural Innovation
Learn to navigate cross-cultural teamwork and communication in an increasingly interconnected world.
Business Validation
Learn how to validate business models and frame solutions to some of the most pressing challenges of our time.
Applied AI Learning
Collaborate on an impact startup team and develop a working knowledge of how AI and other emerging technologies power today's most transformative solutions.
Network for the Future
Build lasting connections with global innovators, entrepreneurs, and business professionals to launch your future.
Certify Your Skills, Earn Credit
Boost your resume with a digital certificate and, at eligible schools, earn academic credit toward your degree.
Stay Connected, Give Back
Gain lifetime access to our alumni community of global peers and the chance to return as an ambassador and help lead future programs.
What Students Say
About Us
We started Ludus Labs with a simple idea: the best way to learn is to build.
We're a group of educators, designers, entrepreneurs, and researchers who believe that students, when given the tools, space, and a bit of chaos, can solve some of the world's most urgent challenges.
Where We Work
Our work began in Japan, but our community is global.
Through programs like NUCU, a collaboration between Nagoya University (NU) and the University of Colorado (CU), we bring together university students from across countries and disciplines to form startup teams.
Together, they explore emerging technologies, tackle real-world problems, and grow in ways that classrooms alone can't offer.
Why "Ludus"?
The word Ludus means both play and school in Latin.
It's a name that captures the heart of what we do: serious learning through playful experimentation.
What We Believe
We're not here to tell students what to build. We're here to help them figure out how.
Whether it's:
- Innovating on the challenges of population collapse
- Solving for disaster recovery in a changing climate
- Building the future of how we learn
Our goal is to nurture collaboration, creativity, and courage: the kind that lasts far beyond any one program.