iNexus Inc. / 株式会社インネクサス (headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Directors: Rikiei Watanabe and Zhenbin Zhang; hereinafter “iNexus”), an EdTech startup operating a STEM+C[*] education platform, is pleased to announce that Zhenbin Zhang, Representative Director & CTO, gave an invited talk at the 2026 International Conference on Emerging AI Technologies (EAIT 2026), held in Hachioji, Tokyo, from September 16 to 19, 2026.
EAIT 2026 is an international conference on emerging AI technologies and their applications. Co-organized by the Asia Pacific Institute of Science and Engineering (APISE), it took place at the Tokyo Metropolitan Tama Industrial Exchange Center (Tokyo Tama Future Messe). The talk was made possible by an invitation from Professor Hitoshi Sasaki of the Faculty of Engineering, Takushoku University, one of our joint research partners, and was delivered in English on September 17 to an audience made up mainly of researchers from overseas.
Titled “Designing an AI Companion for Children’s Programming Education: Lessons from Manande Puzzle,” the talk drew on Manande Puzzle, a block-programming learning app for children with more than 30,000 registered users in five languages, and “Manapal,” the in-app AI character that talks with children and draws pictures for their creative projects, to share the design challenges that have emerged from actual operation.
He focused on three challenges:
(1) keeping responses safe and appropriate for young children
(2) integrating AI into a creative workflow in which the child stays at the center
(3) balancing learning value, healthy use, and operating cost
He also shared observations from product usage and user feedback, and proposed research questions for industry–academia collaboration: How does AI support affect learners’ own agency? How should its educational value be evaluated? And what should an AI for young children deliberately avoid doing?
After the talk, the organizer APISE presented him with a certificate of appreciation as a speaker. During the conference, he also had the opportunity to exchange views with researchers from overseas. Through industry–academia collaboration with Takushoku University and other research institutions, iNexus will continue to explore how AI can support children’s learning, and bring the results into our products.
[*] What is STEM+C? To “STEM” — the initials of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics — are added the “4 Cs” advocated as essential in the 21st century: Critical Thinking, Creativity, Collaboration, and Communication. To these, iNexus adds Contact — the hands-on, experiential learning we especially value — for a new educational approach built on five “+C”s.
[Talk Overview]
Conference : 2026 International Conference on Emerging AI Technologies (EAIT 2026)
Dates : September 16 (Wed) – 19 (Sat), 2026
Venue : Tokyo Metropolitan Tama Industrial Exchange Center (Tokyo Tama Future Messe), Hachioji, Tokyo
Talk : September 17 (Thu), 2026, 11:30–12:10
Speaker : Zhenbin Zhang, Representative Director & CTO, iNexus Inc.
Title : Designing an AI Companion for Children’s Programming Education: Lessons from Manande Puzzle
Official website: https://eait2026.org/Spe.html (Speakers)
[Company Profile — iNexus Inc.]
Company : iNexus Inc. / 株式会社インネクサス
Founded : September 2021
Representatives : Rikiei Watanabe, Representative Director
Zhenbin Zhang, Representative Director
Business : Planning and provision of STEM+C education packages
Development of educational applications using generative AI
Contract system development for the education and healthcare fields
URL : https://inexus-co.com/
· iNexus Inc. — Corporate Management Division
· Contact : Public Relations
· TEL : +81-3-6161-0078 (main)
· FAX : +81-3-6161-0079
· Email : contact@inexus-co.com
