The JapanLab Framework
JapanLab uses an innovative model of student–faculty collaboration to support the development of educational games. Although the program was born at the University of Texas at Austin, we believe the core principles of this model can be adapted and implemented across a wide range of institutions.
The Team Structure
The team structure is essential to the JapanLab model. We believe that close collaboration between undergraduate students and faculty advisors makes it possible to create digital educational resources that no single individual could produce alone. For more details see here.
The Internship model
We started the JapanLab program by relying on for-credit internship programs. This enabled us to recruit and arrange course credit for our student team members. The internship model presents one viable template for JapanLab. For more details see here.
Resources for game development
This is a list of resources for educational game development that was last updated in the winter of 2026. For more details see here.
The Course model
This is a general guide to structuring a game development course using the same framework as the JapanLab. Each class is made up of multiple recruited student teams of 5-6 members. For more details see here.
If you are interested in bringing JapanLab to your institution, please contact us.
JapanLab Team Structure