Generation Innovation energises the imaginations and aspirations of young people in Northern Ireland by increasing their development of 21st-century skills and awareness of exciting future careers in innovation.
The programme will inspire and upskill all young people who participate, building an innovation skillset through a deep-dive into ‘design thinking’.
The Work Experience Programme is for ambitious 17-18 year olds interested in up-skilling for the jobs of the future. Participants will receive Design Thinking training over the course of 4 or 5 days (depending which programme location they apply to), where participants will learn how to work as part of a new team made up of participants from across Northern Ireland, develop new solutions and communicate their ideas. Their new skills are then put to the test to solve a company challenge, developing a solution before pitching it to the partner company and their fellow peers.
Delivered in-person participants will improve skills such as communication, team building, resilience, problem-solving and creativity.
Throughout the programme, participants are guaranteed to learn in a fun, energetic and highly engaging way that will inspire and empower them for the future.
Applications for the 2022 Generation Innovation Work Experience Programme are now closed.
(Apply to only one of the events)
1. 14th-17th June – Derry-Londonderry – University of Ulster, Magee Campus
2. 20th-24th June – Belfast – Catalyst, The Innovation Centre
3. 27th -30th June – Armagh – Armagh City Hotel
Key Dates:
Registration Opens: Monday 28th February 2022
Daily Schedule*
*Subject to change
Day one:
Overview of the week, introductions, team-building tasks, introduction to Design Thinking. Company details and challenge statements.
Day two:
Expert Interviews, make a challenge map and define the problem.
Day three:
Ideation – concept sketching, create and design your initial prototype.
Day four:
Prototype and testing.
Day five:
Feedback, visit to company offices, pitching to company teams, peers and celebrations.
*Applicable to the 5 day programme. Lunch will be provided by Catalyst each day. Students must make their own transport arrangements to and from the event each day.
Benefits of attending
Communication• Teambuilding• Emotional Resilience• Problem Solving• Creativity • Pitching• Empathy• User-centered design
Totally Free to Attend
What's Included
Hosted in-person
Access to exciting and innovative companies across Northern Ireland
Free Generation Innovation merchandise including our limited edition apparel
Free to attend
Access to the Catalyst School Alumni network to extend your tribe
Participants are guaranteed to learn in a fun, energetic and highly engaging way that’ll inspire and empower them for the future
Participants build new friendships and connections beyond their network
Skills
What Participants Can Gain Over Their Work Experience
Hosted In-person
What's Included
Communication Skills
Teambuilding
Build Emotional Resilience
Learn Problem-Solving Skills
Creativity
Presentation and Pitching Skills
User-centred Design
Design-led Thinking Skills
Stage 1: School Workshop
Stage 2: Impact Day
Stage 3: Work Experience Programme
The workshop will help your students stretch their imagination and begin a journey exploring:
This lesson can be delivered in a bespoke way to meet your schools’ needs and can take place in-person as a lesson, year group workshop, or even virtually, as well as being shaped to suit your school timings.
Fuel ambition, spark ideas and empower your students through design-thinking.
What is an Impact day?
A one-day, fully immersive design-thinking experience for groups of 50+ students aged 17-18 year olds held onsite at your venue. No need to mobilise, we’ll come to you and take your students on a design-thinking journey that will lead them from identifying a problem, working through several stages to iterate and design a prototype/solution all in the one day.
On this journey, your students will learn important skills at each stage, including user-centred design, working in a team and critical thinking. The impact day will also help foster softer, intangible elements such as empathy, emotional intelligence, and resilience.
What happens on the day?
Our team of design-thinking trainers will come to your venue and will deliver a design sprint, working through several stages of the design-thinking methodology. During the design sprint, there will be creative icebreakers and fun games to stimulate ideas and keep the energy alive.
Empathise
Understanding the user base and ‘consumer’, how they interact with the world/system or product, and understanding their needs and behaviours.
Define
Together each team will work together to define a problem and then design solution for it. This could even be applied to improving something within your everyday life, asking the question ‘How might we…?
Ideate
Our team will work with your students in different groups and walk them through an ideation phase where they can start to design and develop a solution for the defined problem. Here, students will contribute ideas, challenge assumptions, and work together as a team to develop a solution.
Present
At the end of the day each team will present their solution to the group in a very welcoming and engaging environment.
At the end of the design sprint, students will become part of the Generation Innovation community, and will be given branded tokens and merchandise to remember the experience alongside resources to continue their journey
What will it cost?
Absolutely nothing, this is a fully funded programme with no cost to you; all we need is a dedicated space and time to deliver the Impact Day.
Judith Camblin
Programme Manager
Carla McErlean
GI Project Lead
Carolyn Halferty
GI Project Administrator
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