Ballymahon students take part in accelerator day
Creative thinking students from Ballymahon are a step closer to bringing their award-winning ideas to life as The B!G Idea hosted a new accelerator for its problem solving students in Ireland.
The B!G Idea is a multi-award-winning, creative thinking initiative which is teaching the world’s most in-demand skills to young people nationwide through its Youthreach, Community Training Centres, Leaving Certificate Applied, Transition Year and Northern Ireland programmes.
Team Immoderate from Mercy Secondary School in Ballymahon were announced among the winners at the B!G Showcase in May before being invited to take part in the one-day accelerator. They developed their idea for an app ‘Incognation’, to build an online community and provide information, resources and support for people experiencing hidden poverty.
In total, some 35 students and learners attended the B!G Student Accelerator at Autodesk in Dublin on Thursday, October 26, where they worked with The B!G Idea team and industry experts from partner companies and sponsoring organisations such as Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland, Netwatch, Local Enterprise Office, Rethink Ireland and MSD Ireland. The event was also supported by ESB Generations and Síol Foundation, with a host of mentors from top companies across Ireland.
Launched in 2021, The B!G Idea has reached 6,500 students from across 23 counties, with the support of 750 diverse industry mentors from every sector, over 250 progressive companies, and many third level institutions across Ireland.
This year, 4,000 students developed curiosity, empathy, critical thinking and problem-solving skills in an active learning environment, co-creating solutions within teams to tackle social issues such as mental health, displaced people, hidden poverty, diversity and inclusion and climate change, all lined up with the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The nationwide creative thinking initiative has also been selected as the only Irish organisation amongst 100 of the world's most impactful and scalable education innovations as part of the HundrED Global Collection 2024.
Announced at the HundrED Innovation Summit 2023 in Helsinki on Tuesday, October 31, The B!G Idea was chosen from more than 3,000 innovations which were reviewed by 183 global education experts in 73 countries.
“The issues our youth are facing today are huge and deeply challenging. They are contending with an uncertain future and we know that they don't feel fully prepared for the weight of responsibilities that lie ahead,” says CEO Kim Mackenzie-Doyle.
“As their guardians and leaders, it’s our responsibility to recognise this pivotal moment and to act now to improve their outcomes,” she says, explaining that creative thinking is a future skill our young people need.