6 Reasons Why Universities Must Run Innovation Programmes for Students
What is an innovation programme?
The general notion behind innovation programmes is primarily associated with ‘hackathons’, but several other innovation challenges exist and go well beyond this idea. Innovation programmes are online or physical events centred around creating a stimulating working environment to solve challenges or real-world problems within a specified timeframe. These programmes tend to be longer than hackathons allowing for skills development alongside relationship building. Tech companies, healthcare institutions or universities primarily organise these events as they create an innovation-inducing climate that pushes participants to work collaboratively and efficiently to think out of the box. Institutions usually design innovation programmes to encourage individuals to compete for a final prize or monetary reward, raising the stakes for participants.
How does an innovation programme work?
Irrespective of industry and theme, all innovation programmes run with a similar format. Here are some aspects of these programmes that define how they work:
Goal-focused: Innovation programmes are created with a specific goal, which could be anything from building new software to developing a product solution.
One to ten day events: Innovation programmes are designed to be collaboration events with a set time constraint, usually ranging from one to ten days, where participants work round the clock to formulate their ideas.
Competition-style events: Innovation programmes are structured as competitions where participants are allocated in teams of two to five to work to create the best solution quickly.
Mentorship & training: Innovation programmes require participants to develop a creative solution with proper guidance and support. These programmes also have workshops, training sessions and mentorship support from industry or academic experts that help them develop their skills and idea.
Sponsor-supported: Sponsors are critical for scaling innovation programmes and financially supporting winning participants. Financial support, however, is only one aspect of getting sponsors - some companies and universities organise these events to encourage new ways of thinking and crowdsource new ideas.
Quick turnaround: Innovation programmes aim to challenge participants to create the best possible solution or the ideal product or service to solve a problem on a tight timeline of a few days, which would otherwise take months or even years.
Why should universities run innovation programmes for students?
Designing and launching an innovation programme has several benefits for students to develop well-rounded skills, which is why educational institutions should consider embedding it into their curricula. Here are some of the benefits innovation programmes hold for students:
1. A launchpad for entrepreneurial ventures
Innovation challenges require students to create viable solutions to industry problems. They are put into the shoes of an entrepreneur to innovate and fill market gaps with breakthrough ideas. Some students even continue to test their concepts and turn them into large-scale projects or business ventures after the programme. If an idea has real potential, it also has a chance of catching the attention of companies or investors who want to support building it.
2. An opportunity to build digital skills
While students may be tech-savvy and familiar with emerging technological tools like Google Workspace apps, Canva, Prezi and other digital applications - innovation programmes help them learn how to use them effectively in collaborative settings.
3. Encourages complex problem-solving
Students are usually never exposed to real-world practical problems and business scenarios. During innovation challenges, students must collaborate to research, analyse and strategise to create groundbreaking products or solutions, on a much larger scale, for an actual problem. These programmes allow students to dip their feet into complex situations and tackle them creatively.
4. Gives exposure to new perspectives
Universities can also organise innovation programmes through cross-collaborations with other educational institutions, campuses and companies globally - increasing student exposure multifold. Students interact with and learn from people with varied perspectives and worldviews, enhancing their learning experience.
5. Provides opportunities to network
Innovation programmes are not only great platforms to mingle with peers from different universities but also act as a bridge to connect students with corporate executives. Opening up a dialogue with the innovation programme’s mentors or judges is less daunting in this learning environment and can lead to building great professional relationships early on.
6. Builds a strong CV
After going through such an intense innovation programme, participants have much to boast about on their resumes. The skills and experience that such a programme can provide are what employers look for while hiring candidates. Joining these challenges and competitions help students get that extra edge over other candidates while looking to kickstart their careers.
What are some innovation programme ideas for universities?
Universities can run several industries-specific programmes and competitions to prepare students for some of the biggest problems economies face today or could face tomorrow. Innovation programmes can support them in developing the right skills to meet industry demands and changing global priorities. An excellent place to start while designing an innovation challenge could be setting the theme on efforts to achieve the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Here are a few ideas for innovation programmes across industries:
1. Healthcare innovation
Students can be encouraged to develop better ways to tackle the challenges we face in healthcare, primarily in the developing world. Universities could focus the programme challenge on increasing accessibility and affordability of healthcare through technology to decrease health inequalities.
2. Sustainable finance and ESG
Financial technology can promote greener financial markets and encourage a sustainable lifestyle itself. Another programme idea could be challenging students to develop a sustainable product or service that leverages disruptive financial technologies to support Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
3. Smart Cities
Global urbanised economies contribute significantly to the world’s GDP but also account for about 70 per cent of global carbon emissions, calling for more sustainable solutions. On this front, innovation programmes can challenge students to think of out-of-the-box solutions to design sustainable urban solutions.
Conclusion
The education world needs to adapt and expand the opportunities they provide students with to develop their skills for a world with changing jobs and advancing technology. With their format of creating stimulating challenges to solve problems in teams, innovation programmes could be an excellent way for students to develop professionally. University students can build new skills, gain new perspectives, solve complex problems and boost their creativity through these programmes in a way that was impossible before.
Are you looking to launch your own innovation programme? Futurize can help you design end-to-end programmes to meet your objectives. Get in touch with us.