About IDEA X
No doubt you have wrestled with the problem of how to create entrepreneurial experiences for kids that transcend the narrow confines of textbooks and classrooms and are relevant to a globalized economy.
It is no surprise that increasingly modern products are developed with deep networked global connections that may involve many culturally and geographically diverse stakeholders. Instead of one giant all-encompassing factory, decentralization seems to be the accelerating trend in modern manufacturing. If you read the fine print on many of the products sitting on store shelves, it is increasingly typical to see words like…hardware designed in Canada, with software coded by programmers in Texas and Bombay, and manufactured in China with components contributed by Thailand, Italy and Latvia. So here is our question: How will our students be prepared to find their niche in a world, that Thomas Friedman argues, is increasingly flat?
Besides addressing globalization of the economy, how can we structure experiences that encourage flexibility and entrepreneurial savvy to fill increasingly shorter and narrower time windows for a new product’s life cycle all while following the mandates of environmental responsibility and fair trading practices? Even the revenue stream to which our students must adapt has been completely upended! Make a product and sell it for a profit? Not any longer; that is “so 2010!!” We live in an age where our students will increasingly be part of transient teams that will invest substantial resources for R and D to develop the next “disruptive” technology, the goal of which is to be given away for free in the hopes that it will be quickly adopted and create “buzz” and momentum for a lucrative IPO!!! What about the revenue stream part of the equation that will allow our students’ to actually make a living? Often, that will be delayed; making money will sometimes not accrue from selling the original widget, but will hopefully result from the way the widget is changed, improved and adapted to meet the needs of local applications.
Conceptualized by trustee Rod Ross, this Langley Idea X competition is offered as an opportunity for our students to engage with diverse stakeholders in a global economy that is advancing – as Bill Gates once said – “at the speed of thought.” This competition was created to offer large prizes from generous donors to motivate the Langley School District students to stretch their innovative talent as they compete with each other to devise the best solution for the accelerating dangers posed by plastic pollution, all while collaborating with some of the best subject matter experts in the world.
So teachers, who are your under-challenged but overactive thinkers? Can you identify some prodigious talent that lies dormant and tragically paralyzed? Who are your kooky sages who don’t even know that there is such a thing as a box, let alone know how to think outside of one? Consider encouraging them to join this challenge to accomplish something truly daring and unforgettable. Together, can we give them a stage to engineer a momentous breakthrough that hits the sweet spot between vision and practicality, that finds the perfect balance between audaciousness and feasibility?
It is no surprise that increasingly modern products are developed with deep networked global connections that may involve many culturally and geographically diverse stakeholders. Instead of one giant all-encompassing factory, decentralization seems to be the accelerating trend in modern manufacturing. If you read the fine print on many of the products sitting on store shelves, it is increasingly typical to see words like…hardware designed in Canada, with software coded by programmers in Texas and Bombay, and manufactured in China with components contributed by Thailand, Italy and Latvia. So here is our question: How will our students be prepared to find their niche in a world, that Thomas Friedman argues, is increasingly flat?
Besides addressing globalization of the economy, how can we structure experiences that encourage flexibility and entrepreneurial savvy to fill increasingly shorter and narrower time windows for a new product’s life cycle all while following the mandates of environmental responsibility and fair trading practices? Even the revenue stream to which our students must adapt has been completely upended! Make a product and sell it for a profit? Not any longer; that is “so 2010!!” We live in an age where our students will increasingly be part of transient teams that will invest substantial resources for R and D to develop the next “disruptive” technology, the goal of which is to be given away for free in the hopes that it will be quickly adopted and create “buzz” and momentum for a lucrative IPO!!! What about the revenue stream part of the equation that will allow our students’ to actually make a living? Often, that will be delayed; making money will sometimes not accrue from selling the original widget, but will hopefully result from the way the widget is changed, improved and adapted to meet the needs of local applications.
Conceptualized by trustee Rod Ross, this Langley Idea X competition is offered as an opportunity for our students to engage with diverse stakeholders in a global economy that is advancing – as Bill Gates once said – “at the speed of thought.” This competition was created to offer large prizes from generous donors to motivate the Langley School District students to stretch their innovative talent as they compete with each other to devise the best solution for the accelerating dangers posed by plastic pollution, all while collaborating with some of the best subject matter experts in the world.
So teachers, who are your under-challenged but overactive thinkers? Can you identify some prodigious talent that lies dormant and tragically paralyzed? Who are your kooky sages who don’t even know that there is such a thing as a box, let alone know how to think outside of one? Consider encouraging them to join this challenge to accomplish something truly daring and unforgettable. Together, can we give them a stage to engineer a momentous breakthrough that hits the sweet spot between vision and practicality, that finds the perfect balance between audaciousness and feasibility?
