The Program

About Teen Start-Up

Teen Start-Up is a fun multi-day event where students aged 11-18 years are taken through the innovation development process from idea to execution. Students work together in teams to come up with an idea that they believe provides a solution to a problem their generation will face in the future. The event concludes with the students pitching their concepts to a panel of experts.

During the camp students can access mentors and tools to inspire their thinking.

The real benefit of Teen Start-Up teaches participants about the innovation process and the various tools that can be used. It doesn’t focus on any particular skill such as coding or prototype building, but rather encourages participants to present their ideas in a way that works for them. They really are learning while having fun.

How does Teen Start-Up work?

The core elements of Teen Start-Up are:

Work individually or in teams;
Understand challenges based on a given theme;
Brainstorm ideas;
Develop a solution;
Pitch a concept.

To aid in the creative process, the teams’ enthusiasm will be matched equally with workshops, presentations and technology demonstrations during the event as well as inspiring stories, tips and suggestions from young entrepreneurs, business mentors and innovators.

Throughout Teen Start-Up our mentors and special guests including local start-up company entrepreneurs, technical experts and business development and marketing specialists will also give feedback on your ideas and progress. At the end of the program, teams will present their idea to the other teams, family members as well as a panel of industry experts.

Core Elements

WORKING IN TEAMS

Students work individually or form teams and work together to develop their idea, from concept to finished product.

BRAINSTORM IDEAS

Generate creative ideas, solutions and opportunities through collaboration and group discussion.

CONTEXT BUILDING

Mentors and industry experts share experiences and provide demonstrations.

MARKET RESEARCH

Determine and evaluate specific customers with problems to be solved.

PROBLEM SOLVING

Understand and identify problems and challenges related to a specific theme or topic.

IDEA DEVELOPMENT

Finalise ideas into products and services that solve identified problems.

CONDUCT RESEARCH

Search for resources and information to help inspire and test new ideas.

PRESENTATION SKILLS

Create a presentation to clearly articulate an idea and pitch to a panel of experts.

Why is Teen Start-Up important?

The kinds of skills students need to learn today are different from what they needed 20 years ago. This has been an ongoing topic of discussion in relation to University education. More recently it has also been acknowledged as an issue by the school system resulting in the introduction of a section called ‘General Capabilities’ into the Australian School Curriculum.

These are the skills that sit across the curriculum that will help students to live and work successfully in the twenty-first century. They are skills like creativity, problem solving and the ability to collaborate and work effectively in teams. These skills can be equally applied across all subjects, including STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). These skills are also crucial for innovation and entrepreneurship.

Teaching students about innovation is at the core of Teen Start-Up.

What will students learn?

Students will have a crash course in what it’s like to come up with an idea for a business. They will learn about defining problems, identifying customers and developing a solution hypothesis.

They will also learn some of the survival skills that will be important in the new world of work:

Critical thinking and creative problem solving;
The ability to collaborate and lead by influence;
Agility and adaptability and knowing when to pivot their idea;
Initiative and entrepreneurialism;
Being able to pitch an idea and clearly articulate their thoughts;
Working in teams; and
Imagination and curiosity.

Interested in finding out more about Teen Start-Up?

Give us a call today and we can talk to you about how Teen Start-Up can enrich a student's learning.