Hungarian startup supports the innovation of a Swedish school
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140 newly graduated Swedish high school students participated in a two-day innovation workshop in Budapest, and worked on a project how to improve the learning experience at their schools, Thoren Innovation School. Several Hungarian startups and large companies held speeches, students participated in a Design Thinking training, so they could come up with more innovative and creative solutions. And their ideas? For sure, the spirit of competition is very much alive in the Swedish students, since there were several ideas for year-round competitions between classes. They came up with a sound-insulated mobile space divider wall against the noise of lessons in the classroom, formed a plan to introduce strategic and business computer games in the curriculum to help students learn the basics of economics and urban planning. AR and VR technology would be used for the safe execution of chemical experiments, and the basic concept for an IT security videogame was also born.
In the Swedish education system, it is really important that the education methodology is adapted to the students’ interest and motivation, so even introducing VR glasses is realistic. Last year, coaches were hired to the teaching staff at the Thoren Innovation Schools, focusing on students’ goals and personal development, so teachers have more time to develop educational tools. Preparing students for the world of work are at the center at Thoren Innovation School, as after four weeks of study, four weeks of internship take place, and this system rotates all year round. Thus, at the end of high school studies, many students already get a job offer from the company providing the internship.
„Do not imagine blue-collar workers”, said Enikő Nőthig-Hegedüs co-founder and CEO at edUcate „the students participating in the two-day Innovation Tour will have the foundations of an engineering, IT or a science profession, they are learning more or already starting to work in this direction. Many times, right after graduation, companies are hunting for them thanks to their special knowledge. It was a great experience for us as well to hold the training for them, as the students were very open-minded, with creative and practical attitude. No wonder that so many fantastic and feasible ideas were born just in two days.”
EdUcate got in touch with the Thoren School in Gothenburg in the summer of 2017, during the company’s international expansion. They immediately identified common points and synergies, and the concept of the Innovation Tour was born. As a result of the event, students managed to discover the basic motivation behind learning and came up with a number of solutions to maintain it. The competitive spirit is strong in students, so a lot of ideas were built on how to conduct a year-long competition between classes, which keeps their interest constant, but also encourages them to help each other in learning.
