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At Future School, we believe some of the best learning happens when students are given the opportunity to take an idea and turn it into something real.
This week, we officially kicked off a Product Masterclass led by Steve Horner, designer, product leader, and Chief Strategy Officer at RUSH.
Over the course of the term, Steve will be working alongside a group of Future School students helping them explore how ideas are developed and refined, to be shaped into real products and concepts. The programme will eventually lead into sessions on how to publicly speak, until students pitch their final ideas as a “Dragons Den” type presentation.
What makes this experience exciting is that students are not expected to arrive with a finished business plan or “perfect” ideas. In fact, the key message is actually the opposite. Part of the learning process is learning how to receive feedback, refine concepts and adapt thinking. The goal is not perfection; it’s giving students the confidence to try, create, try again. Learning this skill provides students with real world capabilities to work through a problem and a solution.
Students have already begun conceptualising their ideas, ranging from clothing brands and toy production to game design, coding projects and social enterprise concepts. As the term continues, we expect even more ideas to emerge as students gain confidence in developing and sharing their thinking.
One of the most valuable parts of this programme is the opportunity for students to eventually pitch their ideas in a “Dragon’s Den” style environment. Although this may sound intimidating, it’s experiences like these that help students to build confidence in communicating their ideas, thinking on their feet and presenting themselves in a professional setting.
At Future School, we repeatedly emphasise how important real world skills that sit outside traditional classroom learning are. Whether students eventually pursue entrepreneurship, university pathways, creative industries or completely different careers, it's the foundational learning learnt in their youth that will eventually build them up to be able to confidently explain an idea and back themselves. In many ways, this skill to speak publicly, collaborate face to face and think creatively under pressure is becoming less common in an increasingly digital world. As technology continues to change how people communicate; human skills are becoming even more valuable. Learning how to articulate ideas is an ability that will continue to matter no matter what future pathway students choose.
By working alongside professionals like Steve Horner, students are given insight into industries and ways of thinking that many other young people may not normally encounter during school life.
We want students to feel empowered to take risks, explore new interests and discover what they are capable of creating.
We’re incredibly excited to see where these ideas go; and perhaps meet the next future entrepreneur along the way.