Hacking the education together!
N.B. QUESTO ARTICOLO IN INGLESE È APPARSO SU LINKEDIN IL 26 MARZO
During the last year I have reflected so much on the role of education in our modern societies. It’s not just about an easy slogan to talk on, but I think it’s a way to face up the future!
When I was attending my University studies, I knew the “word” globalization and its positive impacts on the new generation: access, inclusion, development, equality, growth and integration. Today, we all see that the promises aren’t hold for many people in the world. From this point we have to restart now, by promoting a new ecosystem enabler.
What is an ecosystem enabler?
Imagine a beaver at work in his natural environment.
“Beavers are natural managers of wetland ecosystems and are often referred to as‘ecosystem engineers’, because of the benefits they have on the environment and other species, including humans. Through their activities, beavers can provide habitats for a range of different species from fungi to invertebrates, fish, mammals and birds. The creation of beaver dams can trap sediment and help filter water, which reduces the amount of pollution entering rivers and help increase the retention rate of water in times of floods and assist with the flow of water in times of drought” (Welsh Beaver Project).
Today, we have to work, study, live and growth in a competitive environment with scarce resources:
“Organisations, economies, technologies, even the politics are changing faster and faster.Education can’t stay behind. That’s why we need new ideas in order to help humankind to cope with the growing complexity of these days and only younger generations can make this happen.”
In this sense, an enabler – “a part” – is made available to the ecosystem, but it’s also an asset for the evolution of the entire ecosystem – “the whole”. When Emanuele Rapisarda and Claudia Pellicori at @CocoonProjects shared with me the project of Innolympics Education Hackathon, I decided to get onboard and support the organization with Elastico!
How we can make it real?
We want to give birth to a creation space where young people could rethink the current educational and training systems. Systems that have missed the opportunity to ensure a personal and professional quality growth while respecting each individual uniqueness.
Innolympics Education Hackathon represents a meeting opportunity for teams of 18 to 35 year olds who will compete and collaborate, creating a real evolution of the educational world. It’s also a space for discussion: we offer it to anyone who is committed or willing to ensuring that the education does not stay behind.
How you can join the ecosystem enabler?
The first phase is just begun on 15th February 2018 and the teams are able to subscribe the hackathon! Subscriptions will be open until April 30th but the earlier you subscribe, the better: speed is important as you can see in the next phase.
Starting from 30th March 2018 the teams will have to face some online challenges to reach a certain score: the faster you overcome all the challenges, the higher your score will be.
The second phase will end on 30th April 2018 and a ranking will be drawn up, assigning each team a score; 50% based on the speed in solving the online games and 50% according to the feedback of a jury. The jury will focus on the potential of the team, because even if you are not the fastest in solving the online games, your team can make the difference and the world deserves to know it!
The 10 teams with the highest scores from phase two will take part in the live event in Rome, on 23rd and 24th June 2018. During the final phase the 10 teams will face a challenge and will have 2 days to find the best solution with the support of some mentors.
At the end of the second day all the ideas will be shown and a jury will declare the winner!
But if you only want to stay in the loop, you can participate in the discussions: you will meet people and organisations interested in raising the bar and give birth to a living ecosystem about Education.
What will happening?
I think that we will have to ask how education can play a valuable role in inventing the future. So, I want to give you an example of what will happening during the 2 days experience in Rome:
“This year’s course is on how the digital world is changing the way we live, work and do business. I explained the real-world challenges that I face in my daily life as a business executive. I explained the impact of new technologies on my work in a large corporation. I gave examples of some of the problems we face integrating technologies into existing ways of working. The result was to trigger immediate discussion amongst all participants. A mixture of questions, solutions, criticisms and proposals. Everybody was involved. The energy in the room was tremendous. In short: we were creating something.
We were searching for solutions to the problems of today and in doing so we were working to invent models for a better future.
It was this sense of shared creativity that made it such an unforgettable experience. Something magical was happening in the room.” – Using Education to Design the Future, By Erik P.m. Vermeulen, hackernoon.com, January 8th 2018.
If you want to be part of this wave, you can help us by sharing the link and invite everyone you think can make the difference!
Follow the event also on Facebook.
For any info, feedback, idea, please contact Cocoon Projects.