SCHOOL TO WORK IDEATION HOW CAN WE PROVIDE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS WITH WORK EXPERIENCE, LIFE LESSONS & FAILURE BEFORE GRADUATION?
by Brendan Hill
1. How would you solve the problem if you had an unlimited budget?
1.1. Graduates can work part time in various jobs to find what field is best for them
1.2. Professional business mentors for each student
1.3. Professional personal mentors for each student to give advice on everyday activities
1.4. Students are offered financial incentives to apply for different work experience roles before graduation
1.5. Pay for students to attend Failcon in Silicon Valley to teach them lessons on failure and why it is important in a business context
1.6. Scholarships & allowances for students so they can quit their part time jobs and focus on work experience and education
1.7. Weekly presentations at school from the world's top entrepreneurs and business people to inspire & motivate students
1.8. Free overseas university and work experience programs so students can experience different cultures
1.9. Budget for leading companies to provide on the job training for work experience students
1.10. Free career advisers for each student - help students pick the career that is best for them
2. How would you solve the problem without spending any money?
2.1. Instruct students to ask their parents for advice
2.2. Start work experience at a younger age so students have a chance to pivot their career path if they do not enjoy the experience
2.3. Teach dedicated subjects on work experience, failure and business case studies to equip students with real life information that will help them in the real world
2.4. Tell students to enter a field they are passionate about - do not work just for the money
2.5. Students can start career research earlier so it is not a rushed decision
2.6. Create a support group - pair students with others that have similar interests so that they can share resources and help each other
2.7. Look for free online resources that can teach students business lessons and work experiences
2.8. Enforce compulsory work experience - if you do not complete you do not graduate from University
2.9. Apply for Government grants to provide funding for further mentoring/work experience opportunities for students
2.10. Apply for Corporate grants to provide funding for further mentoring/work experience opportunities for students
3. Obvious solutions to the problem
3.1. Combine work experience into school subjects and university courses
3.2. Promote University gap years so students can experience real life working situations
3.3. Mentors/successful business people can come to speak at University events
3.4. Successful past students can come to speak at University events, share their journey to success
3.5. Encourage students to fail > learn from their failures
3.6. Start work experience at a younger age so students have a chance to pivot their career path if they do not enjoy the experience
3.7. Create / Share online resources that can teach students business lessons and work experiences
3.8. Enforce compulsory work experience - if you do not complete you do not graduate from University
3.9. Tell students to enter a field they are passionate about - do not work just for the money
3.10. Teach dedicated subjects on work experience, failure and business case studies to equip students with real life information that will help them in the real world
4. How would a 5 year old child solve the problem?
4.1. People don't have to work if they don't want to
4.2. Unlimited holidays
4.3. Everyone gets paid no matter the circumstances
4.4. Find a new job when you want
4.5. Everyone works their dream job
4.6. No exams or tests
4.7. Career progression when you want it
4.8. Everyone gets paid the same amount
4.9. Everyone has to be friends
4.10. Everyone works the same amount of hours
5. How would you solve this problem if you had control over the laws of nature?
5.1. Telepathic connection between students and mentors
5.2. Give students memory implants from the most successful and experienced business people
5.3. Clone Students so they can experience work life at different companies
5.4. Teleport business mentors to University classes for guest speches
5.5. Time travel - students could travel back in time to learn from their heroes e.g. Steve Jobs
5.6. See into the future - students could see failures in their career and take the lessons from these experiences without actually having to experience the failure
5.7. Invisibility - witness what it like to work at the world's leading businesses by being a fly on the wall
5.8. Shapeshifting ability - morph into other successful business people and see what their lives are like. Learn from their everday failures. Will this be the correct career path for you?
5.9. Super Students - Increased Intelligence and physical strength for students
5.10. Expose students to gamma radiation and turn them into Incredible Hulk like Bruce Banner. They will then have advanced science knowledge!
