SOLVERS Teaching & Learning Conference

1. SOLVERSTeaching & Learning Conference Jane Nolan MBE Entrepreneur in Residence and Development Officer (Careers Service) Katie Wray Lecturer in Enterprise (SAgE Faculty)

3. Entrepreneurial Students • Some statistics: • 30 student/graduate businesses start each year • 23 so far this academic year • 34 last financial year • Aug 2010 – April 2011: • 1332 students/graduates engaged

4. Agenda • Short Ice-breaker activity • Introduction to SOLVERS model & Creative Thinking • Case Studies • Sharing our use of the model • Having a go at a World Cafe • Brief presentations of your findings • Conclusions and Q & A

5. Session Objectives: • have learnt a bit more about Rise Up activity • have explored the societal challenges • have thought about the grand challenges for teaching • and learning • have had a go at a world cafe • be equipped to run your own World Cafe on issues that are relevant to your team or students

6. Ice-Breaker

7. The SOLVERS Model

8. Intensive Solvers Series • Post Graduate Researcher Development workshops • Introducing knowledge and skills around commercialisation and business • Using real life problems and issues as provocations • Entrepreneurial academics – Will Dracup, Prof Max Robinson, Dr Gavin Clark

9. Intensive Solvers Series • Real life problem or issue • Creative thinking session • Problem solving and solution finding • Set up a hypothetical business – engaging with the terminology and concepts • Make an elevator pitch • Receive feedback and hear what actually happened

10. Intensive Solvers Series • 3.5 - 4 hours duration • Very interactive • Delivered in HASS and SAgE • Very good feedback from students • Hope to use a cross faculty approach in future

11. Intensive Solvers Series • Piloted the workshops with taught masters students • Also piloted with undergraduates, School of English • Using the university’s societal challenge themes as provocations • Created links with institutes and networks within the university- IaH, SiDE, Transport Newcastle

12. Intensive Solvers Series • School of English Undergraduates – Stages 1-3 – provocation provided by SiDE- digital kitchen and digital jewellery • Not simply advanced technologies - also engaging human stories and possibilities • Connecting students from HASS faculty to digital research – interesting product and service ideas were generated

16. Intensive Solvers Series • IAH – have highlighted huge opportunities being created by the baby boomer generation and the issues of an ageing population • A wealth of engaging stories and case studies which bring the research and the opportunities to life • Providing research informed teaching

17. The Market Opportunity • Over 50s currently 20 million strong and growing fast – hold 80% of the nation’s wealth • As much as 40% (£260bn) of total UK annual consumer spending can be attributed to the UK over 50s • YET currently receive only in the region of 10% of marketing focus ! “Just because I’m over 60 nobody wants to sell me anything any more” Germaine Greer

18. Intensive Solvers Series • Third pilot –working with a Research Group • Transport Newcastle network – Intelligent Transport theme, route mapping exercise with a multi disciplinary research group and key external stakeholders • Using Solvers approach and creative thinking techniques to map out research priorities for the next 5 years +

19. Intensive Solvers Series • An effective, flexible and highly interactive way to engage people with the societal challenge themes and spark entrepreneurial thinking • In context of an increased focus on research impact including through commercialisation • Building communities and connections between students, researchers, the societal challenge themes, institutes, stakeholders and highlighting opportunities

20. Creative Thinking • Divergent • Convergent Quantity of ideas Finding the best idea

21. Divergent Thinking • Determine goals, explore possibilities • Generate ideas – lots of them! • Think as widely as possible • Don’t think about why you can’t do something • Include the obvious • Don’t judge the ideas

22. BRAINSTORMING: As many ideas as possible No such thing as a silly idea No criticism No judgements

24. Substitute/combine

25. Adapt

26. Modify

27. Combine

28. Combine Coin Press Wine Press Printing Press

29. Power of End User Reverse/rearrange

31. Convergent Thinking Second phase: Combining/refining/selecting Using criteria to focus on ideas with potential Decision making, analysing options, Creating plans and actions

32. The History of World Cafe Juanita Brown & David Isaacs (1995) “To discuss an issue”

33. Case Studies • 1) Enterprisers • 2) New Food Product Development Module • 3) ACTION 2011 Sustainability Challenges • 4) Intelligent Transport Route Mapping

34. Let’s have a go.... World Cafe

35. World Café Divergent thinking phase – brainstorming in a World Café session Provocations at each base Write your ideas on the large sheet Build on other people’s ideas Can make notes, draw pictures etc “I wish...” “If only.....”

36. After 10 minutes change base Work with new people Review the brainstorm on the table,build on it with more ideas Add completely new ideas Visit each base only once Every 10 minutes change bases - More brainstorming – “I wish...”, “If only...” World Café

37. Final Base – 20 minutes Convergent thinking Review the ideas generated at your current base - “How might we....” Combine ideas, refine, reject, select Focus on the ideas with the most potential Does the idea meet needs? Is there any scope for commercialisation around the idea? World Café

38. Conclusions

39. Q&A Jane.nolan@ncl.ac.uk Katie.wray@ncl.ac.uk Thank You Very Much