Big Ideas Programme Coordinator, Max Homan, reflects on the Big Ideas Programme 2023 and what he’s learnt from his year working on the programme.
“A teacher once said to me during their Big Ideas Day, ‘I’ve never seen them like this’. She was referring to the 100 students in a school-dinner-smelling hall all occupied with their tasks. They’re working, but the room is chaotic; there’s lots of noise, once-ironed blazers have fallen to the floor, and there’s a constant ‘tap-tap’ of pens, pencils and glue being used and passed (thrown) around.
But as you walk around the hall, you see the room is chaotic because the teams are debating whose Big Idea to choose, what sustainability issue they want to solve, should their revolutionary plastic-eating robot be solar powered or should they invent a new energy source.
This was one of my first lessons about the Big Ideas Day, and it surprised me a lot; that external partners for a school like S4TP, whom the students haven’t met before, can get a whole year group engaged in sustainability and STEM effectively.
I think ‘surprise’ is a good one-word summary for the Big Ideas Programme in general. Many teachers are surprised because they didn’t expect their students to engage so much with the tasks. We are trained in how to engage every type of student, from apathetic to empathetic, confident to shy, straight-A students to those struggling with literacy, it is our job as facilitators to ensure that all students are able and willing to contribute.
Mentors (employees from STEM-sector companies who support the students throughout the programme) are normally surprised because either they didn’t expect young people to be so creative and intuitive, or the mentors surprise themselves. Some mentors haven’t been in a school since they left their own or haven’t interacted with many young people and with this sort of experience you can end up learning more about yourself as you share your expertise with young people.
The students’ surprise is very varied. I’ve seen surprise from a student who was very disruptive at the beginning of the day and by the end he’s nominated himself to present and says, ‘thanks, that was fun’. Many students surprise themselves with how passionate they get when given the freedom to choose for themselves what to invent, tackling an issue they care about. For me, I love seeing a student start to realise that, even when something is new, confusing or intimidating and they are doubting their abilities, if they keep persevering and asking questions like ‘why?’, they can achieve things they didn’t know they could.
Now the 2022-23 Big Ideas season is over, I am filled with pride for what teams across the country have achieved. This year’s winning team not only were sensational, but they exemplify our mission. The team was not the most confident on the Big Ideas Day, were not all top tier students, were not friends before, and were chosen as a ‘wild card’ entry for the National Final. Despite this, they won because they were creative and audacious, they thought up a unique and impressive idea, and grew closer and trusted each other more and more as the year went along. They were inquisitive and asked scores of questions to their mentors and contacted experts across the world for advice. Importantly, they did not see a limit to what they could do based on their assumptions of what is possible and impossible.
The Big Ideas Programme doesn’t focus on who has the loudest voice or who has the most green ticks next to their answers. We focus on showing students that creativity combined with curiosity and commitment will bring exciting new opportunities for yourself and others.
We are now preparing for the next season of Big Ideas, and I can’t wait for another year full of surprises.”