How a Humanities Education could Empower Young Australians
When SEVENmile Venture Lab Founder and CEO, Greg Twemlow, set up a pilot program called Enterprise in the Local Community for students at a local high school, he was stunned at the response the program received. “We were so proud of the students as they presented their concepts,” he recalls. “Clearly, we had hit a chord with today’s youth.”
As part of the course, based on the Life-Skills Schema, students listen to local business owners explain the problem they need to be solved, identify needs, collaborate, analyze business problems, build solution frameworks, create pathways, create presentation decks, and pitch their preferred solution. The students achieved results that delighted everyone involved, especially the senior school management and the local business owners.
“We wanted to prepare the students for their futures in a world that is so different from the world my generation graduated into,” says Mr. Twemlow. “Students are coached and supported as they wade into the real world, but not given the answers. Ultimately, they learn to use the Life-Skills tools to deal with uncertainty and translate ideas into real outcomes.”
The pedagogical design of the program is built on a matrix of life-skills that Mr. Twemlow designed using his decades of business and coaching experience combined with his experiences as a father of three boys, now grown and graduated from college.
Indeed, as we emerge from 2020, a year of unprecedented changes, into an increasingly complex and uncertain world, it’s clear that this approach might just be the best way to equip our youth to deal with the disruptions brought about by the fourth industrial revolution, a revolution accelerated by the global Covid pandemic.
Mr. Twemlow believes the Life-Skills Schema thinking can truly transform people’s lives and their broader community.
Says Mr. Twemlow: “A curious mindset and its many associated skills are increasingly needed across industries, and even more so in a post-pandemic world. With the increasing power of technology, distinctive human skills such as self-management, writing, and resilience will be more highly regarded than ever. As Daniel Pink makes the case for in his bestselling book, A Whole New Mind, the future will likely be ruled by right-brainers.”
Famous MIT Professor, Patrick Winston, said, “your success in life will be determined largely by your ability to speak, your ability to write, and the quality of your ideas, in that order.”
Key Objectives & Outcomes
- students gain an understanding of real-life business issues directly from business owners
- business owners develop connections with potential future employees
- students are exposed to analytical thinking, problem-solving techniques, and creative thinking
- students gain valuable presentation skills
- business owners may uncover innovative solutions that they consider providing funding for
- post-program pathways for students include:
1. working the business,
2. further education with SEVENmile Venture Lab,
3. working on school projects
What better endorsement than to know how St Pauls Catholic College Principal, Chris Browne, feels about the program, “The conclusion to our 8-week program with 21 selected Year 9/10 Commerce students at St Pauls on 18th November was a memorable occasion with a wonderful series of presentations in The Waterford Hall with employer-mentors present along with SEVENmile Venture Lab, our enterprise coaches. The four groups of boys took up a problem and, through diligent research and creative thinking, came up with a potential solution to their issues: entrepreneurship in action.
I was struck by how professional our boys were and the depth of their insight. We need to be doing more of this in education. We also had present for the first time at a College gathering, Ms. Zali Steggall, our local Member of Parliament who also addressed the gathering. We look forward to her return to the College in 2021.
Thanks to Assistant Principal Ms. Karen Shawcross who carried forward the management of this from the College side each week supporting all. I’d also like to thank our SEVENmile Venture Lab partners Greg Twemlow and Mitchell Filby, our employer mentors Adam Fazzani, Matt Clarke, Julija McDowell, Tim Watson, and Jonas Bengtsson as well as Melanie de Wild — Timmerman who brought this to our attention as part of a broader strategy of brokering learning pathways for all our students.”
You can read the full project report and view videos of the kick-off and final presentations here.
About the Author:
Greg Twemlow is a Sydney-based Social Enterprise Founder | Startup Mentor | CEO | Writer | Speaker | Host of https://medium.com/consilio
