Developing enterprise skills in high school students
Enterprise skills are among the most consistently demanded by Australian employers. Young people need enterprise skills to prepare them for the economy of the future so they can navigate multiple careers and develop key transferable skills. The 3 Day Startup program has been refined and tailored specifically for high school students where they discover the benefits of innovation and entrepreneurship firsthand and develop essential skills for their career along the way.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Year 10, 11 and 12 students from Brisbane schools are invited to participate in Enterprise Skills for the 21st Century—a three-day entrepreneurship program in which they will develop enterprise skills in a hands-on environment.
Throughout the three days, students will work in interdisciplinary teams to develop a viable business idea, which they will pitch to a panel of experts on the last day.
Regardless of a student’s chosen career path—artist, surgeon or entrepreneur—students will be taught highly transferable skills, to empathise with their customer/user, validate ideas, identify risks and creatively and efficiently problem-solve.
Program summary
Note: Griffith University Southbank campus, Building SO2, level 4 design labs.
| Day 1 | Day 2: Session 1 | Day 2: Session 2 | Day 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delivery | Face-to-face workshop | Mentor-guided online sessions | Mentor-guided online sessions | Face-to-face workshop |
| Main focus | Problem definition and ideation | Customer discovery | Solution development | Refinement, validation and pitching |
| Date and time | Tuesday 13 October, 9 am – 3 pm | Thursday 15 October, 3.30 – 5.30 pm | Tuesday 20 October, 3.30 pm – 5.30 pm | Thursday 22 October, 9 am – 3 pm |
| Activities | Participants are led through brainstorming, problem definition, ideation, preliminary pitches, and team/idea selection. Teams prepare a Lean Canvas and start developing a business idea. | Teams research and develop a customer empathy map. Teams undertake competitor research to identify their unique value proposition and are introduced to prototyping. | Teams engage with mentors, entrepreneurs and industry experts for structured mentorship during their solution development and business model generation. Teams begin to develop a prototype. | Teams present their intermediate pitches, receive feedback and refine and validate their business idea. Following their feedback sessions, teams present their final pitch to a panel of mentors and industry experts. |
| Post-workshop activity: research and reflection | Customer research with potential customers to discover their pain points and refine solution to start developing a minimum viable product. Completion of reflection portfolio. | Integrate customer feedback to adapt and evolve initial idea and undertake competitor research. Completion of reflection portfolio. | Continue to develop the prototype and prepare a draft presentation for the pitch. Completion of reflection portfolio. | Finalise reflections, complete survey and upload documents to claim digital badge. NOTE: Parents and friends are welcome to watch the final pitch presentations. |
| Skills development | Creativity, communication and collaboration. | Innovative thinking, critical thinking, customer focus. | Adaptive mindset, empathy. | Problem solving, initiative and drive. |
DIGITAL BADGE ON COMPLETION
Students who successfully complete the three-day program will earn a Griffith-branded Enterprise Skills for the 21st Century digital badge (for high school students). This digital credential provides visible recognition that students have:
- participated in the full program and demonstrated enterprise skills in a hands-on environment
- worked in a cross-disciplinary team with mentors
- demonstrated the skills of creativity, adaptive mindset, innovative and critical thinking, customer focus, communication, collaboration, problem-solving, empathy and initiative and drive.
Digital badges can be uploaded to LinkedIn profiles, email signatures and job applications as evidence of skills, knowledge and accomplishments.
Note: This badge represents a skill credential type that is not for credit.
Student nominations
Register your interest in the Enterprise Skills for the 21st Century program for high school students