“Industry is crying out for critical thinking, problem solving, mental agility, and empathetic solutions,” says Kim Mackenzie-Doyle, the award-winning product designer who founded Ireland’s creative thinking programme, The Big Idea. The 14-week multi-award-winning programme wraps up the 2023 term this week, with learners aged 15 to 19 years from 22 counties, from Transition Year, Leaving Certificate Applied, Youthreach centres and schools in Northern Ireland, submitting hundreds of creative solutions to some of Ireland’s biggest social issues. This year, students are taking part from Mercy Secondary School in Ballymahon. READ MORE BELOW PHOTO “The world is changing at an unprecedented rate and the education system and our young people (our future) are at risk of being completely left behind,” says Kim. “We need to think differently. The Big Idea is more than just an educational programme, it’s a movement to democratise creative thinking. Our young people have a tough future ahead of them, inheriting some of the biggest problems our world has ever faced. We want to empower our next generation to take on big challenges, because we know one Big Idea can change our world. “There will be many problems ahead of us which we will have no reference for. We must educate with a growth mindset that’s open to failure and challenge ourselves to prepare the next generation with the most in-demand skills in the world, creative thinking skills,” she says. Tackling social issues Young people nationwide have submitted their solutions to the hundreds of Big Idea industry mentors from every sector. Of the projects submitted, based on the social issues identified by students as major stressors in their lives, 41 percent of teens wanted to focus on creating a proposal to support mental health, while 27 percent chose to develop solutions to combat climate change. Hidden poverty was a concern for 13 percent of learners, displaced people were on the minds of 11 percent and 8 percent of the teenagers wanted to

placeholder image — “Industry is crying out for critical thinking, problem solving, mental agility, and empathetic solutions,” says Kim Mackenzie-Doyle, the award-winning product designer who founded Ireland’s creative thinking programme, The Big Idea. The 14-week multi-award-winning programme wraps up the 2023 term this week, with learners aged 15 to 19 years from 22 counties, from Transition Year, Leaving Certificate Applied, Youthreach centres and schools in Northern Ireland, submitting hundreds of creative solutions to some of Ireland’s biggest social issues. This year, students are taking part from Mercy Secondary School in Ballymahon. READ MORE BELOW PHOTO “The world is changing at an unprecedented rate and the education system and our young people (our future) are at risk of being completely left behind,” says Kim. “We need to think differently. The Big Idea is more than just an educational programme, it’s a movement to democratise creative thinking. Our young people have a tough future ahead of them, inheriting some of the biggest problems our world has ever faced. We want to empower our next generation to take on big challenges, because we know one Big Idea can change our world. “There will be many problems ahead of us which we will have no reference for. We must educate with a growth mindset that’s open to failure and challenge ourselves to prepare the next generation with the most in-demand skills in the world, creative thinking skills,” she says. Tackling social issues Young people nationwide have submitted their solutions to the hundreds of Big Idea industry mentors from every sector. Of the projects submitted, based on the social issues identified by students as major stressors in their lives, 41 percent of teens wanted to focus on creating a proposal to support mental health, while 27 percent chose to develop solutions to combat climate change. Hidden poverty was a concern for 13 percent of learners, displaced people were on the minds of 11 percent and 8 percent of the teenagers wanted to

PICTURES | The Big Idea - Longford students take part in national creative thinking programme

Published 9th May 2023, 16:33 BST

Updated 9th May 2023, 16:42 BST

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Caption: Mercy Secondary School Ballymahon students Lily Leonard, Demi Deko and Lucia Hoysted taking part in The Big Idea, an award-winning education programme which teaches one of the most in-demand skill in the world – creative thinking Picture: Joshua Mulholland

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Caption: Mercy Secondary School Ballymahon students Sarah McCormack, Andrea Nolan, Sarah Keegan and Ava Garcia taking part in The Big Idea, an award-winning education programme which teaches one of the most in-demand skill in the world – creative thinking Picture: Joshua Mulholland

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Caption: Mercy Secondary School Ballymahon students Cormac O’Dowd, Douwe Siebelink, Feidhlim Nolan and Adam Nugent taking part in The Big Idea, an award-winning education programme which teaches one of the most in-demand skill in the world – creative thinking Picture: Joshua Mulholland

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Caption: Mercy Secondary School Ballymahon students Sarah Keegan, Eimear Dempsey, Kaylah Rushe, Cara Heneghan, Dearbhla Breslin and Ava Garcia taking part in The Big Idea, an award-winning education programme which teaches one of the most in-demand skill in the world – creative thinking Picture: Joshua Mulholland

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PICTURES | The Big Idea - Longford students take part in national creative thinking programme

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