Kilkenny students 'think big' as they develop new app

Creative thinking students from Kilkenny are a step closer to bringing their award winning ideas to life as 'The Big Idea' hosted a new accelerator for its problem solving students in Ireland. 

The Big Idea is a multi-award-winning, creative thinking initiative which is teaching the world’s most in-demand skills to young people nationwide through its Youthreach, Community Training Centres, Leaving Certificate Applied, Transition Year and Northern Ireland programmes.

The local entry by Kilkenny Youthreach, developed an idea for an app that would use augmented reality to educate primary school students about the impacts of climate change in their local environment.

The top teams hailed from Kilkenny as well as counties; Carlow, Cork, Longford and Offaly and the winners were announced at the 'Big Showcase' in May before being invited to take part in a one-day accelerator at Autodesk in Dublin, on Thursday, October 26.

Around 35 students and learners attended the Big Student Accelerator at Autodesk and worked with 'The Big Idea team' and industry experts from partner companies and sponsoring organisations.

This year, 4,000 students developed curiosity, empathy, critical thinking and problem-solving skills in an active learning environment, co-creating solutions within teams to tackle social issues such as mental health, displaced people, hidden poverty, diversity and inclusion and climate change, all lined up with the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

"We are thrilled to launch our accelerator this year and bring these award winning ideas a step closer to becoming real solutions," said Founder and CEO of The Big Idea, Kim Mackenzie-Doyle.

Niamh Cooney, Head of Growth and Sustainability at The Big Idea, commented: "In true accelerator style, students learned directly from mentors, gained insightful industry perspectives, employed cutting-edge methods for idea development and rapid prototyping, and collaborated across diverse backgrounds."

Launched in 2021, The Big Idea has reached 6,500 students from across 23 counties, with the support of 750 diverse industry mentors from every sector, over 250 progressive companies, and many third level institutions across Ireland.

The nationwide creative thinking initiative has also been selected as the only Irish organisation amongst 100 of the world's most impactful and scalable education innovations as part of the HundrED Global Collection 2024.

Announced at the HundrED Innovation Summit 2023 in Helsinki on Tuesday, October 31, The Big Idea was chosen from more than 3,000 innovations which were reviewed by 183 global education experts in 73 countries.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) also highlighted The Big Idea this year as a best practice example of creative thinking skills application in mainstream education in Ireland.

The Big Idea is currently recruiting 450 B!G Mentors for 2024 and inviting mentors from Kilkenny, and nationwide, to participate. 

The initiative is also inviting Programme Partners to get involved 'to make a vital social impact, to connect students with the right skills needed in industry and to help keep the programmes free and accessible to students who need it most, from all backgrounds and learning abilities.'