Technology needs diversity. Diversity fosters innovation, user-centric design, global perspectives, ethical considerations, and better decision-making, and leads to more inclusive and effective products and services. Yet, we feel that today’s technological landscape lacks the level of diversity that is required to shape exceptional tech solutions. It is our mission to try and change this status quo.
The Innovators of Tomorrow program aims to equip high school youth with a diverse set of competences, needed for a career in tech. By encouraging a demographically diverse group of people with a diverse set of competences (from programing, pitching, empathising or collaborating), we want to promote the idea that different skills and different perspectives, not just STEM-related, are needed in the area of technology today.
The project involves active collaboration between high schools and businesses, facilitated by the Polish Blockchain Association. In the first phase of the project, a number of high profile business executives, representing some of the leading business corporations and organizations will deliver a set of lectures and workshops, focusing on three sets of core skills: technical/programing, business/executive, and idea selling/pitching. The second phase of the project will involve hands-on work, where pupils will have to work in groups to come up with ideas for digital products, based on innovative technologies, that aim to solve some social or business problem. Crucially, the groups must be diversified when it comes to gender and skillsets. After completing the project, the students will have to pitch their idea to a group of business executives, in a “Dragon’s den” format. The successful team will present their project during the Technology of Tomorrow conference.
