It’s clear that we think The B!G Idea rocks and is the future for education in Ireland but we thought it would be good to talk to some of our sparkly mentors who have been involved in the programme this year to get their views. Our first interviewee was Scott Burnett, founder and strategic director of WOVE, a strategic design consultancy. Here’s what he has to say, all of which is pretty awesome.
Why do you think creative skills are important at second level?
To my mind, creativity and critical thinking are probably two of the most important things for any job now, not to mention in 10 or 15 years time. I think it’s going to be across every industry and everything that they’re doing.
What is mentoring?
Mentoring is giving people the benefit of your experience, giving them some time, giving them some feedback, helping them understand you know what they are doing and how things work.
Can you take us through the process of The B!G Idea mentoring?
So, the process of The B!G Idea mentoring, you log on a couple of times, you look at some of the work that the students are doing within a particular area, and simply just give them some practical feedbacks, some thoughts, some tips, some things to look at and a bit of support and encouragement.
What was the most important part of mentoring for you?
For me the most important part of mentoring was you know just getting to see where kids’ heads are at in terms of creativity and critical thinking and seeing how they connect with the world, getting to see some great insights and great ideas.
What is your biggest take away from mentoring?
My biggest take away from mentoring is that, you know, there is a generation of kids growing up who feel really passionate about really important challenges in the world and are really kind of dedicated to try and do something positive about it.
Would you have benefitted from The B!G Idea in school?
I would have loved The B!G Idea when I was in school. You know there was nothing like it, you had art class but you had nothing where you were trying to apply that to real life situations which I think would have been hugely beneficial.
Did you enjoy the mentoring process and did you feel supported through it?
The mentoring process was great, I felt very supported. I mean the kind of digital experience they use is very easy to understand and navigate. It didn’t take that long so it wasn’t something that really impacted my life so it was brilliant.
Would you recommend mentoring to other people?
I would really recommend getting involved. I think it is a great thing for designers to do, who have some experience to connect with people who are just at the very beginning of thinking about this stuff. It really helps you kind of reframe and look at what you do yourself.
For more information on supporting the next generation by becoming a mentor or to sign up as a mentor please click below and we would love to hear from you.
