The second of three Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship (ICE) training days scheduled for the current school year was held at the Bluewater District School Board Education Centre in Chesley on Friday, March 31, 2017. Approximately 100 Grade 11 and 12 students enrolled in the Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) program attended from Chesley District Community School (Agriculture), Grey Highlands Secondary School in Flesherton (Horticulture and Landscaping), Bruce Peninsula District School in Lion's Head (Environment), and Kincardine District Secondary School (Construction).
ICE training allows SHSM students to develop sector specific essential skills and knowledge that will assist them in becoming entrepreneurs once they have graduated. Students learn about the three "Gears" of ICE, which include Empathy and Need Finding (or understanding your customers), Ideation and Prototyping (or brainstorming), as well as Strategy and Testing.
Student groups from each participating sector were once again matched with local business and industry leaders, who presented real challenges currently being experienced by their respective organizations. The students were then tasked with brainstorming and developing potential solutions to those challenges.
For example, Construction students were asked to address the many challenges faced by a developer during a new build to ensure effective communication amongst the various engineers and consultants involved so that safety, stability, and all of the various jobs within the build are up to code. A proposed solution by the students was to build an app to better enable communication through file sharing capability, the opportunity to collaborate on projects in real time, and use of a 360-degree camera for a virtual reality walk through of job sites. Horticulture and Landscaping students pitched the development of a website and providing cell phone technology for employees at a company specializing in landscape design and build services to enhance communication. Agriculture students shared their ideas on attracting the best employees with the right mix of sales and technical experience to a growing local company that provides drone technology to the mining, engineering, forestry, construction, surveying, and agriculture industries.
The top pitch of the day according to the judges came from Environment students at Bruce Peninsula District School. The students were asked how a tire company might incorporate its excess rubber into a useful role in the local industry and economy. Students proposed repurposing rubber shavings into artificial soil. As a soil substitute, the rubber could be compiled with nutrients and water to create a viable eco system. For their ideas, the students each received an iTunes card along with a 500 dollar donation towards their school's SHSM program from 24/7, a group of business professionals who support local entrepreneurship.
