Today’s teenagers will soon inherit all of the worlds’ big problems. So why not enlist their help in solving them? That’s the idea behind the 24 Hour Think Challenge sponsored by the J.A. And Kathryn Albertson Foundation and the student leadership organization One Stone.
One hundred and fifty high school juniors from 23 Idaho schools will form groups on the floor of Boise’s Century Link Area Thursday. Each group gets one of four topics; life, education, health and STEM (that’s Science Technology Engineering and Math, a popular topic within education.) After a crash course in “design thinking” they’ll hear from people who work in those fields about the challenges their industries are working to solve.
Then, the groups have 24-hours to pick a problem and design a solution. Sleep is optional according to an Albertson Foundation spokesman.
This is not supposed to be just an academic exercise. Friday, the students will pitch their plans to people who might be in positions to put them into action.
Hundreds have been invited to hear the pitches including lawmakers, city leaders, educators and business leaders. What those people do with the ideas they hear is up to them.
Find reporter Adam Cotterell on Twitter @cotterelladam
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