What is the International Design Challenge?

A one-week design challenge that is offered to overseas students (Year 10-12) and hosted at our partner university in Australia.

​You will pick up valuable skills, a certificate in Design Thinking (a creative approach to problem solving that is a widely and globally recognised skillset taught at the Stanford School of Design or d. school), experience the campus of our partner university, and the team with the best design gets a prize! Build up your problem-solving, teamwork, and presentation skills, while preparing for life in college and beyond. 

You do not need any prior design experience to participate - the whole objective is for you to learn and apply as you go with your peers!

---

HOW does it WORK?

1. Who can participate? 

We believe that students from Year 10 to 11 will benefit the most by participating in this program. Any student outside of Australia can participate as long as you are able to be in Melbourne during the International Design Challenge.

2. What will I get out of the program?

• Each participant is awarded a micro-credential certificate in Design Thinking, a widely recognised and applied methodology.
  
• One of the teams takes the prize of Best Design based on the final presentation of what they come up with over the 5 days. 
• You'll get to interact and work with students from different schools and locations and pick up valuable teamwork, critical thinking and presentation skills. 
• You'll get a tour of a university campus in Australia, and get to experience Melbourne's culture.

3. What Is Design Thinking?

The below is taken from: Ideou - What is Design Thinking and Ideou - Design Thinking (accessed 24 August 2018)

Design Thinking is an approach to creative problem-solving that aims to bring together what is desirable from a human point of view, with what is technologically feasible and economically viable. When we think about design thinking, the first word that comes to mind is human. For example, what's the human need behind that business need? Design thinking encourages organizations to focus on the people they're creating for and leads to human-centered products, services, and internal processes. The core of design thinking is getting actionable and knowing your questions. It’s about simple mindset shifts or ways of asking questions differently—a new way to look at problems. 

Why Is Design Thinking Important?

• It reduces the risk associated with launching new ideas.
• It helps organizations learn faster.
• It generates solutions that are innovative, not just incremental.  

3 Essential Aspects of Design Thinking

• Empathy (human-centered)
• Ideation (generating a lot of ideas)
• Experimentation

You can read more about the Design Thinking methodology and case studies of how it's been applied on the Design Kit website.

During the International Design Challenge, you will learn what is Design Thinking, how it's applied, the phases of design thinking, and you'll get to try it out right then and there with the guidance of mentors from our partner university. 

4. Does the program cost anything?

This is a paid program which will cover program fees, travel, and shared accommodation (travel and accommodation will be organised - see Section 6: Frequently Asked Questions below).

Register your interest here and we'll let you know more details shortly.

5. program schedule

A sample program for the International Design Challenge:

​1. Saturday:
Arrival in Melbourne, Australia. 

2. Sunday:
Explore and sightsee in Melbourne at your own leisure with your team.

3. Monday to Friday:
The International Design Challenge commences with Workshops and a University Experience from Monday to Friday. These workshops will take place in the daytime until the evening (timings to follow). Evenings are free to spend at your own leisure to explore the university or area that you are in for sightseeing. 

During the workshops which will be held at our partner university, you will attend workshops with facilitators (university lecturers and industry partners) that will show you how to use Design Thinking and guide you through the five-stage process to come up with a meaningful solution. You'll get a chance to apply them to work through a problem (community challenge) with a team of 4 students throughout the five days. 

You will also be taken on a tour in the university campus to visit different departments, faculties and facilities of the university.

On Friday, there will be a presentation session where you will showcase what you and your team have come up with.

4. Saturday and Sunday: 
​Option to fly back to your home country, or spend more leisure time sightseeing at your own discretion. 

6. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. Do I have to organise flights and accommodation? 
We have arrangements with travel partners who will be able to make your travel and accommodation close enough to the University Campus which is covered as part of the fees to participate. 

2. Is it safe to participate in the International Design Challenge? 
BrainSTEM staff (all of which have gone through a Working with Children check which is a mandatory requirement of the Child Safe Standards set by the Australian government) will be there to supervise throughout the challenge. We have also successfully run various Innovation Challenges with students in Australia in both face-to-face and digital settings (see FAQ 5 - Who is BrainSTEM and what do you do?).

If you have any concerns, feel free to get in touch with us via our contact form or e-mailing us directly at contact@brainstem.org.au.

3. Where will the workshops be held - who is your partner university and who will teach us?
Students are mentored by the teaching faculty from our partner university in Melbourne, Australia - more details to follow.

In addition, BrainSTEM staff (all of which have gone through a Working with Children check which is a mandatory requirement of the Child Safe Standards set by the Australian government) will be there to supervise. 

4. How do I sign up? 
Please fill in our registration form here and a member from the BrainSTEM will be in touch shortly to confirm your registration and provide additional details.

5. Who is BrainSTEM and what do you do?
BrainSTEM (Bringing Research and Innovation to STEM) is a Not for Profit organisation that started back in 2016. Recognizing that over 75% of the jobs of the future are going to be STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics based), we run programs that provide a supportive learning environment for students to explore innovative ideas, apply their academic learning with experimental science, while connecting them with a network of industry mentors, academic leaders and partner organisations. Read more about us and our impact here.

We currently run three main programs: 

• BrainSTEM Innovation Challenge: A 12-week mentoring program for students in Year 9-10 offered to schools around Australia. Since 2016, we have run six BrainSTEM Innovation Challenges, and have had over 350 students participate with mentors from education and research institutes including Swinburne University of Technology, University of Melbourne, Monash University, and The Florey Institute of Neurosciences, and many others. 


• Regional Girls Innovation Challenge: A 12-week mentoring program modelled from the BrainSTEM Innovation Challenge for girls in Year 9-10 from Regional Australia delivered digitally.


• International Design Challenge (i.e. this challenge): A one-week design challenge offered to overseas students (Year 10-12) and hosted at our partner university in Australia.  

​6. I have more questions ​- who do I ask?
Fill in our contact form or e-mail us directly at contact@brainstem.org.au.