Everything your team submits as part of the illuminate:nextgen Challenge is marked against the same set of seven (7) criteria, which has been developed alongside the core skills that the challenge is based upon. Depending on the task, the criteria has different weightings depending on the importance of that particular skill or knowledge for that task, so check the task outlines closely to see what the judges are looking for – and for major tasks, you can download judging rubrics to see what judges are expecting. The criteria are:

1. Strategy & Organisation
2. Research & Inquiry
3. Creativity & Innovation
4. Financial Interpretation
5. Communication
6. Use of Digital Technology
7. Real World Application

If your team is having an issue, work through these three things;

• Check the Resources website. This website has lots of information on it, so please check the task outlines for any assistance that is already provided.
• Check Collaborate. You might not be the only team asking this question – so check the recent conversations to see if your question has already been answered.
• Ask the Facilitators or on Collaborate. If you haven’t found the answer, please ask just ask the question. If you are asking online, please avoid using the direct message feature, as it is useful for other teams to know the answer too.

Organisation & Time Management are Critical

• Attend all sessions on time. Keep track of the time, and make sure you are ready for sessions when they begin to make the most of the information that is shared.
• Set how you work best. As the challenge progresses, you will be in charge of your own agenda. Consider how you can be productive and get the most out of every team member.
• Deadlines are strict. If your work is handed in after the deadline, it will get a zero mark. Make sure you plan ahead and keep accountable.
• Awards Ceremony. There is an awards ceremony at the end of the challenge, and it is a fantastic celebration of everything that you and your team has achieved. Make every attempt to be there.

Use the Resources Provided

• Use your Team Binder to help. The binder has checklists, outlines for some tasks, and helpful resources. Keep your materials together too within the binder – but don’t lose it!
• Use Collaborate. Collaborate is our online chat platform that we give access to all teams, to ask questions, get updates and provide assistance throughout the challenge.
• Use the Resources website. This website has task outlines, templates and much more – make the most of it as these will help you complete the challenge and stay on track.
• Use technology to access relevant information. You will need to complete research and access other websites to help – use technology productively to make the most of what you can access.

Behaviour Expectations

• Respect others – within your team, in the program and around us. This goes without saying, and while the challenge provides a different environment, school rules still apply.

This is the problem or central issue that each team’s solution has to address. Please read the Core Challenge carefully, as your business needs to meet this to be able to win major awards throughout the week.

The global COVID-19 pandemic has seen our world change dramatically and has been ‘make or break’ for many, putting everything to the ultimate resilience test. It is also allowing us to look at everything in a different way. What was previously accepted as ‘normal’1  is now being questioned, including how we can develop systems and behaviours that prioritise the environment; and the inclusion and wellbeing for everyone in our communities. But while this is the current challenge, it is not just COVID-19 that we need to build our resilience for.  Our world will continue to face many challenges and building resilience is how we can be prepared to cope and work through problems as they occur.  

So what is resilience? For individuals is it about successfully adjusting to major changes, or recovering from illness or adversity.  For communities and organisations it is similar, but with a wider focus on responding to challenges by changing ‘what’ or ‘how’ they do things so that they can continue to exist3. Building resilience is a vital skill that we need for ourselves so we can manage our personal lives and achieve our goals.  Having communities and organisations that are focused on building long-term resilience is also vital so that our world can thrive in the future, regardless of any future challenges.

Your focus for the illuminate:nextgen Challenge is to think about developing a solution that will build resilient individuals, communities, or organisations so that we can all thrive as a world going forward.  This could be a new idea, or a change to a current process, service, product, or design, but use this opportunity and time for fresh thinking to make the change you want to see. It does not need to be focused on the pandemic but could address building resilient individuals, communities, organisation, or our world in any circumstance to see us thrive in the future. 

To fully outline your solution, your team must produce;

• a project outline that justifies and explains your proposed solution,
• supporting financial information that proves the viability and benefit of the solution,
• a pitch deck presentation that gets key stakeholders and the community excited about your solution,
• an infographic representation of your idea that outlines your thinking and creative approaches to promoting your solution,
• a number of problem-solving exercises throughout the challenge,
• and a number of other tasks to help set a strong foundation for the challenge.

Good luck!

References

1. ‘We will not go back to normal..” quote by Sonya Renee Taylor, viewed on Brené Brown’s Facebook page   September 2021, <https://www.facebook.com/brenebrown/photos/do-not-miss-this-podcast-with-sonya-renee-taylor-on-unlockingusan-honest-and-sou/3826596017355479/> 
2. Foundations for Tomorrow, Awareness to Action Key Findings, viewed September 2021, <https://www.foundationsfortomorrow.org/the-report> 
3. Definition of resilience, obtained from Dictionary.com, viewed September 2021, <https://www.dictionary.com/browse/resilience>

Preparing your financial documents can be hard for most people – so illuminate Education have worked closely with Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (who are definitely the experts in this space!) to help you out.

There are video guides to help you prepare your financial statements with useful tips along the way that you can use as you develop your statements, as well as heaps of great resources that could help you open up some great career options.

All you need to do is click here and you’ll get access to the resources.