This month at the Generator we held our second Hack for Good event, a two-day bootcamp focussing on social enterprise. Our students collaborated with Goldsmiths, University of London students on social enterprise ideas to tackle some of society's biggest issues. Combining workshops and practical tasks they developed social enterprises in teams before pitching them to the judges at the end of day two.
To help the students develop their ideas the Generator team devised a series of workshops and practical tasks to encourage them to think as entrepreneurs. On day one our Enterprise Advisor Carl Thomas delivered workshops on the Lean Model Canvas and how to talk to customers and beneficiaries. On day two Enterprise Officer Joe Blomfield delivered two workshops on the Theory of Change and Pitching & Presenting. As part of the process, students also went out into the streets of Greenwich to get feedback from the public on their ideas.
During the hack, the students received professional advice from mentors Femi Yusoof M.ISP, Abdirahman Ahmed, Karen MacIntyre, Libby Turner and Cécile-Agathe Bouchet who provided invaluable insights. Alongside our mentoring sessions, guest speaker Colin Crooks MBE gave great advice as an experienced social entrepreneur about dealing with setbacks and prioritising your mission.
At the end of the two days, our judges Jean Malan, Lucien von Schomberg and the head of the Generator Rachel Brown decided on the winning teams. Winning the 'Most Social Impact' award was oHange, an exchange platform for refugees to share their skills and resources. Our other award 'Most Viable Idea' was won by JuteX who are building sustainable products made of Jute fibre including an ultra-lightweight bike for commuters.
We were so impressed with the level of ideas at the hack and how the students from both universities collaborated on high-quality and innovative ideas.
Student Feedback
'A heartfelt shoutout to Generator, University of Greenwich & Goldsmiths, University of London for enabling the opportunity to proffer social enterprise ideas to tackle prevailing societal issues. Those couple of days had been a whirlwind of creativity, research, interviews, and concept development.' - Adedotun (Adedayo) Fakeye
