For UNICEF Australia, partnering with a team of transdisciplinary students has led to discovering new ways to connect with young Australians to gather opinions and data for their advocacy work.
Each year industry, community and government organisations are invited to submit a complex challenge for a small team of final year Bachelor of Creative Intelligence and Innovation (BCII) students to tackle for the Industry Innovation Project (IIP). Providing learning opportunities for both students and partners, these real-world challenges highlight the importance of collaboration to generate creative and innovative solutions and outcomes.
IIP student team with UNICEF Australia partners: Tony Stuart, CEO, on far left and Oliver White, Head of Government Relations, on far right (image supplied by students)
UNICEF Australia joined IIP as a partner in 2021 to explore an ongoing challenge: how to elevate the voices of children and young people. Tasked with finding an innovative way for UNICEF Australia to connect quickly and safely with children and young people, the BCII team utilised their transdisciplinary skill sets to explore the problem and develop solutions. The BCII team developed an outcome that UNICEF Australia is now looking to bring to market, with the CEO of UNICEF Australia impressed by the team’s commitment to problem-solving.
To learn more about how this highly successful IIP project developed, we interviewed Oliver White, Head of Government Relations at UNICEF Australia and five BCII students in the IIP team; Bianca Cruz (BCII/Business), Oscar Fielke (BCII/VisComm), Rebecca Milner (BCII/Science), Aleisha Smith (BCII/Comms) and Sarah Wilson (BCII/Comms).
Why did you choose to engage with Industry Innovation Project?
OLIVER WHITE: We were immediately excited by the prospect of working with some of Sydney’s brightest young minds to solve a complex and real-world challenge that UNICEF Australia has been grappling with for some time. The UTS Industry Innovation Project has been a perfect partnership for us as it puts into practice what we advocate - if you want good policy or program outcomes for young people, then involve them in the design process. Doing so ensures you end up with a program or project which is more appropriate, accessible and effective for the very audience you are trying to engage.
REBECCA (BCII student): I saw a chance to gain some invaluable industry experience and observe the functioning of a not-for-profit that has global connections. I enjoyed the idea of being able to contribute to something positive, on a large scale.
OSCAR (BCII student): As a design innovation student, I have a deep passion for working on projects where people are at the centre and where there is a chance to ignite real positive impact. Not only did UNICEF represent to me an organisation where I had the opportunity to take that step toward social change, but the brief they pitched really resonated with me as a young Australian who feels unheard by decision-makers.
During IIP, students work in multidisciplinary teams. What advantages does this bring?
OLIVER WHITE: The challenge we set the students has relevance for different parts of our organisation such as our advocacy team, our supporter engagement team and our marketing and fundraising team.
The multidisciplinary team structure enabled the students to bring different perspectives and solutions to the challenge, which ultimately led to a solution that added value to a broader range of teams within UNICEF Australia.
– Oliver White, Head of Government Relations, UNICEF Australia
BIANCA (BCII student): We engaged with multiple teams and agencies of UNICEF Australia – corporate partnerships, digital marketing, international programs, and their government and communications agencies. I enjoyed learning about the different projects within each team and pieced together how each function played a role in addressing youth engagement in Australia.
What have the benefits of participating in IIP been? Were there any highlight moments?
OLIVER WHITE: Given our objective was to design a platform which allows us to broaden our connection with young Australians, there’s no doubt that it was hugely beneficial to have a team of young people helping us solve this challenge. This project has resulted in a strong concept for us to explore further, but it has also provided us with yet another example of how engaging young people in the design of programs for other young people yields better results than when they are excluded.
There were so many highlights during this project, however the standout was when the student team first presented their core idea about halfway through the project. The concept was so strong, it was obvious that the team had struck gold and I knew they had an idea we could use.
– Oliver White, Head of Government Relations, UNICEF Australia
ALEISHA (BCII student): I learned how important the concepts and method we use throughout BCII are in real-world scenarios. In the end, I think UNICEF got just as much out of the subject as we did!
SARAH (BCII student): A highlight was definitely our final pitch to the entire organisation where we received great feedback and encouragement from the team and the CEO!
The student team have continued to work on this project with UNICEF Australia for their Capstone subject. Could you tell us a bit about how this came about and any other outcomes from the project?
OLIVER WHITE: The student team presented their concept to the entire UNICEF Australia office, including the Executive Leadership Team. The pitch was so impressive that the CEO, Tony Stuart, immediately committed UNICEF Australia to continue working with the students to take the concept to market. The students will work with our Corporate Partnerships Team to refine their concept and prepare them to pitch to a potential funder. Given the strength of their concept, we’re hopeful we can secure funding to bring this project to life.
Oliver White, Head of Government Relations, UNICEF Australia, talks with UNICEF Australia Young Ambassadors (photo: UNICEF Australia/2021/Moran)
What advice would you give to an organisation looking to become an Industry Innovation Project partner?
OLIVER WHITE: In short – sign up! IIP is a great opportunity for any organisation looking to bring in fresh new thinking to help solve complex real-world challenges. For UNICEF Australia, the project was a success because we trusted the process and most importantly trusted the students to deliver.
We gave them [the students] the necessary information and inputs but also the creative space and freedom to reframe the problem and offer new and innovative ideas. Have confidence in the students’ abilities, remain open to new ways of thinking and ideas and you’ll end up with a great outcome.
– Oliver White, Head of Government Relations- UNICEF Australia
BIANCA (BCII student): UNICEF Australia took our IIP seriously – from our initial meeting, they communicated their objective of co-designing a youth engagement solution with our team that they can take into market. Setting this expectation from the very beginning has motivated our team to work towards an outcome that will be valuable for their organisation.
Many thanks for the UNICEF Australia team who engaged with the students for their Industry Innovation Project in Autumn and their Creative Intelligence Capstone in Spring 2021, and congratulations to the student team (Bianca Cruz, Oscar Fielke, Milla Campbell, Rebecca Milner, Aleisha Smith and Sarah Wilson).