Lead

23 Dec Never too young to lead

Posted at 20:05h in Career Conversations, Climate, EQ skills, Future of Work, GenZ, GenZ Parent, Millennial, Newsletter, TILT the Future - Podcast episode by
E38: Never too young to lead is the trailer to a series of interviews with young people who inspire me.
(10:49 min listen, 5:00 min read)

Highlights:

Stage Fright

You know that moment?

  • When you sit in front of an interviewer for a summer job opportunity or that all important university application interview? It is just one person. But suddenly your mind goes blank.
  • Or the nerves – as you stand up to give your book report to your class? Even though you’d practiced in front of a mirror 20 times last night, suddenly all you can see is 30 faces staring at you. And your palms go sweaty. Your mouth goes dry. And you’d rather be on Mars than be talking about your all-time favourite Harry Potter book.

Fear of public speaking is a unifying and universal human experience. It gets easier when we practice because that is what gives us the confidence in our material and our preparation. But that is in the friendly environment and safety of our home.

Articulate

Practising in conditions as close to real life as possible is really what helps us get over the stage fright and nerves that come from speaking in front of a live audience.

Maybe that is why I was so enthralled. I was pulled in with the simplicity and sophistication of the solution that this young local team of 16-year-olds was presenting to the audience.

Their project was called ‘Articulate’ – a virtual reality (VR) experience that involved machine learning (ML) and augmented reality (AR). But you would not know all that complicated tech as you were immersed in your own 3D practice world. Because they deployed it in a simple cardboard viewer with an app that was on your phone.

I was pleased I had made the effort to make my way to the Tech Under 20 Cup challenge finals. And I have chosen to spotlight a local tech hub for young adults in our region.

lead

Tech Under 20 – a community of ‘people like us’

Tech under 20 is a technology hub, club or gathering spot for young adults of like-mind. A place where teens who have discovered a passion or an interest in anything from gaming to VR, blockchain to mobile app development, robotics to videography can find others of their own age who are willing to speak ‘their’ language. A community of ‘people like us’.

Silicon Halton – a tech corridor

Halton Region is in the technology corridor in the Ontario province of Canada, that runs between the acclaimed University of Waterloo and the University of Toronto (UofT) and the MaRS Discovery District – our nation’s flagship AI and technology incubator.

The area is a hotbed of small and growing startups. And Silicon Halton is the hub for these well-educated, highly experimental, incredibly diverse individuals. With great schools and communities, our area attracts a lively community of geeks:

  • people who see problems that they would like to see solved
  • people who love technology, leverage it for good, and would like to be rewarded for that

TU20 – they represent the reason I have so much faith in Gen Z

Tech Under 20 came about because some some local students approached Silicon Halton, and the result is a community run by by students for students.

There are a million reasons why someone would choose to spotlight this organization, but I have chosen to do so because they represent the best reasons why I have so much faith in Generation Z.

As you listen to the various interviews, I hope you will hear the unbridled optimism that flows through.

How TU20 delivers on the 4 pillars of Tilt the Future

The design, engagement and execution of TU20 hits on each of the 4 core pillars that make up Tilt the Future:

  1. Technology: The bleeding edge technologies that lead to great ideas and discoveries, but also the collisions where someone applies a new solution to an old problem with the existing technologies at hand.
  2. Foundations skills: These students get the opportunity to access and practice the soft skills that allow their technical knowledge to show through and shine. They learn how to lead, how to deploy their interests to solve actual problems. They learn how business works, and to ask the ethical question “Just because we can, does it mean we should?“
  3. Transition skills: TU20 offers our young students the tools and training to develop their transition mindset and skills – a key factor towards their future success.
  4. Wellness: These students begin to understand their own agency in the convoluted path towards their future as they network with peers and mentors.

As they navigate the different components that TU20 offers them, they begin their own journey to Tilting the Future in their favour

The evolution of TU20

TU20 started off as an opportunity for local robotics enthusiasts to showcase and share their expertise with an audience of adults.

This organically expanded to summer internship opportunities and mentoring relationships.

It has evolved to create a portfolio of training on job seeking – from resume writing and interview practice, to actual job offers and even contract negotiation!

School chapters

In response to a request from the group, school chapters were created. These offer a great opportunity for that student that wants to learn where to learn more about her passion, or share in an unabashedly techie conversation with someone else who ‘gets it’

 

Kyle Newcombe

It was at one of these events – Learn to get Hired- that I met Kyle Newcombe. He has his own podcast and video channel. His podcasting skills and sound editing far outstrip my abilities.
So I have invited him to co-host some interviews and these make for an interesting perspective and conversation.

Tech Under 20 Cup

TU20 continues to  expand their offerings.  They create participation and leadership opportunities for students whose minds need to reach beyond the walls of their classrooms.

TU20 Cup challenge

One of its centre-pieces is TU20Cup where teams from across the region compete.  This is a multi-month challenge.

The teams have to understand:

  • the economy of our region
  • the complexities of business
  • the challenges facing local communities

They bring along their own unique technical expertise. They come up with an idea, and with the guidance of a mentor, they build a solution.

The cup challenge is the culmination of months of discovery, of working together, of trial & error, of juggling schedules while studying for exams, applying to universities, of creating the community and teams, and discovering the best in everyone.

And for the audience, it was a window into the amazing talent, the varied interests and the promise that this young generation offers.

In 2020, the cup challenge is the opportunity to lead in the fight for Climate Change with Innovation.

In 2019, the theme was supporting youth issues for the Next Generation with a solution to be implemented with a local charity. Some of the 2019 TU20Cup contenders:

  • Prototypes that involved cryptocurrencies
  • Mobile apps to increase physically activity in Gen Z
  • Articulate – an app to make presenting less daunting

The winner was a very simple link between 2 need-based communities:

  1. Students in high school with newly minted drivers licenses ‘in need of’ their minimum community service hours to graduate
  2. Local charities ‘in need of’ volunteers for short hop errands

The solution they come up with will hopefully be the beginning of a lifelong relationship for the young drivers with the personal gratification that comes from doing volunteer work.

You could not leave that event without a lift in your heart and a skip in your step!

The Interviews

I hope you will walk away from the various interviews in this series with that same sense of optimism and hope for our collective futures.

I look forward to sharing the thoughts and ideas from the young people in Tech under 20 with you. Some conversations were what I expected. Others surprised me.

Each guest has tilted into their unique version of their future with a series of small decisions that they made along the way, stepping forward into challenges that were offered to them where they responded with a decision or an action.

Space Race & Youth

The reason I love talking about TU20 is because it reminds me of the Space Race. It showcases how groups of young people can have tremendous impact. Not only are they superbly capable, they demonstrate a maturity, curiosity and focus that current day society believes is out of reach for some so young. That is not so.

In the words of Khalil Gibran ‘On Children’, they are …

our arrows of hope
The sons and daughters of life’s longing for itself.
We can support them
but not contain them within our boundaries
of what is possible

What can YOU do to find and nurture young talent?

TU20 is my local example of this phenomenon.

If you search in your local schools, tech incubator, Arts school, soccer team or Model UN,  you too will find clusters of young minds eager to lead and make a difference to offer the best of themselves to the world.

Make. Take. Talk.

No matter our age on the spectrum from 18-80, let us use our particular talents to support this younger generation:

Make – the effort to search out local groups of talented youngsters who like to lead
Take – Offer your support – especially internships, summer jobs and mentoring
Talk – Be full of curiosity. Discover the technology and passions that fill their minds and their days.

The best ideas can come from anyone, anywhere, at any age.

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