Run by Loughborough University London, the Collaborative Project is a module that allows students across all degrees to form teams to solve a real-life organisation problem, provided by one of our Partner Organisations. The module culminates in the Collaborative Project Show, where teams are nominated to showcase their solutions.
Usually, the show is held in London but this year it will be virtual; making it available to anyone in the world interested in seeing the solutions the teams have come up with.
The Dean of Loughborough University London, Professor Tony Edwards will open the show and Director of Innovation, Sustainability and Community at London Legacy Development Corporation, Emma Frost will give the show’s first-ever key-note speech.
Almost 700 students have collaborated over 10 weeks in 28 virtual classrooms overseen by their academic Project Lead. They have worked with their partner organisation to deconstruct their brief, conduct research, test ideas and put forward their proposals.
The Partner Organisations who have provided the 28 project briefs are as follows: Sports Interactive, West Ham United Foundation, Ticketmaster Sport, Sport & Recreation Alliance, Citizens UK, Andalucia Lab, Creating Ground, Ogilvy, Convedo, RingCentral, Transport for London, Manifesto, Samarkand Global, Alcatel Lucent, UiPath, This Great Adventure, Latin Elephant, International Paralympic Committee, Tech London Advocates, UNI4U, Torpey, We Are The News, Classin and Tokio Marine Holdings.
Gareth Johns, Senior Director at RingCentral, one of the Partner Organisations said: “Graduates are entering an increasingly competitive workforce. Now, more than ever, students must apply what they are learning before completing their studies. Addressing real-world scenarios that align with the knowledge they are developing at university, will prepare them for some of the challenges they may experience in the future.”
Emma Frost, the key-note speaker for the event added: “Loughborough University is well known for its success rate in getting graduates into employment. A big part of this due to the relevance of its teaching and the interdisciplinary approach adopted. I’m delighted to be part of this celebration event as innovation systems thinking is fundamental to the future of cities and the socio-economic growth we want to see from them. Collaboration, diversity and connected problem solving are all part of how we create more responsive and effective workers, services, products, industries and places.”
Ashley Gray, Learning Partnerships Manager added: “We appreciate all our Partner Organisations and value their commitment and flexibility to work with us during this unique year. The need to work digitally has meant we have been able to collaborate with people around the world and we look forward to having our first global audience.
“Future Collaborate activities are currently also being developed and this summer we are piloting a mini 2-day Collaborate Project for school-age pupils aged 14-15 years working in collaboration with one of our current Partner Organisations; Sports Interactive.”
You can register for the showcase here.
The Collaborate programme currently features academic modules the Collaborative Project and Collaborative Dissertation. If you would like your organisation to be involved you can apply for the next project can apply here. Applications close 13 September 2021 for a February 2022 start.