Aalto University has been running a pioneering course on social problem solving and real world impact during the spring term of 2010 in Helsinki, Finland. The course is a masters level project work team effort for c. 30 students, who have been introduced to various systemic world problems and who then get their hands dirty in trying to solve some parts of them in the real world.
The course started back in January 2010 introduction to the themes: energy, resource scarcity, environmental destruction, poverty and inequality. An example of lecture material can be found at Slideboom in the ‘Environmental Challenges – A Systemic Overview presentation’.
After the introduction to the themes, students formed several groups around the problems to be solved. Problems included increasing the relative share of Fair Trade goods consumption, taking a radical water purification system to the international markets, increasing empathy between people, Urban Farming/Gardening for food, Social Innovation of Low Carbon solutions and helping Women’s Bank to draw in more activists from the youth.
The students gave their final presentations on the course during the first weeks of May. The students had done a wonderful job in studying and attempting to solve the issues at hand. As many projects are still under works, it is too early to judge their final success. Yet, the ideas, enthusiasm and wonderful non-traditional way of presenting the results took people over.
Empathy group had created a Playshop for school children to learn about emotions, good deeds and empathy towards others. The children were engaged to act out as ‘social spys’ for good deeds during class recess and got to deposit shared buttons for every good deed done!
The Fair Trade group had created a three level engagement strategy for the organisation to draw in more peripheral interest people and to drive them towards action in regards to Fair Trade consumption. The presentation will be presented within the organisation and disseminated within the organisation hopefully for late implementation. The overall learning lessons for social media strategy could also be used by various such organisations to engage their fans and clients.
Urban gardening group is still in the process of creating a web community to encourage people to take on urban food production, whether in their own back yard or even guerrilla style all over the city. The presentation included the chance to fold your own seedling growing pot out of recycled newspaper and to plant a pumpkin!
The Social Innovation group had created a social innovation event, where they tested the creation of low carbon innovations in teams. The event was a success and several ideas in the event are now going forward by the participants doing it themselves. This is another proof that people are ready to create change, all they need is some aligned minds, a bit of support and an encouraging experience to get them started.
The water purification group had worked with a company on analyzing potential for taking a racially disruptive water purification technology to foreign markets. The challenges were many, but the group had already identified the most crucial operative and strategic challenges blocking internalization of the innovation. The group’s presentation to the company is forthcoming, and the owners’ are sure to pay attention to the ideas on how to disseminate this technology to new markets.
The team of students working with Women’s Bank had also created an excellent suggestion on how to draw in the youth to Women’s Bank activities. Often the suggestions are limited to giving money, which usually does not take engagement very far and is not longer lasting. The proposal given by the team was multi-faceted and will be presented to the board within the organisation at a later date.
All the participants on the course had engaged in challenging real world problem solving of systemic issues. These are not easy problems to solve and a quick fix almost without exception fails. The proposal, trials and concrete steps taken by the students were something more: honest and humble acceptance of the hard facts of the issues involved, but yet clear and concrete steps towards something better.
And that is what matters: changing the world step-by-step and in the process changing yourself to believe that the world can be what we make it to be, and not just what is.
- Samu Mielonen
(The writer taught and tutored on the course and is a member of the Aalto Social Impact group)
