Thinkfest Ideation Workshop

Wednesday and Thursday October 4-5, 2023

Steered by Dr. Jeffrey Stamp, inventor, creator, and entrepreneur. The program was designed to inspire high school students to develop and entrepreneurial mindset and to recognize, develop and pitch business ideas. The program is a partnership with John Carroll University. 238 students attended over the two-day program.

DesignIS: Change

Thursday, November 9, 2023

The DesignIS: Change workshop was an interactive experience that explored the power of design and allowed 118 students to think deeply about solving a social impact problem. They learned the six-step design thinking process, empathy mapping, and expand their imagination through creative exploration.

Stock Market Challenge (Fall Semester)

Friday, December 8, 2023

The high-energy event was designed to simulate the excitement of a real-life trading floor. Teams of 4 to 5 students learned to work together, leverage each other’s strengths, and use critical thinking skills while analyzing news articles and data during a fierce high-stakes competition. 209 students registered for the Fall program.

thinkBIG! Challenge

Tuesday, January 16, 2024 (Online Entry)

The online business plan competition for high school students in Northeast Ohio offered $9,000 in prizes. Finalists attended Executive Coaching and receive guidance from entrepreneurial professionals in the Cleveland business community. The challenge had 111 entries from 247 students.

Skill Building Workshop

Wednesday, January 24, 2024

62 Students attended skills-based workshops throughout the day facilitated by local entrepreneurs. The workshops taught key business fundamentals such as: product creation, prototyping, branding, adaptation, and identifying customers’ needs.

Hackathon

Thursday, February 8, 2024

The Design Challenge Hackathon allowed students to learn a series of skill sets through workshops, mentorship, and curriculum provided and facilitated by GiveBackHack. Students had the opportunity to pitch their own idea or join another team to work with through the event. 51 students attended the program.

Executive Coaching Day

Monday, February 15, 2024

The six teams chosen to pitch at thinkBIG! Summit received Executive Coaching from a professional entrepreneur at think[box] at Case Western Reserve University.

thinkBIG! Summit

Tuesday, March 5, 2024

296 students attended the thinkBIG! Summit. The program provided a climactic close to the annual thinkBIG! Challenge. Finalists presented to a panel of judges as part of the full-day conference on the campus of Case Western Reserve University.

Stock Market Challenge (Spring Semester)

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

This high energy event was designed to simulate the excitement of a real-life trading floor. Teams of 4 to 5 students learned to work together, leverage each other’s strengths, and use critical thinking skills while analyzing news articles and data during a fierce high-stakes competition. 252 students registered for the Spring Program.

Upcycle: Enterprise

Cleveland or Online Version

Students explored social entrepreneurship through creative lessons, hands-on prototyping and an opportunity to pitch ideas. The two-hour field trip & innovation session focused on creativity, innovation, developing quick designs from upcycled materials, student report-backs and pitches on prototypes.

Akron Suarez Applied Marketing Lab

University of Akron

The Benjamin and Nancy Suarez Applied Marketing Research Lab featured a Cognitive Research Laboratory with state-of-the-art technologies focused on techniques such as eye tracking, brainwave function, and physiological analyses; a Marketing Intelligence Laboratory with workstations where students and faculty developed comprehensive market intelligence reports.

NEO High School Microgrant

17 high school students received the NEO High School Microgrant. Students who had an idea for a product or service, or who had a side hustle or business and were looking to scale, could apply for a microgrant to start or expand on their businesses! Grant applications described their business idea, how it solved a problem in society, their target market, stage of development, how much funding was needed, and how the funding would be used.

think[box]

Case Western Reserve University

A 50,000 square-foot innovation center and markerspace. 154 high schools throughout Northeast Ohio were invited to tour the center and participate in a workshop that exposed them to a variety of equipment as they worked through the design process. Students created a physical product and were introduced to 3D printing, laser cutting, and more!

Youth Bee Works Hive Sponsorship

Hive sponsorships from Youth Bee Works Edenculture gave students a unique opportunity to not only witness a fully functional economic force, but also to create a revenue stream from the production of honey. This program was full within weeks of the registration opening.