Created in September 2013, our first innovation challenge was launched at Kansas City Kansas Community College after strong interest in holding a student innovation competition. The result was a 3-day competition where six different teams worked to solve six different startup problems.

Our challenges take a few different formats based on our community partners’ needs, including one or several-day — in-person, virtual, private or citywide — innovation challenges and pitch competitions. The purpose of these challenges is to introduce youth to the entrepreneurial mindset and human-centered design thinking. 

The Social Change Internship (SCI) is an immersive, virtual 8-week program that challenges students to inspire, encourage, and create social change. Working in teams, students are led through a deep dive in design thinking and work together to create viable solutions for various social issues, including but not limited to areas of public health, political issues, racial injustice, climate change, and education. We also believe these examples and stories of student-led learning serve as models for teachers to follow in the classroom.

Students often continue to pursue their ideas beyond completion of the internship - having held large-scale community events and even pushing legislative bills through their city’s council.

Educators are key in helping us achieve our mission for student success, and central to our theory of change and the way this movement scales. We believe that teachers are the gatekeepers in student experience. Our programs focus on experiential training in design thinking and tactical coaching, equipping and empowering educators as they design and implement authentic learning experiences for youth, as well as spearheading these initiatives in their contexts. 

A three-day professional development workshop where we will dive into the design thinking process and how to apply it to create entrepreneurial experiences in your classroom. Attendees will come away from the program with experience in planning and facilitating entrepreneurial experiences that result in MVA opportunities for their students.

Startland offers free videos, guides, and other resources for educators looking to immerse themselves in the design thinking process & commit to real-world learning in the classroom.