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What will be the next great invention? Ask a teenager What will be the next great invention? Ask a teenager
(about 1 hour later)
From the sewing machine to ice cream, the railway to the telegraph, the 19th century was awash with invention. It seems you couldn't turn your back without someone inventing the flushing toilet, the typewriter, the light bulb, X-ray, or the wireless.From the sewing machine to ice cream, the railway to the telegraph, the 19th century was awash with invention. It seems you couldn't turn your back without someone inventing the flushing toilet, the typewriter, the light bulb, X-ray, or the wireless.
The Victorians certainly had a knack for recognising a need, an opportunity, a better way of doing things – as a recent poll of Britain's greatest inventions shows. And recognising needs is what innovation is all about. It's not about widgets for the sake of widgets.The Victorians certainly had a knack for recognising a need, an opportunity, a better way of doing things – as a recent poll of Britain's greatest inventions shows. And recognising needs is what innovation is all about. It's not about widgets for the sake of widgets.
The 19th century may loom large, but modern Britons certainly haven't lost the urge to innovate. For the best part of 40 years the BBC show Tomorrow's World, which I helped present, was witness to the brilliance and imagination of engineers, scientists and technologists of every kind. The people behind Concorde, the first home computer, the internet, IVF, sat nav, the digital camera. The 19th century may loom large, but modern Britons certainly haven't lost the urge to innovate. For the best part of 40 years the BBC show Tomorrow's World, which I helped present, was witness to the brilliance and imagination of engineers, scientists and technologists of every kind. The people behind Concorde, the first home computer, the web, IVF, sat nav, the digital camera.
Sometimes scientists were cracking problems I hadn't realised existed – like the machine that could tell the difference between a thousand different shades of tomato. And ironically perhaps, their work frequently addressed environmental issues caused by the industrial revolution so revered by those bemoaning the lack of contemporary British innovation.Sometimes scientists were cracking problems I hadn't realised existed – like the machine that could tell the difference between a thousand different shades of tomato. And ironically perhaps, their work frequently addressed environmental issues caused by the industrial revolution so revered by those bemoaning the lack of contemporary British innovation.
How can we best support the spirit of innovation, and make the 21st century as memorable as the 19th? Ask young teenagers for their ideas on what they'd like the world to be like by 2050 and the results inspire. They can be bold thinkers and we need to do more to support their confidence. Not only to learn the skills that will turn their ideas into reality but to develop their ability to collaborate and their confidence to persist or to fail and try again.How can we best support the spirit of innovation, and make the 21st century as memorable as the 19th? Ask young teenagers for their ideas on what they'd like the world to be like by 2050 and the results inspire. They can be bold thinkers and we need to do more to support their confidence. Not only to learn the skills that will turn their ideas into reality but to develop their ability to collaborate and their confidence to persist or to fail and try again.
And we should do this not simply because they can get the UK out of recession but so they can create a more sustainable future for everyone. At TeenTech, where I work to help inspire the next generation of innovators, we've always run an ideas wall at events, and global companies have been staggered by the diversity and number of ideas 300 teenagers generate. We set up the TeenTech awards this year to encourage them to take their ideas further and to collaborate with industry, academia and students across the world in the process. The potential is very much out there.And we should do this not simply because they can get the UK out of recession but so they can create a more sustainable future for everyone. At TeenTech, where I work to help inspire the next generation of innovators, we've always run an ideas wall at events, and global companies have been staggered by the diversity and number of ideas 300 teenagers generate. We set up the TeenTech awards this year to encourage them to take their ideas further and to collaborate with industry, academia and students across the world in the process. The potential is very much out there.
But with so much innovation moving into the digital space, "invention" has become invisible to all but the makers. Whether it's iTunes or Moshi Monsters, we consume the product but it's not always easy to see the hand of the creator, to appreciate their skill and talent. We can't casually admire the cleverness of decisions or understand the problem solving in the same way that we can follow the intricacies of a steam engine. We stroke the sleek screen, download the music, or swipe our mobiles to pay for a skinny latte, but the algorithms and programming are discreet.But with so much innovation moving into the digital space, "invention" has become invisible to all but the makers. Whether it's iTunes or Moshi Monsters, we consume the product but it's not always easy to see the hand of the creator, to appreciate their skill and talent. We can't casually admire the cleverness of decisions or understand the problem solving in the same way that we can follow the intricacies of a steam engine. We stroke the sleek screen, download the music, or swipe our mobiles to pay for a skinny latte, but the algorithms and programming are discreet.
If we really do want austerity to be the mother of invention, we need to look closely at how we believe this will happen.If we really do want austerity to be the mother of invention, we need to look closely at how we believe this will happen.
It's a many-faceted problem. Are we doing enough to help parents understand just how much the landscape has changed? Parents are a strong influence when it comes to careers but are not always best placed to help teenagers navigate contemporary opportunities.It's a many-faceted problem. Are we doing enough to help parents understand just how much the landscape has changed? Parents are a strong influence when it comes to careers but are not always best placed to help teenagers navigate contemporary opportunities.
Do we structure schools and indeed companies so that innovation can be nurtured from the bottom up? Are we stifling innovative thinking? Are we comfortable with nonconformist, disruptive thinkers?Do we structure schools and indeed companies so that innovation can be nurtured from the bottom up? Are we stifling innovative thinking? Are we comfortable with nonconformist, disruptive thinkers?
Are we really doing enough through our formal education system to support and encourage innovation? Are we leaving too much to great but isolated projects when it comes to helping young people become digital creators?Are we really doing enough through our formal education system to support and encourage innovation? Are we leaving too much to great but isolated projects when it comes to helping young people become digital creators?
Initiatives such as TeachFirst and Computing at School have started to revitalise science and technology teaching in the classroom. There is a real will among many tech companies to find effective ways of helping a generation understand their own potential. Things are beginning to move.Initiatives such as TeachFirst and Computing at School have started to revitalise science and technology teaching in the classroom. There is a real will among many tech companies to find effective ways of helping a generation understand their own potential. Things are beginning to move.
When it comes to universities and colleges, Professor Sa'ad Medhat, CEO of educational charity the New Engineering Foundation, believes we will need to embrace the concept of open innovation, which is increasingly used in business. "Such a process will enable the learning transfer to happen between the student and lecturer, student to student, industry to education and vice versa. This in turn will inspire learning that is influenced by the real customer."When it comes to universities and colleges, Professor Sa'ad Medhat, CEO of educational charity the New Engineering Foundation, believes we will need to embrace the concept of open innovation, which is increasingly used in business. "Such a process will enable the learning transfer to happen between the student and lecturer, student to student, industry to education and vice versa. This in turn will inspire learning that is influenced by the real customer."
Openness, a cross-disciplinary approach, a sense of possibility and faith in the potential of our young people. If we really embrace these qualities, another golden age of invention could be just around the corner.Openness, a cross-disciplinary approach, a sense of possibility and faith in the potential of our young people. If we really embrace these qualities, another golden age of invention could be just around the corner.