Smart Seeds 2019

What happened?

We had five key dates to block out into our calendar when we first started. Little did we know how much we’d learn in the next eight weeks!

  • Launch Workshop

This workshop was where all the participants were able to choose their challenges! Challenge authors from each company pitched a challenge that was currently facing industry and/or society. Organisers allocated participants into teams based on the interests anonymously expressed, and we were off to solve our challenges!

  • Ideation Workshop

The Ideation workshop was hosted by Caltex’s Innovation Hub. All the participants followed a human centred design structure - quickly ideating, refining and prototyping to help each team think outside the box when it comes to solutions. It was an eye-opening process, and creatively challenging but fun at the same time!

  • Pitch Workshop

This all-day workshop provided so many valuable insights and lessons.

Insight 1: Be conscious about your presentation stance. Your body language can make or break the pitch. Keep your back straight, hands apart, feet at shoulder length and don’t forget to breathe!

Insight 2: When speaking to a large audience, feel free to move around the stage. If you stand on one side of the stage, look to the other side when speaking to maintain maximum engagement with the entire audience.

  • Pitch Coaching

You’ve just written your content, but now it’s the first time your team is practising together. To help get over the awkward start, have each participant face a different wall and spend five minutes just practising your part all at the same time. This will mean there is a lot of noise, but it will help break the tension.

  • Showcase Event

On Wednesday 15 May, teams pitched their innovative solutions to a highly-esteemed judging panel, which included TfNSW’s Urban Deputy Secretary, Elizabeth Mildwater. Judges gave special mention to each team for the passion, creativity, and thoughtfulness demonstrated over the last eight weeks of the program.

Join us in congratulating the winning teams:

Smart Seeds 2019 – Judging Panel Winner: Food 4 Soul

Our graduate, Nikhil and his team on the win!

Smart Seeds 2019 – People’s Choice Award: Smart Bins

Our graduates, Samantha Read, Sarthak Aggarwal and Jenny Nguyen dressed as their prototype!

Lessons Learnt

What are some lessons that our participants learnt?

Take a step back – Linh Tran

You have the opportunity to work with young professionals from different industry backgrounds and disciplines. It’s refreshing to see how other people perceive the project challenge, and sometimes you must remember to take a step back. Don’t focus all your energy on trying to convince people to see it from your perspective. Instead, facilitate the conversation and appreciate what other experience and ideas they can bring.

Manage your time - Henry Lenaghan

Schedule meetings early, isolate tasks, and establish deadlines - it helps to balance things out and ascertain the levels of commitment from your team members. It also keeps the team engaged and motivated to work towards something. Managing your time from the start will save you in the long run!

Do not succumb to negative self-talk – Jenny Nguyen

It’s natural to doubt your ideas when surrounded by so many different people! Be mindful of common and often negative 'fixed mindset' reactions. When you hit a roadblock or challenge, end your statement with 'yet’ - "I can't do this..yet". Remember to be kind to yourself and maintain a growth mindset. Trust yourself and your confidence will show.

For more Information

Congratulations to all our Graduate participants who worked equally as hard to prepare and deliver amazing presentations on the night. To learn more about this year’s challenges and solutions, you can also visit the Smart Seeds website.

What happened?

We had five key dates to block out into our calendar when we first started. Little did we know how much we’d learn in the next eight weeks!

  • Launch Workshop

This workshop was where all the participants were able to choose their challenges! Challenge authors from each company pitched a challenge that was currently facing industry and/or society. Organisers allocated participants into teams based on the interests anonymously expressed, and we were off to solve our challenges!

  • Ideation Workshop

The Ideation workshop was hosted by Caltex’s Innovation Hub. All the participants followed a human centred design structure - quickly ideating, refining and prototyping to help each team think outside the box when it comes to solutions. It was an eye-opening process, and creatively challenging but fun at the same time!

  • Pitch Workshop

This all-day workshop provided so many valuable insights and lessons.

Insight 1: Be conscious about your presentation stance. Your body language can make or break the pitch. Keep your back straight, hands apart, feet at shoulder length and don’t forget to breathe!

Insight 2: When speaking to a large audience, feel free to move around the stage. If you stand on one side of the stage, look to the other side when speaking to maintain maximum engagement with the entire audience.

  • Pitch Coaching

You’ve just written your content, but now it’s the first time your team is practising together. To help get over the awkward start, have each participant face a different wall and spend five minutes just practising your part all at the same time. This will mean there is a lot of noise, but it will help break the tension.

  • Showcase Event

On Wednesday 15 May, teams pitched their innovative solutions to a highly-esteemed judging panel, which included TfNSW’s Urban Deputy Secretary, Elizabeth Mildwater. Judges gave special mention to each team for the passion, creativity, and thoughtfulness demonstrated over the last eight weeks of the program.

Join us in congratulating the winning teams:

Smart Seeds 2019 – Judging Panel Winner: Food 4 Soul

Our graduate, Nikhil and his team on the win!

Smart Seeds 2019 – People’s Choice Award: Smart Bins

Our graduates, Samantha Read, Sarthak Aggarwal and Jenny Nguyen dressed as their prototype!

Lessons Learnt

What are some lessons that our participants learnt?

Take a step back – Linh Tran

You have the opportunity to work with young professionals from different industry backgrounds and disciplines. It’s refreshing to see how other people perceive the project challenge, and sometimes you must remember to take a step back. Don’t focus all your energy on trying to convince people to see it from your perspective. Instead, facilitate the conversation and appreciate what other experience and ideas they can bring.

Manage your time - Henry Lenaghan

Schedule meetings early, isolate tasks, and establish deadlines - it helps to balance things out and ascertain the levels of commitment from your team members. It also keeps the team engaged and motivated to work towards something. Managing your time from the start will save you in the long run!

Do not succumb to negative self-talk – Jenny Nguyen

It’s natural to doubt your ideas when surrounded by so many different people! Be mindful of common and often negative 'fixed mindset' reactions. When you hit a roadblock or challenge, end your statement with 'yet’ - "I can't do this..yet". Remember to be kind to yourself and maintain a growth mindset. Trust yourself and your confidence will show.

For more Information

Congratulations to all our Graduate participants who worked equally as hard to prepare and deliver amazing presentations on the night. To learn more about this year’s challenges and solutions, you can also visit the Smart Seeds website.

Page published: 30 May 2019, 09:00 AM