This three-minute innovation exercise aims to show learners that innovation and ideation can be practised and learned. It is an ideal way to start a lesson or project that requires creativity.

In the exercise, learners work in small groups and have one minute to develop business ideas for a specific target group. After that, the best ideas are chosen by a vote and the group comes up with a sales pitch for them.

Duration/length

The exercise can be completed in about 15 minutes minimum, including instructions.

Objectives

The learner understands what entrepreneurship is and what it involves.

The learner will be able to identify his/her own strengths, set realistic goals, and act responsibly as an individual and in a group.

What entrepreneurial skills does the tool reinforce?

Identifying opportunities, creativity, planning and managing, and working with others.

Implementation tips

The purpose of the exercise is to practise ideation and innovation – the ideas can be quite unusual.

Teachers can define the target groups beforehand or can work with the students to define for whom the ideas will be developed.

Teachers can add a challenge to the exercise by setting ‘conditions’ that business ideas must take into account, such as sustainability, digitalisation or internationalisation.