USRN launches a pioneering Virtual Boot Camp: Social Innovations for a Sustainable Future
3 Aug 2022
The first ever USRN Virtual Boot Camp kicked off on 5 July 2022, calling for students over the world to decode complex global challenges under the COVID new normal and to aim high by applying innovative and impactful solutions for an inclusive and sustainable future.
The USRN Virtual Boot Camp, themed “Innovating for the COVID New Normal”, is a new initiative of the University Social Responsibility Network (USRN) in collaboration with Jockey Club Design Institute for Social Innovation (JCDISI) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU). The Virtual Boot Camp received an overwhelming response from students of USRN member institutions. In their applications, students were requested to present existing solutions or ideas that had emerged out of the COVID pandemic which they believed to have the potential to create social good.
Upon careful evaluation, 45 outstanding students from Hong Kong, Japan, Mainland China, South Africa, South Korea and the Philippines were shortlisted to join the Camp. Throughout July 2022, they participated in teams in workshops and in sessions specifically designed for the teams to explore ideas and their possible future adoption.
“The emergence of ‘COVID New Normal’ gives rise to numerous social innovations and practices across different communities, countries and continents, serving their unique contextual social requirements. All these creativities have laid the groundwork for this USRN Boot Camp,” said Professor Ben Young, USRN Co-Chair and PolyU Vice President (Student and Global Affairs), in his welcome remarks during the Virtual Boot Camp online briefing session.
He added that since most universities had enhanced their digital education and communication infrastructures, USRN students were increasingly well-equipped to have confident exchanges with others online. “’Online Communication, Virtual Studying’ is a new education model which, it is anticipated, will outlast the pandemic. With the advances in AI technology, our lifestyles will be re-defined through the integration of physical mobility and virtual interaction,” he remarked.
Professor Young explained the multiple purposes of the Virtual Boot Camp in this new era – to address social issues, to drive social innovations for unmet social needs, to facilitate a global exchange of ideas and practices, and to inspire the young generation to innovate for a better future. He encouraged students to make full use of the precious opportunities during the Virtual Boot Camp, to stretch their creative horizons and address societal challenges together.
Mr. Ling Kar-kan, Director of JCDISI, also invited student participants of the Virtual Boot Camp to be courageous and creative to make solutions, “Only when you can be creative and innovative can the world’s future become bright”
At disruptive times, such as during the COVID pandemic, innovations bring the potential to challenge existing social norms and drive forward a sustainable future. “You may share your unique experience of the disruption caused by COVID and innovate solutions to help people overcome various problems. We believe there are many opportunities for us to learn from each other’s experiences and insights,” added Mr. Ling, who in the same briefing session, advocated for transformingthe inconvenience caused by COVID into opportunities.
In addition to the student participants, the Virtual Boot Camp welcomed 11 Expert Speakers and seven Specialist Mentors from USRN member institutions from Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Mainland China, South Africa, South Korea, the Netherlands and the Philippines, to share insights on innovations for life in the COVID New Normal. These experienced social innovators guided students to explore and adopt ideas, and design prototypes that have the potential to social good.
Students showcased their idea adoption projects on the last day of the Virtual Boot Camp on 30 July 2022. Innovative social ideas which can address the needs of the identified users, present originality and potential for scalable adoption, and show promise in enhancing inclusivity in the community were awarded a seed funding to further develop and transform their ideas into actions. They will be further given an opportunity to showcase their solution development journeys at the Social Innovation Regional Forum 2022 organised by JCDISI later this year.
