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| Teaching Students About Innovation July 2011
MITRE lead multi-discipline systems engineer John Michitson has long been involved in public service, both as a volunteer for various charitable causes and as an elected official in his hometown of Haverhill, Mass. But Michitson says he's always looking for his next volunteer challenge. Michitson was already helping to plan the city's 2011 "Haverhill Goes Green" environmental fair, which showcases area businesses' efforts to lessen their environmental impact, when he developed the concept for his latest volunteer project. This was to launch a contest for Haverhill sixth through 12th graders to develop their own ideas on how to start a "green" business. The "Green Business Idea" contest fills two needs, he explains: educating students about the process of innovation in the business world, and tying the city's school community into the "Haverhill Goes Green" event. "The contest exposes students to the real innovation process that is used in industry," Michitson says. "I came up with the idea because I thought the kids would really benefit from this kind of creative opportunity, and because it seemed like a natural fit with Haverhill Goes Green." Students submitted their ideas into an online survey tool. They provided background on their ideas and explained how they would be developed, who would benefit, and who any potential competitors might be. For example, one student proposed the idea of manufacturing solar panel shades that simultaneously generate electricity and cool down rooms in the summer. Another student proposed to create a line of women's apparel out of gum and candy wrappers, and made samples. Betting on the Best Green Ideas The students were aided by input from 75 professional on-line mentors whom Michitson recruited for the contest. The ideas were posted online at the Haverhill Prediction Market site. The site allowed mentors to place virtual bets on which ideas were most likely to appeal to the contest judges. Students were able to track "trading" activity on their ideas and take part in online discussion on all the proposed ideas during the contest, which began in early January and concluded April 17, 2011. "They're not only learning about new trends and ideas in environmentally sustainable technologies, but also about how people collaborate in a professional environment," Michitson says. "The prediction market is a great tool—it's very compelling. People enjoy seeing how the trading goes." One of the top prize-winning ideas was the "Heroes of Whittier" interactive online comic featuring students from Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School. The students play superheroes and answer questions posed by younger students about ways to create a greener planet. The Haverhill Goes Green Team funded this concept as an entry in the MassChallenge startup competition. In all, there were first, second and third place winners for each age group, receiving prizes of $500, $250 and $100, respectively. The funds were raised from donations from area businesses, service clubs and local politicians. Michitson recently received the "Ultimate Citizen Award" from the Pioneer Institute, a Massachusetts-based think tank, largely on his use of prediction markets to facilitate transparency and accountability in local government. From Volunteer Project to MITRE Work Not only has the contest helped educate Haverhill students about innovation but it's provided Michitson with some ideas that he'll use in his MITRE work as well. "I'm about to start using this concept of innovation brokering in one of my MITRE research projects," he says. "We're trying to find new ways of engaging small companies that don't normally do business with the federal government. It seems ideal to do a contest to draw those companies in. MITRE can serve as a facilitator between these companies and the federal government." —by Maria S. Lee
Page last updated: July 11, 2011 | Top of page |
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