Inspiring Future Innovators On The Mid North Coast: The Secondary Schools Program Hits The Road

By Georgia Muriti, Entrepreneurship Educator

Recently, Savannah from the MQ Incubator team and I had the privilege of representing the MQi x YW Secondary Schools Program and joining the Macquarie University Roads Mid-North Coast program, visiting Grafton High School, Bishop Druitt College, and Maclean High School.

Over three days, we  worked with more than 530 Years 9 and 10 students, introducing them to design thinking and helping them imagine how their own hobbies and everyday challenges could spark innovative business solutions.

We facilitated mini-workshops for around 20 students, up to eight times a day, as well as longer 'Deep Dive' presentations to more than 150 students at a time.

In each session, we guided students through the design thinking process by showing them how to empathise with a “customer” through interviewing classmates about their hobbies and challenges, how to brainstorm business ideas to solve real problems in a sustainable manner, and how to prototype and pitch those ideas in a creative, student-led way.

We didn’t just explain the steps; we also modelled pitching and interviewing live, so students could see how empathy and curiosity can unlock unexpected solutions.

The creativity we saw was incredible. Students imagined wetsuits that could keep you warm in winter and even shrink back to size in hot water after many uses, a Gmail-car that helps you answer your emails on the road, sticky snorkel goggles that never slip off, self-practice basketballs for training solo, robot netball umpires to make games fairer, and deodorising gym bags to keep sports gear fresh.

Each idea started with something personal like a hobby and became the seed of an innovative solution.

For many students, this was their first time hearing about design thinking or seeing how entrepreneurship could connect to their own lives.

We had students come up to us after workshops to share business ideas they’d been working on, or simply to say thank you for making the session engaging and valuable.

Those moments reminded us of why programs like MQ Roads are so important: they make the possibilities of higher education and entrepreneurship real, accessible, and exciting for regional students.

We absolutely loved engaging with such enthusiastically engaged students and look forward to continuing to inspire young innovators across the state!

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