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When Dhruv invited me to be a ‘Young Mind’ at the Plastic Hackathon and represent my generation I was thrilled. I knew that it would be an important day of inspiration, innovation and, most importantly, solutions. At the start of the day people milled into the Dyson Building at Imperial College and the rows of chairs started to fill in preparation for Dhruv to make the opening speech.
Myself and the other ‘Young Minds’ were also lucky enough to get the chance to express our environmental concerns and inspirations, as well as our hopes for the day. Other speakers at the start of the day included leaders from… who spread their knowledge on current plastic solutions and encouraged us to make the most of the day by pushing ourselves to generate new ideas. |
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The day consisted of working in small groups of about 10 on different specific topics. We were lead with creative exercises to get us thinking about our topic problem in depth so that we really understood the issue. My group was tasked with the issue of ‘Takeaways’, which has been a growing issue within the UK in the last decade due to the rise of takeaway delivery services.
It was incredible to meet and work with like-minded students and professionals in varying business disciplines, and it helped to expand my knowledge of working in sustainable businesses. Throughout the event we were supplied with delicious food that helped to fuel our brains and keep the creativity flowing. We even got to try some water and ketchup droplets with edible packaging; it was incredible to see sustainable innovation in action. |
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After idea generation we further split the topic teams between our two favourite ideas and began fleshing out our concepts into a business model which we would pitch at the end of the day. We had to work quickly to finish everything by the deadlines, especially since everyone was so absorbed in their ideas that the time flew by so quickly. The evening consisted of presentations and questioning by the judges which was an incredible opportunity to see everyone else’s ideas that they had been working on throughout the day. I felt invigorated by the progress that a group of people had been able to make in just a few hours and it certainly made my hopes seem a bit more realistic. I am really hopeful that this vibrant spirit can continue in the future to create a more sustainable world for our generation and the many to come.
Jasmine |