Over the years, we have developed a suite of Sprout offerings. Take a look below!
What is this offering?
The Sprout E-course is designed to provide young leaders with access to training in essential skills, including team building, project management, communications and leveraging technology as they imagine, plan and develop social innovation projects. Since 2008, over 400 emerging social innovators from 71 countries have participated in the Sprout e-course, with financial support provided by government, non-profit and industry partners.
The Sprout E-course takes place over 9 weeks, including 1 orientation week, 6 weeks of lessons and quizzes, and 2 weeks of independent work. Social Innovation Fellowships are awarded to Sprout E-course graduates with the most promising and well-prepared plans for community projects developed during the Sprout E-course. Fellows receive a cash award along with mentorship and/or coaching, strategic tools and resources, and networking opportunities.
We welcome interest from organizations looking to sponsor cohorts of the Sprout E-course and Fellowships for their own youth networks or open recruitment. Contact us to learn more!
In 2015, we celebrated our first year of collaboration with Education Fast Forward (EFF), a community of education thought leaders. We created the EFF Sprout Action Fund, providing a customized cohort of the Sprout E-course to students with ideas for improving education in their regions along with $500 seed grants to help graduates launch their projects. Read more about these powerful education projects.
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In 2014, we collaborated with the Waterloo Global Science Initiative (WGSI) to provide a customized Sprout E-course experience to student participants of their Equinox: Learning 2030 summit. Download our Sprout Stories publication to learn more.
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Throughout 2013, we worked with Microsoft to launch Innovate for Good, a series of events and an online community to connect young change-makers in over 30 countries to create social innovations with technology. Read our Sprout Stories publication to learn about the exciting projects created with the support of Microsoft employee mentors.
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TakingITGlobal (TIG) is a Canadian registered charity whose mission is to empower youth to understand and act on the world's greatest challenges. TIG has been offering Sprout Ideas e-courses, camps and programming since 2008.
What is this offering?
Sprout Ideas Bootcamps focus on developing skills and knowledge in social entrepreneurship for youth aged 15 to 26. These interactive workshops explore social issues, types of action, the principles of design thinking, prototyping and pitch presentations. These events combine social innovation, technology and design thinking journeys with industry mentors.
Here are a few highlights of the Sprout Idea Camp in action!
TakingITGlobal partnered with Microsoft to launch Innovate for Good, an event series using the Sprout Ideas curriculum. In more than a dozen countries, 50-100 student leaders gathered for an evening of networking and idea sharing, and then a full day where they developed and shared ideas for using technology for social change.
In partnership with the Toronto District School Board, TakingITGlobal delivered Sprout Idea Camps hosted by OCAD University’s Inclusive Design Institute. Support was provided by Pearson Foundation, Apple Canada, and Promethean Canada. The focus of the camp was on social issues made accessible through peer learning and video games, which participants designed using MIT’s Scratch programming language.
In 2015, five Sprout Ideas Camps were funded by the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure. Exclusively for high school students, the camps were held in partnership with OCAD University, York University, and Crescent school, and focused on prototyping ideas for social innovation.
What is this offering?
Empowering educators to unleash social innovation in any grade and subject.
Our blended learning course, Education for Social Innovation, provides K-12 educators with a grasp of essential concepts and techniques in the areas of design thinking, student voice, and global citizenship. With a project-based learning approach, each educator is guided through the process of developing a project to implement immediately in their own classroom, co-created with their students and connected to the curriculum.
The course involves a full-day orientation session and five 90 minute online sessions over a two month period, providing opportunities for reading, reflection, and experimentation with course concepts in the classroom. We can offer the course to Ministries of Education for national or provincial implementation, school districts, or individual schools. Contact us to learn more!
The Education for Social Innovation online course was offered to ninety K-12 teachers across more than 20 schools. A co-design team of lead educators helped to finalize the curriculum and co-facilitate sessions across the city. The Social Innovation Student Showcase was held as a culminating event on at the Ontario Science Centre. Funding was provided by the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure and the Cisco Foundation.
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in 2016 and 2017, TakingITGlobal collaborated with the CEESA (Central and Eastern European Schools Association) to offer a customized regional cohort of the Education for Social Innovation program. Educators from participating schools met in person and online to form a community of practice and fostered student-led social innovation project in their communities. School partners included the International School of Prague, Cazech Republic; the American International School of Budapest, Hungary; the Anglo-American School of Sofia, Bulgaria; the International School of Helsinki, Finland and the International School of Brussels, Belgium.
In partnership with the National Association of Independent Schools, the Education for Social Innovation professional learning experience was offered to schools across the NAIS Community. A culminating workshop was also held at the 2017 NAIS Annual Conference to celebrate and highlight the learning and projects developed across school partners.
