ILLUMINATE EDUCATION AUSTRALIA EDUCATION EXPERIENCES
illuminate The Day | One Day Incursion
The illuminate The Day workshop is a high-energy, one-day experience that introduces students to the world of innovation, entrepreneurship, and problem-solving—all in a single school day.
Designed for both primary and high school students, this hands-on session guides participants through a rapid design process where they brainstorm ideas, develop creative solutions, and pitch them with confidence.
With expert facilitators leading the way, students build essential skills in teamwork, communication, and critical thinking, all while having fun and discovering their potential. The workshop is aligned to school bell times and tailored to key growth areas, making it easy to implement and impactful for every learner.
Whether it’s sparking interest in enterprise or giving students a taste of real-world challenges, illuminate The Day is a powerful way to ignite curiosity and build capability.
Ready to energise your students in just one day? The journey starts with illuminate The Day.
Outputs of the Challenge
During the illuminate The Day workshop, a lot is achieved and developed by the teams to address the problem being raised in five short hours, which in this instance is looking at community connection and engagement.
The outputs of the challenge experience includes all teams developing:
- Problem Frame that is unique, based on an issue that resonates with the students presenting it, and creates clarity of what they can do next.
- Innovative Solution that addresses the problem they have identified, designed with empathy and impact, but also sustainability.
- Financial Forecasts for investment to start for the idea in it’s inital stage.
- Project Outline that goes into why the situation should exist, the new idea and how it can be started, that can be shared with stakeholders after the event.
- Infographic to use creative communication strategies to help understand the idea and it’s impact.
- Speed Pitch to showcase the idea verbally for investment and support that outlines the idea, the impact and who will benefit.
Alongside a range of engaging exercises and planning steps to support students through the design process that underpins the workshop.
Outcomes of the Challenge
Beyond the work that the participants generate in the challenge environment, the focus is on the confidence and transferable skills that young people can take into their learning environments, workplaces and the wider community, which include;
- Leadership and Personal Effectiveness Skills, as participants spend the challenge experience focused on leading change, solving problems, and leading themselves to achieve throughout the process.
- Increased Awareness of Local Issues in an applied fashion where young people raise what matters to them and then look to address that challenge. The authentic process then allows participants to not just deeply understand the challenges, but also give them the confidence to be part of the conversations to address these.
- Creative Solutions for Community Challenges, as the teams will present ideas to address challenges from their perspective, but this also creates the capacity for these young people to complete design-thinking approaches into the future for other community opportunities.
- Connection between Learning and Application, as the illuminate Impact Lab gives a way for students to take skills from across the curriculum and opportunities, and helps to showcase their value in an applied fashion that allows this knowledge and skills to resonate, and then drive engagement when further learning occurs.
And much much more!
What Others Say…
FROM COMMUNITY PARTNERS & COLLABORATORS
FROM THE STUDENTS THEMSELVES
The illuminate Innovation Process
In all illuminate Education Australia experiences, we have mapped out a structure underneath the innovative process students step through as shown below.
With the illuminate The Day workshop typically delivered over a five hour school day, it is a rapid induction into a range of skills and tasks that span our innovation process, but carefully curated to ensure students are introduced into these new skills, engaged in their groups, raise their voice about change and present to create momentum in the community.
Stage 1) Foundations.
Students begin by exploring shared challenges and identifying a single issue they want to address. This stage builds awareness and relevance, helping participants connect with real-world problems that matter to them and their peers. It sets a clear direction for the day’s innovation journey.
Stage 2) Ideation.
Teams brainstorm creative and impactful solutions using design thinking. They explore possibilities and prioritise ideas that balance innovation, empathy, and sustainability. This stage encourages bold thinking and helps students shape ideas with purpose and potential.
Stage 3) Developing.
Students take early steps to shape their idea into something actionable. They consider how it could begin, who they might work with, and initial thoughts around financial needs. This stage introduces practical thinking and helps teams explore how their idea could take form.
Stage 4) Presenting.
Teams prepare to present their ideas by refining key elements. They decide what to highlight and how to communicate their solution clearly and effectively. This stage focuses on clarity, impact, and confidence in sharing their vision.
Stage 5) Testing.
Students pitch their ideas to judges, educators, and facilitators. This is a chance to share their thinking, receive feedback, and build presentation skills. The focus is on communicating purpose and learning from the experience of sharing ideas in a supportive setting.
Stage 6) Implementation.
If there’s interest in taking ideas further, illuminate Education Australia offers support in partnership with the school or host organisation. This stage encourages students to explore next steps and continue their journey of impact beyond the workshop.
Capacities to Drive Change
At illuminate Education Australia, we believe young people must be equipped with essential, transferable skills to lead change now—not just in the future. Our skill framework was developed through extensive consultation with industry partners and educational research to ensure relevance and impact. It underpins every program we deliver, helping students become confident, creative, and capable. These skills are embedded in real-world challenges, allowing students to apply them immediately and build lifelong capacity. Whether in entrepreneurship, community engagement, or innovation, this framework ensures students grow in ways that matter—personally, academically, and professionally.
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Communication
Understanding
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Solving Problems
Working Smart
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What Drives Us
Beneath our vision, purpose and skills we focus upon, illuminate Education Australia has six core passions that drive everything we do and helps set apart our approach.
Leaders for Now.
We do not prepare for the future – we need our young people to lead change right now! Everything we do is for now and to create impact right away, for the idea created in the experience or for the next impact idea.
Young People to Community Shift.
Our focus is to support young people to be confident, creative and capable, who agitate and drive change across families, communities and the generations.
Education is a Contact Sport.
Young people need to be stretched and tested in real world environments now, to push themselves, to develop their capacity and reflect on how they perform for future change.
Reaching All Communities.
We prioritise (and support with our own funds as a social enterprise) opportunities to reach regional, remote and disadvantaged communities, ensuring they do not miss out developing these core skills.
Educationally Relevant.
Although we deliver our programs with an authentic real world focus, we ensure everything we do is educationally relevant and aligned, underpinned with engaging pedagogy that allows students to learn authentically.
Results Driven.
We know that we measure what matters, and for us it is not about the quantity of the students, but the quality of the impact. We are focused on delivering results for all involved, and closely track data to measure the impact of our programs as well as the benefits for all stakeholders involved.