Integra Group recently supported the running of the third Ballarat Social Innovators program of 2022. The Social Innovators program, run by Crazy Ideas College, is aimed at empowering students to invent and develop crazy good ideas and services that can be used to enrich the lives of their fellow citizens in the community.

So far in 2022, Integra has supported more than 100 students from 7 schools across Ballarat to participate in these programs, putting their creativity and innovation to the test in developing over 30 crazy good ideas.

Some awesome ideas that Integra has seen already include the formation of a group which focuses on discussing government policies impacting members of the LGBTQIA+ community, a life skills camp that teaches young people about finances and the workforce, and an app that helps you reduce your environmental impact and incentivises smarter choices.

At the end of each workshop, the students pitched their idea to a host of community partners, receiving critical and valuable feedback, with partners helping to connect the young innovators with those who can help bring their idea to life.

Following the Term 2 pitch event, Victoria Rushton, Community Engagement Coordinator at Integra Group, said being involved in the program was inspiring. “What a great opportunity to hear from such creative members of our community about ideas and possible solutions to real world challenges. It’s inspiring to hear about the student’s ideas in these early stages and we look forward to being able to follow along and see some brought to life,” she said. “This program is one I would have loved being involved with in high school.”

The importance of businesses collaborating with young people cannot be undersold, with the experience building community ties and establishing local connections, while helping equip and connect young people with the skills and capacity to lead change in the community.

Integra is looking forward to seeing some of these brilliant ideas come to life in the community.