Junior Achievement's Partnership with O-I Supports Creative Problem Solving & Sustainability
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (March 1, 2021 / Toledo, OH)
Junior Achievement of Northwestern Ohio announces the launch of a redesigned JA Creative Problem Solving program to help high school students understand the concepts of innovation and entrepreneurship, which has been part of JA’s high school programming for nearly 20 years.
This completely re-imagined Learning Experience teaches students about the mindset and skills needed for success by not only aspiring entrepreneurs, but community change agents and innovators who add value to any organization. The multi-session class will introduce students to design thinking concepts such as creative problem-solving and innovating.
“Being entrepreneurial isn’t just for business owners,” said Jim Pollock, President of Junior Achievement of Northwestern Ohio. “Entrepreneurship education teaches students to be solution-focused, to learn from failure, and that innovation isn’t just about the bottom line, but also the benefit to society as a whole.”
A new partnership with O-I has enhanced this Learning Experience by encouraging students to view these critical thinking models through a lens of sustainability.
“As a global leader in manufacturing, O-I has also committed themselves to being a global leader in sustainability, and that’s an equally important lesson for our future leaders to learn,” said Pollock. “We couldn’t be more excited about having them as a partner on this signature JA program.”
This Learning Experience is a blended model that includes teacher-led content, volunteer-led opportunities and self-guided content to support flexible implementation options. These models allow JA programs to be delivered in various learning environments, including virtually, which are being used this school year in response to social distancing guidelines. Study in the Experience will be a pre-requisite to enter the JA Innovators Challenge this spring.
In the JA Innovators Challenge, students across NW Ohio will identify social problems, use design thinking concepts to identify solutions, and pitch their ideas via online submission. The Challenge boasts up to $25K in scholarships available, to be distributed to the student groups proposing the best solutions as evaluated by Challenge judges.
High school education professionals, parents / guardians, and students interested in learning more about JA Creative Problem Solving and the JA Innovators Challenge can click the ‘Get Involved’ link at toledo.ja.org, or indicate interest in the opportunity via this brief form.