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Getting Started!

First, thank you all for registering!

The Challenge now feels like it is really underway. The Innovator Challenge team would like to thank all of the students who took the time to get their teams registered. We also want to thank all of the professors, program administrators, student councils and clubs who contributed so much to getting the word out about this year’s Challenge.

We’re very excited to see teams from across Canada and from some very innovative schools. There are even some teams with students from different schools coming together in a terrific sense of open innovation and “coop-tition”.

So, What Next?

I’m going to recycle a bit, I wrote this about the same time last year but I think it’s the right steps to get started on your proposal. I’ve updated it a bit, and I’m sure that more than a few of you might have jumped right in, but it bears repeating.

Shortly (if not already) all registered students will receive the kick off email with updates and suggestions. We recommend you keep an eye on our blog to stay up to date; you can even set up an RSS feed.

A few other suggestions:

• Review the resources we’ve posted here on the site. Read through the Challenge details page and review the rules and regulations, judging and even the professor’s notes. Also drop into the Innovation Center to listen to the FAQ podcast, check out our Innovation course to find out what Innovation at RBC is like and view the Slideshare presentations on Innovation.
• Your proposals must be in by Dec 5th, so get your group structure and roles worked out as soon as you can. Will you meet regularly or collaborate remotely? Do you need or want to have a coordinator? Getting the little things out of the way can make you much more nimble down the road.
• Get researching and brainstorming. You may already have your area or areas for investigation picked, but dig a little deeper, toss some ideas around and get creative. Who knows what innovative combinations you can find?
• Ask questions. Please ask us anything you think is important, either here in the blog or through nextgreatinnovator@rbc.com. Keep in mind we will answer the question publicly in a blog post, but chances are if you have a question so do other teams.
• Find a mentor, coach or subject matter expert. Teams can use whatever resources they deem fit, as long as the final proposal is solely the original work of the team. A prof, innovation practitioner or even an ace editor could help you make your innovative idea come to life.
• Get feedback on your ideas! You can share a synopsis of your idea out to a list of friends and advisors as part of your team profile. Just log in, enter the synopsis, create your share list and send. Each person on the list can then log in and leave comments and even rate your idea.

Get your RSS set up on our Innovator blog as I will be working through various aspects of the proposal and how to make a great innovation over the next few weeks. Each post could be just what your team needs!

Posted by Tim on November 4, 2008 10:31 AM

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