2 session types — what do you think?

We’re going to have 2 types of sessions at InnovationCamp.

The first will be familiar to those of you who have attended BarCamp. It’s your basic Presentation/Conversation session. Each of these will last an hour. You’re welcome to do something individually or to get a few folks together for a panel.

For the second type of session, we’re trying something new. We’re calling them Problem/Solution sessions. We hope you’ll bring some kind of problem or challenge you’re currently experiencing. Some examples:

• We’re an existing company and we need to implement a new X system. Should we build or buy?
• We’re a new company relying on people making advance reservations for space. What’s a fair cancellation policy?
• We’re opening a cafe and need to design a rolling bus station that will accommodate trash, bottles/cans/plastic, linen napkins, food scraps, and a place to put used dishes.

What problems are you facing at work? You’ll have the opportunity to present your challenge in a 2-hour session. We’ll do some large group and small group brainstorming, and we’ll have a moderator to help guide the sessions.

We’ve got 4 rooms for all these sessions — we’ll decide which sessions go in which rooms after we hear all your ideas : )

Advertisement

InnovationCamp Wants You!

The first of what we hope will be many (geographically dispersed) InnovationCamps will be held in Austin on Saturday, June 28 at GSD&M Idea City.

InnovationCamp is modeled after the open model of BarCamp. That means it’s free. And it means you determine the programming. No keynote speakers. No pre-determined content.

We want to explore what it means to be innovative. We’ve already attracted attendees from a variety of disciplines. The tech crowd is of course welcome, and will be there in force. But we want to branch out, and get folks from professions who probably never even heard of BarCamp. Teachers, architects, corporate execs, doctors … our thinking is that if we bring together some really diverse thinkers, we can find new ways to solve problems. Help us identify and invite folks from a variety of interesting disciplines who can give us new ways of seeing.

Sound interesting? If so, ignore those pesky internal voices saying “I might not fit in” or “I don’t have time” and sign up. There is NO better way to make space for new ideas and innovation than to block out some time to experience this.

Even if — especially if — this is a new concept to you, please give it a shot. This is going to be a group of really open-minded, inclusive folks.

We’re eager to hear what you have to say! : )