#NIGERIAVSCOVID19 - Virtual Design Thinking Challenge

#NIGERIAVSCOVID19 is a Virtual Design Thinking Challenge organized by the Impact Week in collaboration with the Office of Special Adviser on Education, Lagos State Government. The 60-hour design challenge is a unique opportunity for young minds to tackle pressing challenges using Design Thinking and user-centric design toolkit while being coached by international design & innovation experts.

29 - 31st May 2020

Over a period of 60 hours spanning across 3 days, participating teams will receive challenges arising due to/ associated with the COVID-19 outbreak. They will work virtually using digital collaboration tools and apply the Design Thinking framework for solving the challenges. Each team, comprising five to six participants, will be supported by an international mentor, coach or pair of coaches.

Why should you participate in this challenge?

This challenge gives you the immediate opportunity to create an impact during one of the most challenging times globally. By joining this virtual challenge, you will be part of an initiative which may set a global landmark in order to cope with the Covid crisis. You will be part of a global community who is practicing the Design Thinking methodology alongside with international experts. You will learn how to understand any challenge and design solutions in a user-centric manner based on rapid prototyping. Modern day technology enables collaborative innovation despite the physical world crisis. So here is your opportunity to stand, act and make an impact for your community and nation. 

Virtual Design Thinking is an attempt to bring the globally acclaimed Design Thinking methodology into a fully digital environment. 

Participants will complete the entire process of Understanding - Observing - Synthesizing - Ideating - Prototyping - Testing in a virtual environment while working on the challenge.

Participants will be brought together in a digital briefing session via ZOOM and will work in individual virtual work spaces using collaborative tools such as Mural, Slack & Google Suite.

Ten to Fifteen teams will partake in this intensive digital journey throughout which they will be mentored by subject matter experts and design thinking coaches. Participants will use their skills, ideas and passion to develop user-centric solutions that solve problems, fulfill needs or take advantage of opportunities arising due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria.

Each team will submit its result/ idea as a video presentation for everyone to review at the end of the challenge. Our panel of expert jury members will evaluate the solutions and the participating teams might have the possibility to get financial seed capital support initiated by the Office of Special Adviser on Education, Lagos State Government.

Each participating team will work on one of the four focus areas. Each team decides which focus area they want to participate during the registration process. The teams would then together ideate on how they would like to approach the challenges within the focus areas - as a Problem, Need or an Opportunity.

Please read the concept paper for details regarding challenge scenarios.

The challenge will be scheduled in the Nigerian timezone (GMT +1:00)

Participation in the challenge is FREE but there are limited seats available. Only ten to fifteen teams will have the chance to participate in this challenge. Thus, we only encourage candidates who can fully devote 3 days of their time to register.

You must fulfill the following requirements to participate:

• You must be Nigerian citizen (or of Nigerian origin) currently pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree (in any discipline - IT, engineering, medicine, business, sociology, economics, arts etc.) or young professionals/ entrepreneurs living anywhere in the world
• You must devote your full time virtually for 2.5 days while participating in the challenge (circa. 9 hours per full day)
• You must be fluent in English
• You must have a strong internet connection in your home which can be accessed with a laptop or PC
• You can register as an individual or a team with a mixed academic/ professional background - 
• Each team registering must have five or six members; if you are fewer, please register individually
• Team needs to have at least 2 members who are currently living in Nigeria. 
• Each Team needs to have participants from different backgrounds (engineering, business, computer science, medicine etc.) No one team should have all engineers or all business students. Diversity is a must.

If you have any further questions or require additional information, don’t hesitate to contact our organizers. You can email us at countryvscovid19@gmail.com or directly contact via WhatsApp to Aman Bhattarai on +4915780286916.