Impact Week Cali, Colombia

When: From January 17 until January 25, 2024

Where: at the Universidad Autónoma de Occidente 

After our successful versions of Impact Week in Bogotá, Colombia, in 2017 and 2018, we are thrilled to announce our return for a third edition in the country of magical realism! With our local partner, the Universidad Autónoma de Occidente, we are bringing our Design Thinking Training to the city of Cali, located in the southwest of the country.

Get ready for Impact Week Colombia 2024, an event that promises to be even more impactful and transformative than before. 

Cali, known as the world's salsa capital, will play host to a two-week extravaganza of innovation, collaboration, and positive change. It will be the perfect place to start a new experience, with tropical weather that will remind you of the best of summer, and lots of green and color to delight the eye.

With our two-module approach, we will train a new batch of Junior Coaches by guiding them through a 3-day ‘Train-the-Coach’ phase. The international and local participants will then take on their new roles as Design Thinking Coaches and work together with students and other local participants to find solutions for the local challenges. This defines the practical phase and will give the new Coaches the unique opportunity to directly implement what they have just learned while being guided by experienced Senior Coaches along the journey.

The dual concept of Impact Weeks consists of two modules. In a three-day learning phase, international innovation talents and lecturers from local universities are trained as Design Thinking coaches. During the practical phase, the trained coaches apply their new skills and help students identify challenges within their respective societies and solve them using innovative business models.

With the picturesque backdrop of Cali as our canvas, this edition of Impact Week is designed to inspire and empower individuals to make a real difference in their communities and beyond.

The innovative and customer-focused orientation of the Design Thinking methodology helps all participants to foster their way of tackling a challenge and the unique spirit of the Impact Week experience will definitely inspire you to look at entrepreneurship and social innovation in a completely different light.

Each participating team will work on one focus area. The students can choose their focus area in the application process and get matched accordingly. Then it is up to them to own the challenge and create an innovative idea to tackle it – always keeping the Design Thinking methodology at heart.

Preliminary ideas for tracks are 

1. Circular Economy 
2. Sustainable Tourism
3. Just Energy Transitions
4. ... and others that are yet to be determined  

*The challenges are still in the final planning stage with the local partners and track mentors and subject to confirmation.

Upon completion of the program, you will be a trained Junior Design Thinking Coach, who has already applied the methodology and can become a multiplier of the methodology in your professional and private life. You'll gain key skills through Design Thinking, such as innovation, customer focus and implementation orientation. 

In addition, Impact Week promotes local entrepreneurship and social innovation and enables local universities to apply Design Thinking themselves and run their own Impact Weeks. 

Learn more about what it means to be a Junior Coach in this document: 

 As we gear up for Impact Week Cali, we invite like-minded individuals from around the world to join us in this transformative journey. Apply now to secure one of our limited spots on the international Junior Coach Team!

Applications are open.

Impact Week is scheduled in the Colombian Time Zone (GMT - 5 hours)

We cordially thank Lufthansa Group Airlines for their support in the form of special fares for Impact Week!