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Introduction of the day

The last day of the event was planned as a relaxed moment to reflect on all the experiences we had shared as a group and consider how they could support our future endeavours. We began by raising awareness of the importance of introspection and reflection on our past experiences in order to better plan for the future.

After a shared lunch, we came back to Tuesday’s exercise in order to define the characteristics of a "humanitarian designer," and we wrapped up Wednesday’s workshop by asking the students to write a debrief of their workshop with Watizat. We also made sure to allocate enough time for one-on-one mentoring sessions.

1. Morning session: mind-mapping exercise

We asked students which questions related to career development they would like us to address. Due to the diversity of profiles, including disciplines, levels, and objectives, we deemed it unnecessary to plan a presentation in advance. Instead, the group shared ideas, opportunities, and testimonies.

Then, we used a semi-guided mind-mapping to take the students on an introspective journey, allowing them to reflect on their own goals. Here were the steps:

1. Write your name at the centre of the page.
2. Write down three to six projects or experiences that are important in your life. This can include anything such as design projects, high school diploma, hobbies, sports, family,…
3. Complete each branch with three action verbs representing the main tasks linked to these experiences (a list of action verbs was available).
4. Add a sad or happy emoji next to each action verb depending on whether you enjoyed doing this task or not.
5. Next to each action verb, add a number that quantitatively measures the work you have done: a percentage, a number of hours, a price, etc.

We gave students enough time to iterate on their mind-mapping. Then, we created groups of two so that they could present their work and continue their discussions.

<aside> <img src="/icons/meeting_yellow.svg" alt="/icons/meeting_yellow.svg" width="40px" /> How to define groups?

We asked them to say a number out loud from one to four, one after the other. The twin numbers were grouped together. This approach can dismantle some group dynamics and create fresh new discussions.

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Students working on their mind maps.

Students presenting their work in groups of two.

Insights of this session

It created a good conversation, we learnt that one student had volunteered with Greenpeace, while another had volunteered in Spain during her internship. Stories felt much more relatable when shared by people studying in the same school.

<aside> <img src="/icons/drafts_yellow.svg" alt="/icons/drafts_yellow.svg" width="40px" /> For the last day of this intensive week, students arrived late so starting the journey with a non-formal conversation allowed us to start on time with the ones who were present. Once everyone was here and topics were over, we moved to the next exercise.

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