Meet the next generation of Brummie innovators!

Delivered by Digital Innovators, groups of 11-14 year-olds have been meeting for the first time and gaining valuable life skills through innovation and collaboration.

The three-day sessions across four weeks are designed to boost confidence, build resilience, and spark creativity with the goal to help young people positively build skills and confidence. The aim is to support them with continuing with education and finding employment in the future.

Amazing creations such as the ‘Floodbuster’, ‘Hydrosave’ and ‘ECO’ were created by the young innovators as the groups were set challenges to topics such as stopping blockages, water saving and flooding.

Jacob 12, one of the learners said: “This has brought out the creative side in me, I never thought I could create the things that I have.” Maryam 13, added “it’s been fun meeting new people and building my confidence.”

The groups who had met for the first time, showcased their creations to Cllr Sharon Thompson, Deputy Leader of Birmingham City Council and Cabinet Member for Economy and Skills, said of the event: “Empowering the next generation of Brummie innovators is at the heart of our mission this summer. Through our partnership with Severn Trent and Digital Innovators, we’re thrilled to offer young people a unique opportunity to boost their creativity, confidence, and resilience. The innovative solutions these young minds have developed are a testament to their potential to solve real-world problems. By investing in their skills today, we’re helping to shape a brighter future everyone.”

Elizabeth Heath, Societal Impact Lead at Severn Trent: “The bootcamps are a truly engaging, and great way for young people to come together for the first time and build life skills, while having fun and being creative. We know engaging at an early age helps set young people up for life, so this bootcamp really has the opportunity to change a young person’s future and give them access to skills to stay with them for life.

Mick Westman, Founder and CEO at Digital Innovators said: “The bootcamps create a unique environment where young people of mixed ages, backgrounds and abilities come together to solve complex real-world problems. We encourage creatively collaboration and active communication. Our approach of ‘Learning by doing’ involves fun activities followed by personal reflection’s which results in each student building a map of their unique skills. Skills that build confidence and resilience and which helps them stand out from the crowd. I’m in awe of the fantastic ideas these young people create to the challenges they are set during the event.”

Abbie Vlahakis, CEO of Millennium Point: “We are thrilled to have supported so many young people with free Bootcamp places this summer. It has been wonderful to hear their innovative solutions to the real-life problems we have presented them with. Empowering the next generation to be the problem solvers of the future is our aim at Millennium Point. Alongside Severn Trent and Digital Innovators, we have been able to give these young people an exciting taste of how they could change the world with their chosen career.”

Severn Trent has been working in East Birmingham since 2022, supporting communities with free employability skills and training. Over the last year, it made significant efforts to boost training, employability, and upskilling of people within local schools, by offering free employability training, confidence building and mock interview sessions – all aimed to help break barriers and shape a young person’s future.

Digital Innovators specialise in developing a growth mindset and releasing the potential of students with a variety of needs giving young people between the ages of 14 and 24 access to employment skills and fulfilling career opportunities by collaborating with education providers, businesses and community organisations across the West Midlands.

Millennium Point co-funded the bootcamp with Severn Trent and provided the space for free, to allow for access for people to visit the bootcamp. Opened in 2001, Millennium Point is the largest landmark millennium project in England, outside of London, and is home to unique event spaces. All of the commercial activity that takes place in Millennium Point feeds back into the Millennium Point Charitable Trust to support STEM education in the West Midlands and inspire the next generation who will shape technology, industry, and the world of tomorrow.

Severn Trent is back at Millennium Point next month on 24 September, as it’s set to host its third Big Boost for Brum – a jobs fair with employability skills and training, where the company is joined by employers and support groups to help more people in the City into work.

By Ria Gaffney - Contributor