The interactive Design Thinking and Ideation Workshop organised by Arunachal Pradesh Science Centre for school students was a unique attempt outside the conventional exam oriented education structure of text book digesting and was actually intended to rekindle the ‘innovative’ that is lying untapped in these kids. Besides brushing up of this aspect of these young minds, the workshop has also tried to address certain drawbacks in them relating to a very important cognitive process known as ‘ideation’ which had resulted in failures in various national level competitions.

The word ‘ideation’ is a relatively new one and although sounds outlandish, it is something that is practiced in varied degrees by all humans almost daily, either knowingly or unknowingly. In simple words ideation is a mental activity which aims to generate new ideas for overcoming a particular problem and can be developed and sharpened through regular practice by any individual. If the exercises undertaken by any sportsperson are intended for improvement of physical and allied aspects, here it is an effort to bring out the hidden powers of the brain through a set of activities such as brainstorming, team-building exercises, prototyping and similar sorts. Being essentially a creative process which gives birth to new ideas, it will be amazing to learn how the technique of ideation is making waves in the new world of business where creativity and innovativeness have been started to be counted as new capitals and ingredients of success. Google, the organization which has almost become a part of our life encourages its employees to spend as much as 20% of their working hours meditating on new ideas that personally intrigue them and potentially solve real problems. Not only Google, more and more organisations are focusing on ideation to remain innovative and thus competitive, the two very essential prerequisites for survival in 21^st century.

From a student’s point of view, the benefits of ideation can well be gauged since its gains are more far-reaching than anything instant. It will be perhaps the most appropriate time in anyone’s life when the brain is most prepared to absorb new ideas as well as churn out the most amazing of them thereby making a stable foundation for any future academic undertaking. And with a world fast moving towards becoming a knowledge-based entity, where generators of new and original ideas will always find a rightful place, it is no wonder that the concept of ideation is gaining enormous popularity.

The workshop has catered to the needs of the capital schools students. But for making it pan-Arunachal, this unique attempt should be replicated in far corners of the state and there must be encouragement in this regard from the schools too.