Ignition Lab: 1-Day Entrepreneurship Workshop For Teens

One Day, Unlimited Potential.

Welcome to Ignition Lab, a transformative 1-day workshop designed to spark the entrepreneurial spirit in Australian high school students.

Uniting at the intersection of education and innovation, Ignition Lab blends the essence of startup culture and business fundamentals into an engaging, action-packed day of learning and fun for teenagers.

Whether it's delivered at SSE HQ in Ultimo, in the heart of Sydney’s innovation district, or your own school premises for convenience and accessibility, Ignition Lab creates a dynamic environment in which ideas can become reality and students are empowered to explore, create, and dream big.

Program Details

Ignition Lab is designed to be delivered in one single, dynamic day (9am-3pm) and can accommodate up to 80 aspiring entrepreneurs.

Students are grouped into four distinct teams ('business pods'): Music, Sport, Fashion, and Tech/Gaming. Then, guided by SSE Facilitators and guest mentors, teams work together tackle real-world business challenges, making Ignition Lab an unforgettable blend of ‘learning’ and ‘doing’.

It's a fast-paced, hands-on journey through the startup process in the languages that today’s teens know and love.

How does it work?

4 Business Pods

- Music

- Sport

- Fashion

- Tech/Gaming

4 Business Challenges/ Stages

- Ideation

- Finance

- Marketing

- Sales/Pitching

4 Competing Teams

- Fast-paced

- Competitive

- Dynamic

- Fun

1 Winning Business!

Groups then compete to 'win' the day with the best business idea, as voted by peers and panel.

Ignition Lab is more than a lesson in entrepreneurship. It's a unique blend of practical learning and inspirational activities tailored to spark interest in self-employment and hone critical 21st-century skills such as collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking.

Learning Outcomes

Through their participation in Ignition Lab, students will learn to:

Explore self-employment and the entrepreneurial mindset required to kickstart a business
Practice communication and collaboration skills through hands-on,  team-based project work 
Model an innovation and entrepreneurship process
Explore key components of developing a business idea including refining the idea, identifying customers, marketing practices, and basic finances
Compose and present a business idea
Develop a simple startup business plan

Program Completion

Our experiential learning tasks are designed to complement and reinforce participant learning. Participants will complete short quizzes and reflections throughout the program, and participate in project work, to put their learning into action.

Upon successful completion of the program, students will achieve a digital badge outlining the skills learned, and which can be included in resumes and on LinkedIn.

Ignition Lab