- The younger generation will need to develop a specific set of skills in order to capitalise on opportunities in an innovation economy
- The CoolThink@JC programme encourages students to take risks as they learn computational thinking, which helps nurture an entrepreneurial spirit
Building success from mistakes
The programme also trains students to develop their skills in computational thinking, which Yang views as a form of systems thinking that is based on feedback loops. By learning coding through programming tools such as Scratch and MIT App Inventor, students are empowered to take calculated risks in creation and problem-solving while also encouraging collaboration and peer learning, all of which are essential for successful entrepreneurship.
“In coding, you always make mistakes – it’s not possible to find a coder who can develop a perfect first code,” Yang says. “By going through this process as a coder with CoolThink@JC, students start to learn to live with their mistakes, rather than holding on to them. Students are no longer afraid of making mistakes, as they understand it is part of the iteration process. As they receive feedback from different sources, they learn from their mistakes quickly, and the learning cycle speeds up.”
She adds that innovation similarly requires being able to find solutions for problems, which people will be willing to pay for. “Entrepreneurship is all about solving problems, generating feedback and using that feedback to build a better product,” Yang says. “At the same time, this ties in with being able to work with others. If you have a team, then you are going to find solutions quicker than the one person who is working alone.”
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