Introduction: Aiming Your Ideas
In the last lesson, you learned how to find and define a real problem. Now, it’s time to get strategic. Competitions often have specific themes, and a winning project is one that not only solves a problem but also fits perfectly within that theme. This lesson will teach you how to **align your brainstorming** with the competition’s focus, making your project instantly more relevant and impressive to the judges.
By thinking about the competition themes from the very beginning, you ensure that your team’s hard work and creativity are directed toward a goal that wins points.
Part 1: Deconstructing the Themes
Every competition has a theme, a high-level topic that all projects should relate to. Think of this as the “big idea” of the event. Before you brainstorm, take time to understand what these themes really mean.
Common Competition Themes
Environmental Sustainability: This theme is about protecting our planet. Your project should address problems related to climate change, pollution, waste reduction, conservation, or renewable energy.
Community Well-being: This theme focuses on improving the lives of people in your local area. Problems could involve health, safety, social connections, local services, or helping vulnerable groups.
Education & Learning: This theme is all about making it easier for people to learn. Your project might tackle problems with access to education, new teaching methods, or innovative ways to make subjects like math or science more fun and engaging.
Activity 1: The Theme Sorter
Drag each problem card into the correct theme zone. This will help you practice categorizing your ideas and aligning them with a specific focus.
Problem Cards
Theme Zones
Environmental Sustainability
Community Well-being
Education & Learning
Part 2: The “How Might We” Question
After you’ve identified a problem and aligned it with a theme, the next step is to reframe it. A “How Might We…” or “HMW” question turns a problem into an **opportunity for innovation**. It is a powerful tool used by designers and engineers around the world.
How to Write an HMW Question
Start with “How might we…” This phrase encourages creative thinking and suggests that a solution is possible.
Make it broad, but not too broad. It should be open-ended enough to allow for many different solutions, but specific enough to be focused on your problem.
Don’t include a specific solution. Your HMW question should describe the opportunity, not the answer. For example, don’t say “How might we build an app to…”
Activity 2: The HMW Question Builder
Type a problem statement into the box below and watch it be transformed into a well-crafted HMW question. This will help you practice framing problems as opportunities.
Enter your problem statement here:
Your Mission
You now have the tools to think strategically about your project. With your team, identify a competition theme, find a real-world problem that fits that theme, and then reframe it into a compelling “How Might We” question. This is the first step toward a winning project!
