Lighthouse Innovation

Lighthouse

Innovation Hub

The academic year saw the continued growth of Lighthouse - our on-campus centre supporting inspirational student ideas and projects for meaningful changemaking.

Lighthouse unites young people at UWC Atlantic around a shared mission and values to enact positive change in the world and their communities. The centre also gives us a great opportunity to engage with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Lighthouse aims to connect students with a range of resources to ensure the success of their projects, including 1:1s, training, personal coaching, physical workspace, events, mentors and access to alumni support.

Over the academic year 2020-21, two dedicated Lighthouse Coordinator Interns - Ula Adamska (MUWCI ‘16) and Lochlann Atack (UWCM ‘16) - worked together to help develop the Lighthouse centre and integrate it further within the college.

The Lighthouse Space now includes a working area for students, a meeting room, the Creativity Lab (used for informal gatherings), and a classroom. Anyone entering the centre is also now greeted by the Lighthouse mural, which was created by two 2nd year students, featuring the original RIB boat built at UWC Atlantic.

In addition to the weekly Lighthouse sessions and other drop-in sessions, a number of events were hosted for students. Highlights include a social business entrepreneurship event featuring Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, a workshop co-hosted with the student Wellbeing Council (WellCo) called “From Social Activism to Social Change - the Social Response Cycle” and a design thinking workshop.

In April the Lighthouse also played host to a weekend event called the InLightenment Festival, which featured a 24-hour Hackathon and a fair showcasing many of the Lighthouse projects.

The year also saw the further roll-out of the Lighthouse Project Grant to support student-led innovation, with eight projects benefiting.

The Lighthouse Prize was also launched, which aims to support initiatives demonstrating entrepreneurial promise and a lasting positive impact on sustainable development. Each project can be awarded up to £10,000. Applications were assessed by a panel which included three UWC Atlantic alumni - Ari Lahti (UWCA ‘82), Elsie Effah Kaufmann (UWCA ‘88), Lydiah Kemunto Bosire (UWCA ‘98) - alongside the then Principal Peter T. Howe. A total of four groups successfully secured funding for their projects.

As a result of the efforts of the Lighthouse team, the centre has seen a huge increase in projects - from three in October 2020 to 18 in May 2021! Projects include a game based app which encourages sustainability, a scheme to empower indigenous farmers around the world, and an initiative which aims to build a small-scale solar charger.

Throughout the year, each project was able to call on the support of one of 13 mentors currently working with the Lighthouse Innovation Hub, with each one estimated to have received at least two mentorship sessions per month. We have received some really positive feedback in recent months and we hope to see more alumni and friends of UWC Atlantic work with us in the future.