Sparking ideas in Morocco

Walking around campus

Sometimes, you’re lucky enough that work allows you to feel like you’re in a 360° learning experience.

I’ve always loved school so it’s only natural that I would jump on any opportunity to go back as a tutor or coach. So far, this urge to pass on knowledge had taken me to the Paris suburbs at the most. But this March, it landed me in Morocco for a week of co-facilitating a week-long lab dedicated to entrepreneurship and innovation for first-year engineering students.

What was the project?

Thanks to Wow!Labs, I discovered EMINES and the Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique campus of Ben Guerir, a prestigious research university that’s aiming to be the heart of African innovation and academic excellence. It’s an impressive site set in the middle of the desert, about an hour away from Marrakech.

Through this week of immersive, practical learning, these first-year engineering students were given the opportunity to change their viewpoint and way of thinking: from a expertly, technical, solution-based perspective, to one that is based on user needs and a humble posture of not knowing anything until the process reveals it to us.

During five days, the students went through all the phases of building an entrepreneurial project: identifying a problem to solve, researching it and fleshing out its users, crafting a solution, prototyping it, testing it and pitching it ! An accelerated course in design thinking and agile methodologies that mobilized their analytical and creative skills to initiate transversal thinking.

What stood out to me ?

It was an intense week - lots to do and lots to unlearn in 4,5 days, especially during a week of fasting (because yes, we were getting to the tail end of Ramadan). There were over 80 students, we were three teacher-coaches to guide them.

As I keep facilitating spaces that require participants to work in such short time frames, I become increasingly aware of the true value of having to do things quickly. It’s uncomfortable, it ignites many doubts but it also forces us to trust our instincts, to stave off overthinking. Plus, if we’re really giving in to the process, it allows us to open us up to feedback and outside opinions - multiple brains can move thinking further.

I oversaw a group of about 25 students - it’s always a joy and a surprise to see the different moments in which they have breakthroughs, when they start to trust the process and take that step to the side to change their viewpoint. The confidence that emerges from that process is rewarding to watch - I can see it embodied in them as they speak about their project.

What I learned ?

I was challenged during this week : many questions, many distractions tried my patience, my improvisation skills and my capacity to keep everyone’s attention. But I had to trust the process too - and open myself up to their rhythm, trust that they would get themselves as far as they could go by making enough mistakes so they’d rechart their course as needed, without me having to do it for them, but coaching them enough (or organizing feedback sessions) so they’d come to their own realizations. It yielded its fruits ! The students owned their work, consolidated their teams and as the week went on, injected more fun and care in the work. I was pushed to push them and we all won. I was proud of all the ideas that were born and hopefully the seeds have taken.

In France, I facilitate sessions for groups of university students often and I love the glimpse it gives me into what touches them, concerns them and entertains them. I was very grateful to get a sense of what motivates Moroccan youth, what they’re worried about and see how they think they can contribute to society.