In March 2022 we had the chance to attend Spark* Split’s very first kick-off event. This was Sparks first real chance to meet the rest of the University, and to introduce the Spark concept to all students and faculty at the university.
By Ingeborg Sofie Bogen
Spark* Split was started this fall as a part of the CHIC – Creating Holistic Innovation Capacity project. The team gathered for the first time in november, and started building their organization from there. Spark* Split has come far since their start in november. Since then they have grown as a team, created their own website, recruited their first mentees, and started a collaboration with a local startup to learn even more about entrepreneurship in practice. The event was a great way to tell the rest of the university what Spark* Split is all about.
The Spark* Split team organized an event that reflected the core values behind Spark*. The team got the chance to talk about how Spark* will look in Split, what mentoring is like, and their journeys as entrepreneurs and mentors. After the event there were also opportunities for networking between students, and faculty that had shown up. The Engage team go the chance to talk about how Spark* is organized at NTNU, and why it is a success here. We also got the chance to talk a little bit about maritime innovation, and how students have started their very own maritime startups. The maritime sector is big in Split, so many of the students had interesting thoughts on the topic. The turnout of the event was even better than expected according to both the faculty and the students. Their theory behind this was the fact that this was a student-led initiative.
Spark* event in Split exceeded all of my expectations. We had many positive responses from everyone present at the event which gave us a huge boost in confidence to keep going forward. Holding an in-person event for students was the best way of introducing such an initiative. It made everything feel more ‘real’ and, through engaging participants, we motivated them to step up a bit and think about some of their ideas – no matter how big or small they may seem to them.
As stressful as it was to start a student initiative and an event from scratch, we were fortunate enough to have Spark NTNU mentors and the University of Split by our sides to help us with every obstacle in the way. Hopefully, we will keep going strong and successfully keep spreading Spark* among students at our University.*
-Sara, Leader of Spark Split*
We also got the chance to hold an internal workshop for the team. Focusing on how their progress is going, and also how they could work together as a team. The team also got the chance to reflect around the value of Spark, and how Spark could be valuable for potential sponsors. The team had so many different inputs, and ideas on why Spark* is such a valuable initiative. Their thoughts were insightful, and something that will be useful for the future of Spark* Split.
We are excited to keep following Spark* Split in the time coming, and to continue to learn from eachother’s experiences in the future!
