Recent news about our projects
Great News!
Just to let everyone know that a fantastic half page feature on Space Unlimited appeared in yesterday’s (20/05/08) Herald newspaper… Page 18 to be exact!
If you missed it, don’t worry, you can read the online version HERE!
Do not hesitate to contact us if you want to find out more about the projects mentioned in the article, or better still if you want to talk about a project of your own!
All the team at Space Unlimited thanks you for your continuing support.
We’re looking for two new people to join the Space Unlimited pool of coaches…
There are a number of new projects starting in the next few months and we’re looking to find a couple more experienced business people to join us as coaches.
No previous experience of coaching is necessary. You’ll have an understanding of business; the types of problems they face, and experience of working on projects that make a difference. Original, you’re happy to challenge the status quo and comfortable at listening and helping people to bounce ideas around. An explorer, you ask “why?” and “what?” regularly and enjoy guiding others to find their own answers.
You’ll get a fresh experience on challenging but rewarding projects working with high profile clients and groups of young people. These typically last about three months and require about ten days of your time during that period. The position is paid and includes expenses.
Want to find out more?
E-mail F.A.O Kevin at info@spaceunlimited.org
Space Unlimited has been featured in an article that looks at how you enable young people to make an active contribution to society
The article can be read in full on the English National Youth Arts Network website at www.enyan.co.uk
NB. (you need to enter your details to login to the site)
Space Unlimited is looking for a senior administrator.
Senior Administrator
Salary circa £16,000 – £18,000 per annum
‘Excellent project with excellent results’
‘The young peoples ideas were radically different to what we had imagined’
Two companies describe their Space Unlimited experience.
In Space Unlimited, young people and businesses help one another – working on real business issues and creating exciting new insights.
Do you have that rare mix of creativity and a focus on attention to detail? Do you want to work somewhere that makes a difference and matters to people? Do you wish your employer valued your ideas and input?
If so, Space Unlimited could be the company for you. Documents need to be filed, invoices need paid, records need kept and events need managed. It needs a ‘can-do’ individual with good organisational skills to support the CEO and assist the rest of the team with the running of the office and its projects.
Space Unlimited projects are fabulous and challenging. The organisation continues to grow and learn and 2008 is set to be a very exciting year. If you are a positive person and a good organiser you can be at the centre of all this.
If you believe you have the enthusiasm, drive and self-motivation – along with some recent and relevant experience – please forward your CV ASAP to the details below.
Post is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure check.
This job is funded by The National Lottery through the Big Lottery Fund.
Applications should be sent to:
Gillian Fraser
Hays Office Support
T 0141 332 4238
E gillian.fraser@hays.com
Secondary schools in Dumfries and Galloway are developing a series of ‘enterprising’ projects with Space Unlimited that will meet the requirements of the Scottish Government’s Determined to Succeed initiative.
A quarter of Dumfries and Galloway secondary schools will have completed pioneering projects with social enterprise Space Unlimited by the end of the coming school term. The projects are unique in that young people consult on ‘live’ projects and solve ‘real’ problems for the public and private sector.
The first of these projects was completed in May with Lockerbie Academy pupils handing over their thoughts on the decommissioning of the Chapelcross site to Magnox North.
The organisation described the results as the best ever youth consultation project they had worked on. Lindsey Kyle of Magnox North said, “It was an excellent project with excellent results. The young people worked very hard and put in so much effort which is recognised by Magnox North and the site.”
The success of this initial project has led to a second project with Magnox North and Space Unlimited. From September, pupils at Langholm Academy and Moffat Secondary have been working to develop ideas for what should be included in a Museum at the Chapelcross site.
A further project that has also started in September involves pupils in Sanquhar working on a Scottish Enterprise and Determined to Succeed sponsored project exploring how best to create a social enterprise for the community.
Kevin Lelland, Projects and Relationships Manager at Space Unlimited said, “Space Unlimited projects are designed to put young people in charge. This gives them the opportunity to try out skills in a real world situation. By doing this young people get the space to develop their own ideas and learn more about the talents they have. Businesses benefit from a unique way to generate fresh insights about a real challenge they face.”
-ends-
NESTA’s Future Innovator programme is about developing the attitudes that
underpin innovation, such as self-belief, a spirit of enquiry and
resourcefulness. Following its recent ‘taking a leap’ call for ideas, NESTA
has chosen to award funding to Space Unlimited.
Space Unlimited will develop a pilot project to encourage adults working
with young people to manage their own reactions to risk and uncertainty, and
to recognise how important risk is for innovation. The lessons learnt from
the project will be disseminated so a range of professionals who work with
young people can have more productive experiences.
Heather Sim Space Unlimited CEO says ‘By helping adults to manage their
thoughts, feelings and behaviors towards risk, we expect to significantly
enhance young people’s experience of innovation related projects…we also aim
to help adults working with young people on innovation related projects to
have more rewarding experiences themselves.’
“School pupils teach industry a lesson in problem solving” says Nathalie Thomas of Scotland on Sunday.
The article highlights recent work with Stagecoach and British Nuclear Group and quotes Space Unlimited CEO Heather Sim:
Young people have a lot to offer businesses that conventional employees do not, Sims argues. “Particularly just now. They are so technology-literate that they see stuff that people who haven’t grown up with those technologies don’t see.”
Read the full news article here
The Herald has published a fascinating article that touches on many of the conversations we constantly have at Space Unlimited. It’s penned by Ken Richardson, the former senior lecturer in human development at Open University.
You can read it on the Herald’s website.
British Nuclear Group has asked Space Unlimited to run a second project following the joint success working with Lockerbie Academy earlier this year…
The new project will see at least 30 pupils from two schools helping BNG to make decisions about the legacy of the Chapelcross power station.
PUPILS from two Glasgow high schools have presented council bosses with a series of radical proposals that they believe will help win the city’s war on litter.
The following article is taken from Glasgow City Council’s website :
—————————-
The young people, from Eastbank Academy in Shettleston and Knightswood Secondary School in the West End, were challenged to come up with solutions for beating ‘grime crime’ as part of the council’s £4m Clean Glasgow campaign.
Led by city charity Space Unlimited, which has co-ordinated youth projects for oil giants BP and the BBC, the task centred on the question ‘what would encourage young people to use litter bins?’
And yesterday (Wednesday, June 13), the culmination of three months work was showcased to council chiefs, teachers and youth group representatives at The Bridge community centre in Easterhouse.
Among the ‘first class’ answers were:
• Hi-tech bins fitted with CCTV and loudspeakers. These would record images of pupils dropping litter within a certain radius and produce an automated ‘pick up your rubbish’ voice response. Useful for naming and shaming culprits.
• A litter account, whereby pupils are rewarded for the volume of rubbish deposited throughout the school term.
• A recycling bin capable of filtering aluminium and plastics from everyday litter.
• Fines for repeat offenders.
The ideas and designs which the 27 S3 pupils came up with will now be explored by council chiefs with the aim of producing a viable pilot model.
Clean Glasgow project manager, Jane Harrison, was delighted with the pupils’ presentations. She said: “Glasgow City Council commissioned this project because our young people are a valuable source of untapped talent. They offer fresh insights, a creative approach and a direct connection to their communities.
“This was a hugely positive experience for everyone involved and the quality of the ideas and designs that it uncovered were first class. We are very interested in a couple of ideas in particular and I will be asking my team to look at how we can pilot them.”
The pupils, all aged 13 or 14, were given 12 weeks to come up with solutions to the question.
Other ideas included a ‘points bin’, which would allow pupils to earn prizes through continually using school litter bins. This would be similar to the ‘Fuel Zone’ points system operating in schools across Glasgow, which rewards young people for eating healthily and good behaviour.
Ruth Anderson (14), from Eastbank Academy, took part in the project and found it a highly worthwhile experience. She said: “Young people are often labelled the cause of Glasgow’s litter problem, but our project shows that we are willing to play our part and can contribute creative solutions.
“Hopefully this will encourage the pupils at both Eastbank and Knightswood secondary schools, and others across Glasgow, to support the Clean Glasgow campaign and prove their value as responsible members of their communities.”
Those views were echoed by Laura Keen (13) from Knightswood Secondary School. She said: “I really enjoyed working on the project. It gave us the freedom to express our own ideas and provided the opportunity to make new friends. If our efforts go even just a little way to changing the attitude of Glasgow’s young people towards littering then it will have been worth the hard work.”
Space Unlimited exists to promote new thinking in business. Through their projects organisations from the public and private sector commission groups of young people to solve a ‘real’ business or community problem, which in turn fosters confidence and creativity in those taking part.
Project manager Kevin Lelland said: “Grime crime encompasses a number of issues, but we chose litter as that is the foundation for the Clean Glasgow message.
“At its simplest level, the project was aimed at better educating young people on the importance of keeping our city clean and encouraging them to use litter bins instead of dropping it.
“However, it was also about making the challenge ‘real’ and developing soft skills that today’s younger generation will be able to use in workplaces of the future, such as team working, public speaking and problem solving.”
Clean Glasgow aims to instil pride in city residents and punish people who break the law by littering, fly-tipping, spraying graffiti and allowing their dogs to foul streets and parks – anti-social acts that cost the City Council £16m every year to clean up.
