Volunteer

Description

The Ideas Collective is STAND’s summer bootcamp for aspiring social innovators.  In its tenth year, the Ideas Collective has produced many social enterprises who have gone on to have great success including Nuw Wardrobe, The Reclaim Project and Rooted Resolutions. By using methodologies inspired by design thinking and other social innovation approaches, the programme equips you with the skills and confidence to take your idea from concept to creation.  

You'll also broaden your understanding of the root causes of the problems you are trying to address, develop skills in communications and marketing, pitching, leadership and (maybe best of all!) connect with like-minded peers who are passionate about forging positive change through social enterprise.  

This year the programme takes place over 5 days in the Digital Hub, Dublin 8.  Interested applicants have the choice to sign up to one of two bootcamps. Choosing from either 26th May until 30th May 2025 OR 9th June to the 13th June 2025.

 

What happens during the Ideas Collective week?

You will spend the first 4 days working on your idea with the guidance of expert facilitators. On the 5th day you will pitch your project idea in the hope of going forward to an end-of-programme showcase where finalists from both weeks will pitch to secure seed funding. The highest potential projects will be invited to join a deeper incubator programme over the following academic year. 

Registrations will open on 10th March. Deadline for applications 15th May. Note that recruitment is on a rolling basis. Once places are filled, recruitment will stop so early applications are advised.  

How much does it cost?

The actual cost of the Ideas Collective is over €500 per participant, however, thanks to generous support from our donors the programme is highly subsidised and we ask for a nominal contribution from participants. We never want cost to be prohibitive, so please select the contribution that seems fair for your situation - knowing that if you offer more, you'll support someone who can pay less.  

€55 or

€25 or

€0 (full scholarship - limited availability) 

Your contribution goes towards training costs, venue rental, meals for 4 days and stationary materials for you.  

***LIMITED SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE IF THE PROGRAM COST IS PROHIBITIVE. PLEASE CONTACT US VIA CLARE@STAND.IE CONFIDENTALLY TO DISCUSS. 

Who can apply?

You must meet the following eligibility requirements:  

• Be resident in the Island of Ireland;
• Be enrolled in an Irish third-level institution OR be a recent graduate of an Irish third-level institution (up to one year);
• Have an idea for a social enterprise.
• Be willing to fully commit to the programme and to exploring issues from a global perspective, be ready to dig deep into the problem you are addressing and be open to having your assumptions challenged. 

Find more FAQs here.

Is training provided?: Yes

Skills required for this role:

You must meet the following eligibility requirements:  

• Be resident in the Island of Ireland;
• Be enrolled in an Irish third-level institution OR be a recent graduate of an Irish third-level institution (up to one year);
• Have an idea for a social enterprise.*
• Be willing to fully commit to the programme and to exploring issues from a global perspective, be ready to dig deep into the problem you are addressing and be open to having your assumptions challenged. 

*Since the programme is only five days long and has a strong social enterprise focus this year, we want to ensure that participants can hit the ground running. Your application should outline the key aspects of your idea, including the problem you're addressing, your proposed solution, and who it benefits. 

If you're accepted, we'll go through your idea in more detail on a call before the programme starts to help refine and strengthen it. While your idea doesn’t need to be fully polished, it should be developed enough that you can make the most of the programme. 

Details of time commitment needed for role:
Interested applicants have the choice to sign up to one of two bootcamps. Choosing from either 26th May until 30th May 2025 OR 9th June to the 13th June 2025. You will spend the first 4 days working on your idea with the guidance of expert facilitators. On the 5th day you will pitch your project idea in the hope of going forward to an end-of-programme showcase where finalists from both weeks will pitch to secure seed funding.

Minimum time commitment per week:
10+ hour p/week

Additional screening required for this role:
If you do have an idea and want to apply, you should start by filling out the application form on the stand website by 15th May 2025. The STAND team will review your application. Depending on your application the STAND team will call you to interview. The interview will be online and no longer than 30minutes and is just a chance for you to tell us more about yourself and your idea and to show that you are ready and willing to commit to the programme.