The education revolution | Sophie Bosworth | TEDxLondon

Sophie Bosworth is a 18-year-old student from Devon with a passion for creativity, innovation, education and sharing passions. A member of the Ideas Foundation's Scholars' Council, she is keen to promote practical, industry-based education models as alternatives to university, particularly as a route into the creative industries.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

Thank you. Okay.

So,

I'd just like to start by looking
at a definition of education.

Education is defined as the process

of giving or receiving
systematic instruction,

especially at school or university.

Now, for me, the word here -
"systematic" -

kind of sums up a lot
of what's wrong with education.

In my experience,

we tend to stick to one main model
within mainstream education,

and this model is dated and it's static,

and as a result of this,

we've got many people leaving the system

with a very poor idea

of how to cope with the world of work
after school or university.

Now, one of the ways I see
that we can progress with this

and change this

is by promoting and supporting
vocational education models.

Now, over the past year,

I've been working
with the Ideas Foundation,

which is a charity which seeks to identify
and nurture young creative talents.

And with the Ideas Foundation,

I've had the opportunity
to work on real, live, work-based projects

and, in fact,

go on to run some projects
with young people

which collaborate with the industry

and work with creative
professionals as mentors.

Now, by learning in this way,

it showed me that an education

that prepares you
for after school or university

is made up primarily
really of three things.

The first one is knowledge.

Not just in the general sense,

but knowledge that
is applicable to your passion

and that is taught to you
in a way that clicks

with the way that your mind works
and the way that you think

and encompasses relevant technologies
in order to teach you.

The second is skills.

And so, applying yourself to a process

so that you can see how and why
something is working.

And thirdly, and most importantly to me,

is passion.

I really feel that the Ideas Foundation
has nurtured my passion

and has given me a clear outlook
for my strengths.

And this has really helped
in making decisions

about my future career and my education,

and I feel extremely lucky
that I'm able to make these choices

after having these opportunities

because I see many of my friends
choosing to do degrees

because it's the only route
that's promoted to them.

It's not necessarily that they've got
a strong passion for it,

but they feel they should do it

because it's the only thing
they see as possible.

And it really does annoy me

that vocational education is looked at
as so second class to a degree

despite the fact

that so many graduates are coming through
just ill-prepared for the world of work.

And employers are echoing this fact.

Let me give you an example.

As part of his final year of study,

a friend of mine had to do a survey
across 30 recent graduates

about employment prospects.

And out of the 30 that he surveyed,

only two of them
had managed to secure jobs

within six months of graduating.

I think that's quite shocking really -

2 out of 30.

And the consensus from the rest

wasn't necessarily the fact that they felt
that the jobs weren't available,

but it was that they felt that they were
ill-prepared for the world of work

and that they were unable
to distinguish themselves

from the thousands of other graduates

who actually, on paper,
look exactly the same as them.

Now, the path that I'm taking
is vocationally based

and is based around the collaboration
of industry and education

because I've got a scholarship
into the School of Communication Arts.

Now, the School of Communication Arts
is an advertising school

which collaborates with the industry

and has professional mentors

who work within the creative industries
to mentor the students.

The curriculum of the school

is also in constant collaboration
with the industry,

so it's constantly changing,

and subsequently, when I go next year,

it will be completely different
to what it's like now

and I'll be learning using
relevant approaches and technologies

that are applicable to the industry
as it stands at that point.

And my pledge to you today

is to open up opportunities
within the creative industries

for young people in rural areas.

I've been travelling
all the way from Devon

to take part in the experiences I've had,

and I'd now like to pass on my experience
and my knowledge and my passions

onto more young people

so that they can see what opportunities
are out there for them.

And I'd just like to leave you
with this thought.

Creativity is a cycle. Peddle it.

Thank you.

(Applause)

Sophie Bosworth.