about us
it takes one idea to make an impact.
How we came to be.
The Young Eyes Festival of Innovation originated as an initiative of Zig Zag Hub – a coworking conglomerate dedicated to meeting the needs of start-ups. Advances in technology, changes in the nature of work and number of aspiring young innovators with the desire to create and instigate change, established an organic demand for entrepreneurial learning. The Young Eyes Festival of Innovation emerged to fill such void, through entrepreneurial education in schools.
The Young Eyes Festival of Innovation remains the keynote event staged by the Young Eyes team, where rising stars from the Illawarra and South Coast are presented with the opportunity and necessary support to bring their change making ideas to reality.
Vision
Our Vision is to ignite young people's passions to maximise their full potential in an ever-changing world.
Mission
Our Mission is to provide entrepreneurial education that meets the needs of 21st century learners in safe and supportive environments that allow young people to connect, collaborate and build relationships ensuring they thrive and reach their full potential. We seek to foster a love of lifelong learning that empowers young people to shape the world around them.
Values
We support, inspire and develop the minds of our future leaders, within our local communities, and beyond with a focus on our core values of:
- Entrepreneurial learning
- Educational excellence
- Equitable access
meet our team
Meet the masterminds behind our mission, each bringing their own unique skills to collectively create and instigate change!
carmen rudd / Founder & creator
After founding Zig Zag Hub – a co-working conglomerate for startups, Carmen saw a rise in young aspiring entrepreneurs with bright ideas wanting to establish connections with other like-minded individuals looking to build a community. This led to bringing entrepreneurship education into schools to ignite younger people’s passions to build their own future. Carmen consequently founded the Young Eyes Festival of Innovation – a program designated to spotlight and support innovative thinkers and change makers, before expanding the Young Eyes brand to include a suite of programs to meet the needs of young entrepreneurs in a rapidly changing technological landscape. Carmen aspires to offer alternative paths to success other than traditional education while ensuring all students have equitable access to entrepreneurial learning regardless of individual socio-economic situation or life circumstances.
andre hollis / lead software engineer & facilitator
Andre joined Young Eyes in the founding year of the Festival of Innovation, seeking to utilise his extensive skills in software programming and engineering to better the world. While the Young Eyes online platforms, programs and portals are products of Andre’s creativity and technological aptitude, his talents extend beyond such domain. Andre balances both the technological and personal side of entrepreneurship regularly stepping away from the screen and into schools to facilitate workshops and seek further inspiration from the young eyes he programs for. Andre is currently in his final year of his Master of Computer Science at the University of Wollongong and serves as a Charity Board Member for Cloud School.
lucy mckenna / innovation Operations Manager
After enjoying 10 years of success in business stakeholder relationship management roles within the not for profit sector, Lucy commenced studying her Master of Teaching at the University of Wollongong as she believed education was her means through which to effect real and meaningful change. Lucy is fuelled by a passion to develop a different approach to education, one that meets the needs of 21st century learners, entrepreneurs and innovative thinkers. With standardised and traditional approaches to education initially failing to meet her learning needs, she preservered, ultimately experiencing remarkable academic success much later in life. Lucy radiates unmatchable positivity and has an unmistakable zeal for challenge. With her keen interest in educational excellence including novel experience, tangible learning and ICT utilisation, alongside her respect for brain science including synapses and plasticity as well as a love of educational psychology (including positive psychology, cognitive struggle and growth mindset) she brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and energy to the Young Eyes team and all workshop facilitations and program creation.
