Yale GreenLight
GreenLight hosts a series of ideation workshops with leaders of organizations at the intersection of business and the environment. Ideation workshops are highly interactive, fast-paced sessions designed to generate new and innovative solutions to complex challenges. They are used by some of the world’s most celebrated design and innovation consultancies, and are a popular component of the Yale School of Management core curriculum.
The Clients
GreenLight clients are leaders from companies and organizations with a keen interest in the environment and natural resources. They want to tap into the experience and skills of Yale’s diverse student body.
Clients work with the GreenLight team to identify and craft the challenge they want to tackle during their ideation session. Well-designed questions are realistic in scope and ripe for a new approach or creative solution.
Clients walk away with:
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Fresh thinking on an issue that’s been gnawing at you or that you don’t have the bandwidth to tackle.
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Some of the best, multidisciplinary minds in the country dedicating their full brainpower to the challenge of your choice.
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A pipeline of talent—while we are intentional about creating a culture of playfulness, there is no better way to get a sense of how someone thinks, works, and collaborates than to see them in action.
What we ask of our clients:
- Work with GreenLight facilitators to craft a challenge and background materials.
- Be present and active during the half-day session. Ideally, include colleagues that can embed themselves with the student teams.
Sample Questions We Have Tackled With Our Clients
- How can we redesign the retail experience to reflect our company’s sustainability initiatives and accomplishments?
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How can we motivate our employees to design products for maximum sustainable impact?
- How might we transition from a platform of voiced commitment to one of action?
Interested in becoming a client? Sign up here and one of our leaders will reach out to you to learn more!
The Students
Businesses come to us with some of the gnarliest challenges they’re facing, and we facilitate half-day generative design sprints with students all across Yale to provide fresh thinking and multidisciplinary point of views on those issues.
- GreenLight sessions are open to the entire Yale student body
- Space is limited (approximately 25 participants per session) to ensure the sessions run smoothly
- When oversubscribed, priority is granted to students committed to preparing for the session and bringing relevant background and expertise
Bring your boldest and weirdest ideas...we'll bring lunch!
Signup today and be the first to hear about upcoming GreenLight clients and workshops
The Process
- Introduce: Client identifies and explains their challenge, GreenLight team explains the method for the day.
- Reframe: Split participants into small groups to disassemble and reframe the challenge presented by the client. Participants bring back their reframing for feedback from the client and larger group.
- Brainstorm: Small groups work on identifying creative solutions to the newly reframed challenge—nothing is out of the question at this stage!
- Coalesce: Small groups work to combine and sharpen solutions, and present them back to the group and client for feedback.
Resources
Partners include CBEY, Yale SOM Design & Innovation Club, Professor Rodrigo Canales, alumni from leading design & innovation consultancies including Ideo, SYPartners, ideas42.
