Marco Polo Programs
Marco Polo Project was developed to create change across the education sector. Working with leading organisations, from 20015 to 2021, we explored new ways to bring together young and diverse groups to address real issues. Our programs were intended to serve as a blue-print for the kind of change we could see across the educations system.
The organisation’s centre of gravity shifted to Marco Polo Project Japan in 2023. This page details our two flagship programs developed in Australia. Programs were developed under creative commons, and I would love to explore ways of sharing them. If you think those may be relevant to your context, please contact me here.
Design for Diversity: Human Centred Design
Why?
How do you prepare students to tackle the challenges they face now and in the future? University is a great space to develop those critical skills, from team-work to communication to creative problem solving. Often there is little time to go beyond the books and explore deeper challenges with diverse people and perspectives. Design for Diversity uses Human Centred Design to unlock creative solutions through more effective collaboration.
Our approach
Design for Diversity is a Human Centred Design hack-a-thon with a twist. Rather than focusing on the outcome and the pitch, this workshop is optimised as a learning experience for participants to develop new skills and mindsets, enabling them to solve problems more creatively, and collaborate better with others in uncertain or ambiguous situations.
Program structure
The program covers six stages taking participants on a journey of cultural connection, personal transformation, and practical creativity.
The journey begins: discover yourself
Make it yours: identify your team’s unique take on the challenge
Nail the challenge: reframe the original challenge into a design question
Get wild with ideas: explore new creative possibilities
Pick a winner: discern one proposal to trial deeply
Prototype not pitch: the art of sharing not selling
Intelligence By Design: Real-world Skills
Why?
Young people need to look and feel like they have their lives together. They must remain calm and collected while solving all sorts of problems in their community, while juggling study, work, and simply figuring out how things work in their new environment. How can they best develop trusted, meaningful and lasting connections with people in and out of their community? Intelligence by Design is a chance to explore new answers.
Our approach
Intelligence by Design is a two-part workshop to develop personal skills in two highly interactive sessions. Talk to Me supports participants to develop communication skills and a sense of possibility in conversations with others not like them. Count Me In guides participants to develop a greater sense of freedom and choice when organising their time.
Talk to Me: Communication Strategies
Define your purpose for better conversations with diverse people
Create open space: Listen with empathy and ask questions to truly connect
Align beyond words: Understand non-verbal strategies to create common ground
Trust more: Motivate yourself to keep having high-impact conversations again and again
Count Me In: Time Management
Add energy: Reframe the importance of operating at a time that suits
Minus assumptions: Unblock creative solutions, fast execution and valuable feedback
Divide better: Best ways to set priorities, beyond a ‘do now or later (never)’ approach
Multiply impact: Create plans to not multi-task but hit all your goals at once.