Delta Air equips students with problem-solving skills

OVER 60 students from about 13 universities in Accra have been exposed to innovative science sessions and problem-solving skills, thanks to a strategic partnership between Delta Air Lines and Junior Achievement Ghana.

Students came from Ashesi University, the University of Ghana, Legon, the Kwame Nkrumah University if Science and Technology (KNUST) and Academic City University College among other academic institutions of higher learning.

Dubbed ‘Delta Innovation Camp 23,’ the 12-hour session held at the MakeLab facility of the Academic City University College in Accra took the students through innovation and design thinking.

Led by entrepreneurship expert cum trainer and business developer, Isaac Aboah the students worked collaboratively, in teams of six, to develop solutions to real business challenges facing Delta Air Lines globally.

The 2023 edition of the camp was supported by the Technology and Entrepreneurship Centre (TEC) of the Academic City University College.

The camp, climaxed with a contest of ideas and brainstorming sessions is a platform that unearths creativity, critical thinking, teamwork and problem solving as young people put forward solutions to real-life business situations.

The Challenge

At the end of the challenge, teams two, five and four grabbed the third place, second place and winner respectively. They were all presented with medals and gift packages.

The challenge was woven around customer service in the airline industry. The students were asked to look at the entire airline process, from booking a flight to London and what the customer challenges are and how technology could be used to provide solutions.

Even though most of the students may not have gone through the experience of traveling by air, they were put in scenarios where “they imagined how traveling experiences are.”

“If they were traveling for the first time what would be the experience like ; what will be the potential challenges and how can  leverage technology to solve them,” Mr Aboah told the paper.

Application of skills acquired

“The turnaround design thinking is that it enables us to delve into problems that we face so that tomorrow when they go back to their schools and they see that people are quieting for food on their campuses then they can think and come up with avenues to solve the queuing problem,” the facilitator explained.

According to Mr Aboah, the motivation for the camp was to inspire the young students to look around their environment and seek for the opportunities that were previously tagged as problems and innovate solutions around them.

He argued that “if we see in our environment everyday things that seem to be problematic as things that could be monitised and we think innovatively around it that’s the first step; it’s the mind set of seeing things; when you see a kid who’s not performing well at school, we should not write off the child as stupid We should find out the possibility of creating a learning model or curriculum that suits the child’s learning habit.”

Delta Air Lines committed to youth empowerment

Sales Manager at Delta Air Lines for Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and Liberia, Ms Eloina Baddoo said the airline remained committed to investing in the next generation of leaders. She expressed hope that the personal and professional development of the participants will be significantly impacted throughout the sessions.

“We’re excited to be part of this one-day business simulation workshop which encourages young people to find solutions to real-life business situations and enhance essential skills for the future workforce including creativity, critical thinking, teamwork and problem solving,” Ms Baddoo told this paper.