‘Let’s start the day with a boot camp’, said no one ever. Unluckily for us, someone in our team was that ‘no one’. On the third day of the Summer Academy, we woke up with a slight hangover but before we realized what was happening, we were jumping around and running as if Godzilla himself was crawling behind us. The boot camp was hard, but the perfect way to start the day!

After the physical warm-up, it was up to the teams to turn their sketches and ideas into actual working prototypes. Wout, a graduate from the Devine studies, was hyperenthusiast to start with the real work: creating wireframes, writing code, designing the product… ‘Prototyping is the highlight of these four days. It’s so cool to work with people who have different backgrounds and opinions.'

Amos and his friends were hard at work too. 'The difficult thing is to find a balance between very creative ideas and concepts that can really be implemented. Bednet doesn't have unlimited funds, so we must focus on realistic improvements.’

Finding affordable solutions that help as many sick children as possible is what Bednet has been doing for years. It's that philosophy that gives the graduates at the Summer Academy the drive to go to the extreme. 'I think it is a great challenge because the organization has a real impact on the lives of people who are already having a harder time’, said Jana.

Prototyping a digital product is one thing, pitching it in front of a Serious Jury is another. That’s why we asked Lisbeth Imbo to prep the graduates. She gave a keynote on public speaking and asked every group how they’ll pitch. Who’ll say what? What’s the structure of the talk? ‘We would love to have every group member involved,’ said Rob, ‘but not everyone likes to talk. What would you recommend?’ Lisbeth suggested that one person could be the host, who makes sure everything is running smooth.

Fully energized, the groups went back to work. After a short night, a screening of ‘The Room’ - oh hi Mark - and a fresh shower, they’re ready for the final moment. The Pitch.

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