From Vision to Impact

The Just IMAGINE If… competition, the brainchild of Paul Lindley OBE and hosted each year by Reading University, is designed to support and promote aspiring entrepreneurs and innovators across the globe. Dedicated to unearthing and nurturing the brightest minds, this programme is committed to leveraging their ingenuity for the greater good. With a strong emphasis on sustainable and impactful innovation, Just IMAGINE If… offers young entrepreneurs the unique opportunity to bring their visionary ideas to life. Through this programme, Reading University aims to catalyse positive change, encouraging the next generation of leaders to imagine, innovate, and inspire a better future for all.?

Morgan CEO, Nigel Clarke was invited to bring his experience in product development and innovation to the Just IMAGINE If… programme, serving as a mentor for the second year in a row. This year, he offered his expertise to Felix Weaver , the programme's winner, guiding him through the intricacies of transforming innovative ideas into market-ready solutions, embodying Morgan IAT's commitment to making a significant positive impact on society.?

Our commitment to innovation and mentorship is reflected in our participation in initiatives like the Just IMAGINE If… programme. Through Nigel's mentorship of emerging talents like Felix Weaver, Morgan helps to nurture innovative solutions that promise a significant positive societal impact while reinforcing our mission to support the journey from concept to market. This alignment of values underscores our dedication to fostering an ecosystem where innovative ideas are developed, to promote entrepreneurial success and societal advancement.?

Felix Weaver emerged as the winner of the 2024 Just IMAGINE if... competition through his development of Thiiia's Ultra Rapid, an innovative learning technique that modifies the approach of combining education with entertainment by embedding academic content within commercial music tracks, rather than crafting original lyrics to convey subject matter. This technique integrates learning concepts with the rhythm and dynamics of well-known songs, enhancing cognitive engagement through multisensory stimuli. This initiative represents a significant step towards addressing educational inequalities and improving learning outcomes for individuals with varying cognitive abilities.?

Here’s how Felix’s innovation can be applied to teaching a real-world subject like The Water Cycle:?

Ultra Rapid Example: The Water Cycle?

Visual Component: An animation details the journey of a water droplet as it progresses through the water cycle stages: evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and collection. The process is depicted with clear, engaging animations.?

Auditory Component: The educational content is paired with a commercial music track that complements the visual narrative. For example, the animation of the droplet rising during evaporation might be matched with a rising crescendo in a song by an artist like Calvin Harris. When the droplet splits to reveal its molecular structure during precipitation, this could coincide with a dramatic chorus in the song.?

Spatial Memory Engagement: The pattern of the chosen music aligns with the visual representation of the water cycle. Audio cues in the music link up with the movement and changes in the water droplet’s state visually, enhancing understanding of the cycle’s phases.?

Emotional Engagement: The music combines with contextual anime stories that provide an emotional attachment to the subject matter, supporting the release of dopamine and creating changes in heart rate and the learner's mental state.?

By leveraging popular music to underscore educational visuals, Felix’s Ultra Rapid approach offers a novel and effective way to reach learners with diverse cognitive styles, providing an alternative to traditional text and memorisation-based learning methods.?

We spoke to Felix shortly after the event and asked him about his experience of the competition, and how Nigel’s mentoring had helped him.?

“After becoming a finalist in Just IMAGINE If… and finding out I would be getting mentors, I viewed the list of around 12 counsellors and hoped I would get Nigel. Luckily, I did, and I was incredibly lucky because many of his advice notes were key in putting together my business plan and 5-minute pitch.

Nigel has an ability to provide actionable advice across many areas, from the script for my pitch, to the financials within my business plan. His advice also comes with kindness and understanding, and it’s clear that he genuinely feels strongly about helping people.?

I also gained several valuable contacts during the competition who I would not have been able to network with without him, so all in all I can’t rate his mentorship highly enough.”

Nigel had some equally glowing feedback about Felix and the Just IMAGINE If… programme.?

“Just IMGAINE If… is a fantastic competition and all the finalists I met in March were inspiring with some truly remarkable ideas and products.?

It was an absolute privilege to work with Felix on his business, and I’m delighted to be able to continue working with him to ensure this genuinely amazing and ground-breaking idea makes it into our education system. It is a transformative vision that will positively influence millions of children in their learning, and I am hugely proud to be a very small part of Felix’s journey.”?

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the team at Reading University for the enormous amount of effort they put into Just IMAGINE If… and all the finalists for their hard work and ingenuity in driving innovations that will change and improve the future for so many.