Future prospect with generation z

Today, we’re living in a globally connected world: it’s the world of  ‘Generation Z’, those born those born from the late 90s onwards. What  typifies this generation is that they are constantly online, no matter  where they are. Their lives are inextricably linked with social media.  Furthermore, most members of Generation Z are striving for variety,  flexibility and personal development. Their vision no longer includes a  stable job and a pre-planned career path. Just as in other areas of  life, work increasingly revolves around experiencing, discovering and  social networking.

“Self-awareness, collaboration and knowledge sharing will become even more important in the future. This requires new skills and forms of organisation,” says Evert-Jan Ulrich, Professor of Innovation and Development at HAS University of Applied Sciences. “The way children and young people are being taught today is poorly aligned with how they would like to learn. They are networkers who are trapped in a hierarchical system.” Hence, he is an advocate of far-reaching innovation in education. “Learning can be done anywhere,” he claims, such as through MOOCs.

And perhaps through ‘hackathons’? The first ‘World Hackathon Day’ was held on Friday 2 and Saturday 3 May. It was initiated by two Dutch teenagers, Jesse van Doren (17) and Araik Gingnagel (13). Together with Nir Kouris (an Israeli tech entrepreneur) they manage the Global Young Innovators community, supported by key figures in the online world. Hundreds of young people aged 12-25 from around the globe took part in Hackathon Day. In the run-up to the event, over 40 companies had presented their problems to the youngsters who selected the three most challenging cases. No food-related cases made it into the final three, but a Google search reveals many projects, ideas and initiatives from our industry. The ‘Future of Food Hackathon’ (November 2013), for example, and the ‘Food Systems Hackathon’ (February 2014). To tie in with Dutch Design Week (October 2013), a hackathon was organised in which farmers and ‘knights of data’ worked together, seeking ways of using data to make a better and smarter food system.  

But back to the World Hackathon Day, where talented youngsters displayed their talents to start-ups, investors and multinationals, demonstrated international collaboration and the ability to develop amazing online products. Jesse van Doren: “I often hear that multinationals experience problems with international teams working across different locations. We want to show that young people can work well together, inspire one another and hence achieve fantastic results.”  

One day soon, this ‘Generation Z’ will be entering the labour market…and your company. What will the arrival of this cohort mean for how businesses are organised? Will the structure, which is often hierarchical, need to change? Which new insights will these youngsters have with respect to hygienic design? Will they bring with them new, intelligent solutions to problems of food safety, sustainability, food waste?

As always in the case of innovation, the first, raw ideas or prototypes are not usually immediately feasible. Instead, their main function is to broaden our thinking. Therefore, don’t be too quick to dismiss new ideas; try to avoid responding with “Yes, but…”.

Allow yourself to be inspired by Generation Z! So says Generation X!

Judith Witte

[email protected]