Reflection – Storytelling ( by Jan Fiala ) 

 Challenge : 

 When I worked in Peru , my job was to implement a dual vocational education and training ( VET ) system , where   a company and a vocational school would train young people in co - managed programs , with structured training   plans and a common goal to educate specialists in the field of mechatronics for each company over a period of   3 years . For the duration of the program , students would receive full scholarships from their training company   ( which was a huge economic benefit , as most students would have a middle - low socioeconomic background ) . 

 Once we finally finished the design and structure of the 3 - year program ( after a year of hard work with all   relevant stakeholders ) we found out that besides all the advantages and opportunities , young Peruvians did n't   enroll / send applications for the program as we had foreseen – mainly because it was “ too new ” and they   would n't commit for 3 years . 

 Selection : 

 We needed to inspire potential students and show the advantages and opportunities this new program has to   offer them , while taking away their doubts . We wanted to win their engagement and that they feel they can be   part of a “ new big thing ” and the first ones to benefit . This is why I chose storytelling get the students on board   for our project , taking away their doubts along on a common journey , trying to connect to their emotions ,   characters and values – or as Roberto Brown said in the video lecture : First , we had to sell the challenge . 

 As I started my carrier graduating from a VET program myself ( Germany ) , I had a good starting point to share   my own story , in order to engage and visualize possible outcomes . This also helped them to open up , as I was in   a similar position , when I took a similar decision they are about to take . 

 Application 

 As I wanted to use storytelling , first I had to persuade the companies , vocational school and involved   institutions that our focus needs to be more human centered and we needed to address their individual needs   instead of only concentrating on hard facts . I wanted to visualize , where they can be if they participate and   which new paths open up . To start we invited all interested students for a workshop , in which I began as an   opener and then each company would present themselves to the students , to show them their commitment to   “ be there for them ” during all the program and that they´d had a common goal in an alliance of students ,   companies and school . 

 I started by getting to know my audience , asking them why they came , where they come from , what are their   needs and most important their doubts “ why would n't they apply to the program ” ? Then I tried to answer their   questions along with my story , why and how I decided for myself to start my career . Then I focused on the   unique chances and opportunities that opened up for them , if they participate in that program . I focused   strongly on soft - facts , as their mentioned doubts about the problem mainly came from this direction . Here I   could exploit the presence of the company representatives , showing and assuring that they really care about   them and their success within the VET program . They were even willing to give full scholarships during 3 years   as an investment for them , so there was a huge intrinsic interest of success from each firm . It was also   important to be honest , as of course there were some uncertainty , yet the program was new to all . But the   core message was to confirm , that the opportunities outweigh the risks by far and that nobody was to be left   behind in case of the unexpected : They would become part of a pact between school , institutions , companies   and students to guarantee each other support for success . And that all have the same goal : Ensure success of 

 the students in their companies and implement a new VET system with potential to solve the major issues in   the Peruvian economy – to be part of the future . 

 Insight 

 As most potential students had a middle - low socioeconomic background , we did n't expect that soft - facts were   the main issue to them . Later on they told us : The most important thing for them is to have a company that   cares for their needs and supports them ( professional and personal ) throughout the whole time . And that   every company trains with the interest for them to keep them after 3 years of training , which changed the   perspective of training for all participants . An additional and far deeper takeaway was , that companies started   to notice they need to be more attractive in the term of “ soft - facts ” : lifelong development , good atmosphere ,   emphatic trainers , etc . to ensure the trained professionals stay with them after graduation . Companies in Peru   never invested in 3 year - VET - programs , now they had to rethink their strategy to retain the investment within   the company . 

 Approach 

 Even though the result was astonishing and a lot of the present students applied to the VET program ,   application numbers was n't portioned even between companies . Basically due to differences in   engaging / presenting techniques . The next time I´d like to prepare the firms representatives in a storytelling   workshop , to somehow level their approaches . I also want to mention , that this was a good example that   worked . But usually I just acted out of instinct and it did n't always work . 

 What I learnt in this course is that there is a lot of more structure and approach for storytelling that I was   aware of . This not only made me curious to learn more about storytelling as a tool , but also helps me to   prepare better for future presentations and asking the important questions . I like storytelling as a tool to get   people engaged and invested in a new project . I´d like to try it also as an opener for Design Thinking   workshops . Just like Roberto Brown said in the video lecture :   “ First , we have to sell the challenge . You have to   help the audience understand how the current state is more dangerous than any other possibility out there . You   have to get them in the frame of mind that they want to take this on and make this challenge a cause that they   can invest in . ” 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: Jan Fiala
PHONE_NUM: 
STREET_ADDRESS: 
URL_PERSONAL: 
USERNAME: 

### Task: You are a PII (Personal Identity Information) Detection. Given a essays written by students, you have to identify ONLY the following:
NAME_STUDENT - The full or partial name of a student that is not necessarily the author of the essay. This excludes instructors, authors, and other person names.
EMAIL - A student’s email address.
USERNAME - A student's username on any platform.
ID_NUM - A number or sequence of characters that could be used to identify a student, such as a student ID or a social security number.
PHONE_NUM - A phone number associated with a student.
URL_PERSONAL - A URL that might be used to identify a student.
STREET_ADDRESS - A full or partial street address that is associated with the student, such as their home address.
### Input: Reflection – Storytelling ( by Jan Fiala ) 

 Challenge : 

 When I worked in Peru , my job was to implement a dual vocational education and training ( VET ) system , where   a company and a vocational school would train young people in co - managed programs , with structured training   plans and a common goal to educate specialists in the field of mechatronics for each company over a period of   3 years . For the duration of the program , students would receive full scholarships from their training company   ( which was a huge economic benefit , as most students would have a middle - low socioeconomic background ) . 

 Once we finally finished the design and structure of the 3 - year program ( after a year of hard work with all   relevant stakeholders ) we found out that besides all the advantages and opportunities , young Peruvians did n't   enroll / send applications for the program as we had foreseen – mainly because it was “ too new ” and they   would n't commit for 3 years . 

 Selection : 

 We needed to inspire potential students and show the advantages and opportunities this new program has to   offer them , while taking away their doubts . We wanted to win their engagement and that they feel they can be   part of a “ new big thing ” and the first ones to benefit . This is why I chose storytelling get the students on board   for our project , taking away their doubts along on a common journey , trying to connect to their emotions ,   characters and values – or as Roberto Brown said in the video lecture : First , we had to sell the challenge . 

 As I started my carrier graduating from a VET program myself ( Germany ) , I had a good starting point to share   my own story , in order to engage and visualize possible outcomes . This also helped them to open up , as I was in   a similar position , when I took a similar decision they are about to take . 

 Application 

 As I wanted to use storytelling , first I had to persuade the companies , vocational school and involved   institutions that our focus needs to be more human centered and we needed to address their individual needs   instead of only concentrating on hard facts . I wanted to visualize , where they can be if they participate and   which new paths open up . To start we invited all interested students for a workshop , in which I began as an   opener and then each company would present themselves to the students , to show them their commitment to   “ be there for them ” during all the program and that they´d had a common goal in an alliance of students ,   companies and school . 

 I started by getting to know my audience , asking them why they came , where they come from , what are their   needs and most important their doubts “ why would n't they apply to the program ” ? Then I tried to answer their   questions along with my story , why and how I decided for myself to start my career . Then I focused on the   unique chances and opportunities that opened up for them , if they participate in that program . I focused   strongly on soft - facts , as their mentioned doubts about the problem mainly came from this direction . Here I   could exploit the presence of the company representatives , showing and assuring that they really care about   them and their success within the VET program . They were even willing to give full scholarships during 3 years   as an investment for them , so there was a huge intrinsic interest of success from each firm . It was also   important to be honest , as of course there were some uncertainty , yet the program was new to all . But the   core message was to confirm , that the opportunities outweigh the risks by far and that nobody was to be left   behind in case of the unexpected : They would become part of a pact between school , institutions , companies   and students to guarantee each other support for success . And that all have the same goal : Ensure success of 

 the students in their companies and implement a new VET system with potential to solve the major issues in   the Peruvian economy – to be part of the future . 

 Insight 

 As most potential students had a middle - low socioeconomic background , we did n't expect that soft - facts were   the main issue to them . Later on they told us : The most important thing for them is to have a company that   cares for their needs and supports them ( professional and personal ) throughout the whole time . And that   every company trains with the interest for them to keep them after 3 years of training , which changed the   perspective of training for all participants . An additional and far deeper takeaway was , that companies started   to notice they need to be more attractive in the term of “ soft - facts ” : lifelong development , good atmosphere ,   emphatic trainers , etc . to ensure the trained professionals stay with them after graduation . Companies in Peru   never invested in 3 year - VET - programs , now they had to rethink their strategy to retain the investment within   the company . 

 Approach 

 Even though the result was astonishing and a lot of the present students applied to the VET program ,   application numbers was n't portioned even between companies . Basically due to differences in   engaging / presenting techniques . The next time I´d like to prepare the firms representatives in a storytelling   workshop , to somehow level their approaches . I also want to mention , that this was a good example that   worked . But usually I just acted out of instinct and it did n't always work . 

 What I learnt in this course is that there is a lot of more structure and approach for storytelling that I was   aware of . This not only made me curious to learn more about storytelling as a tool , but also helps me to   prepare better for future presentations and asking the important questions . I like storytelling as a tool to get   people engaged and invested in a new project . I´d like to try it also as an opener for Design Thinking   workshops . Just like Roberto Brown said in the video lecture :   “ First , we have to sell the challenge . You have to   help the audience understand how the current state is more dangerous than any other possibility out there . You   have to get them in the frame of mind that they want to take this on and make this challenge a cause that they   can invest in . ”
### Output: 