Some unfiltered thoughts that bubbled up at the gym this morning:
- Anyone who has any interest in the future of NYC as an innovation center recognizes the importance of education--not just at the University level, but in high schools and elementary schools as well. We can't just be a town that attracts smart people from elsewhere to educate them in technology... we need to foster the seeds of technology innovation from a very young age.
- Couple that with the idea that internet, mobile, and digital media related companies want better inroads into younger generations, for not just marketing, but for feedback and ideas.
- High school kids need jobs... and ideally more interesting jobs than working at McDonald's.
So, what about some kind of a program whereby startups and large companies alike targeting the high school/college audience engages the schools in an educational manner, in terms of talking about the technology, the business, product management, etc. of their products, and then "hires" these students for both feedback and marketing purposes during the summers. So, maybe during the year, they do a six week program about all the aspects of their service, and then the students spend the summer providing feedback, helping to market, etc.
Is there anything out there like this?