During the first week of this course, you will be introduced to the experts who will be guiding you through the course and begin to unpick what problem-solving actually means. You will start by reflecting on the last problem you encountered. During the activities this week, you will identify the kinds of skills that help people to solve problems, and reflect on your own problem-solving strengths and talents. You will explore a five-step method to help you approach a problem you might have and reflect on how this relates to your current experience. Defining your problem is crucial to developing a solution. This week looks at ways to define the real problem and analyse the context in which you're developing solutions. At the end of the week, you’ll reflect on what you’ve covered, and assess what you can learn from the SWOT analysis you've completed.

This week you will look at how to assess the solutions you come up with. You'll follow Shona as she analyses which idea would be best to help solve her problem. During the activities you will look at how you can develop more ideas for solving the problems you’ve identified, and how you can evaluate the best ideas. You will explore how evaluating risk can help your solutions be successful. At the end of the week, you’ll reflect on what you’ve covered, and identify what you can learn from your SWOT analysis.

This week you’ll investigate how to think about the wider impact of your ideas, and produce a strong plan to show how your idea will work in the real world. You’ll consider how you can make a persuasive case for your solution. During the activities, you’ll explore how to estimate resources and measure success and make your own plan to solve a problem, and take part in a peer review exercise to get and give feedback on your work. You’ve nearly reached the end of the course, so the final steps will help you reflect on what you’ve learned.