GIS Innovation Hub

The state-of-the-art Innovation Hub at GIS is a centre of excellence designed to nurture creativity, critical thinking, and innovation through the power of design thinking. Available to all students in primary, the Hub is equipped with digital music production tools, 3D printing capabilities, coding resources, robotics, product design tools, makerspace materials, and immersive technologies such as Virtual Reality. It combines these innovative resources with ergonomic workstations, dynamic seating, and multi-use facilities to create an optimal learning environment.

"We are so fortunate to have such remarkable facilities. This astonishing Innovation Hub in our primary school allows our younger students to use design thinking and to express their creativity within the most wonderful surroundings. It also links with our secondary design curriculum and provides a smooth pathway through our IB school.”

Simon Herbert, Head of School/CEO

Far more than a mere buzzword, design thinking is a structured framework for addressing real-world challenges. And at GIS, this six-stage process empowers students to empathise, define, ideate, prototype, test, and iterate on solutions, breaking down the barriers between various concepts and disciplines to foster transdisciplinary thinking. The benefits of design thinking are profound. Students gain the ability to seamlessly integrate concepts and disciplines, express their creativity using diverse resources, and think critically and innovatively when problem-solving. The Innovation Hub replaces siloed learning with a transdisciplinary mindset, bringing education to life in a real-world context.

“It’s so important to cultivate thinking habits that transcend traditional subject boundaries, aligned with the International Baccalaureate, which seeks to develop inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring young individuals who contribute to a better and more peaceful world.

The IB mission is also in perfect harmony with the principles of design thinking. The Innovation Hub at GIS invites students to step into the roles of designers, engineers, and inventors. It starts with an idea, and from there, the possibilities are endless.”

Kim Conlin, Head of Primary

The Innovation Hub is not just about resources; it’s also about experiences. Through transdisciplinary learning, students embark on projects that span various subjects. 3D printing, for example, becomes a tool for understanding interconnected city systems, transforming a conventional social studies unit into a multi-disciplinary, immersive learning experience.

Glowworm robotics, meanwhile, takes the traditional subject of biology to the next level, enabling students to create their own glow-bug robots that communicate, as well as code their own light sequences. Such experiences empower students to apply their knowledge in practical ways and create solutions to real-world challenges.

“We want to provide young students with every resource and opportunity we can in order to place them in an ideal position to take on the issues and opportunities of today and tomorrow,” said Lucero. “We want them to innovate and to be creative.”

Javier Lucero, Head of Innovation