What is iDEA?
The challenge
With the rise in technology there is a digital knowledge gap which is appearing between the haves and the have-nots - a gap that will only grow.
The answer was the foundation of Inspiring Digital Enterprise Award Scheme (iDEA), designed to fill this gap through bite sized badges of learning. The badges are curated to help inspire people to become digital citizens, workers, makers, entrepreneurs, and gamers to enhance their employability; and to empower them to develop vital life skills.
The challenge for Digital Marmalade was to help bring the learning alive and make it both engaging yet accessible, so that people of all skills could get engaged and work towards achieving their iDEA certificates.
The strategy
Working closely with the iDEA team, Digital Marmalade have created a series of online learning modules, known as 'badges'.
For each skill learned, the learner receives a digital badge containing a number of points that they can pin to their CV. When they have enough points, they are awarded the Bronze, Silver, or Gold Inspiring Digital Enterprise Award.
Each badge requires significant planning and creativity to produce, with a view to making them innovative, educationally significant, and visually rich.
Digital Marmalade have created an immersive, interactive learning experience which strikes a great balance between being challenging and fun, and their badges have impressed young people and teachers alike.
Topical and practical
In the Inspiring Digital Enterprise Award (iDEA) scheme, badges represent micro-credentials that participants earn by completing modules in various skill areas. Each badge covers specific competencies, like coding, cybersecurity, digital marketing, or entrepreneurship. As participants collect badges, they advance through levels (Bronze, Silver, and Gold), demonstrating a growing mastery in digital and enterprise skills. These badges allow learners to build practical knowledge in a flexible, self-paced format and showcase their achievements to educators, employers, or peers as a digital portfolio of skills.
Carefully tailored design
Each badge within the iDEA scheme boasts a bespoke design, thoughtfully crafted to represent the unique skills and knowledge covered by each module. Each badge design captures the essence of its subject, using tailored iconography, colour schemes, and detailed illustrations to make it visually distinct. This careful design approach not only enhances the appeal of earning each badge but also allows learners to easily recognise different skill areas at a glance. .
The bespoke visuals add a layer of prestige and accomplishment, making the badges attractive additions to personal digital portfolios while reflecting the diverse learning journey of each participant.
In numbers as of 2024
- 15.3m badges have been completed
- 193,000 bronzae, silver and gold certificates awarded
- 30 badges produced by Digital Marmalade