

Sector Partnered Experience Workshop
The InkSmith Sector-Partnered Experience (SPE) workshop is a unique, hands-on learning opportunity designed for students in the SHSM program in Ontario.
How it Works

Our SPE workshops are a hackathon-style experience that provides an engaging and hands-on experience for all students that’s connected to real-world technology and career pathways across a huge variety of SHSM sectors.
Students will be provided with the hardware, software, and materials to complete their project. The workshop is facilitated by an experienced team that guides students through the building and coding process using the Engineering Design Process, micro:bit and robotics hardware.
Sector Coverage
- Agriculture
- Arts & Culture
- Business
- Energy
- Environment
- Forestry
- Health & Wellness
- Horticulture & Landscaping
- Information & Communication Technology
- Manufacturing
- Non-profit, Education & Childcare
- Sports
- Transportation
Workshop Highlights
ICE, Coding & Math Coverage
InkSmith’s unique SPE workshop experience encompasses elements of innovation, creativity, entrepreneurship, coding, and math all in one comprehensive workshop.
Hackathon Format
Students tackle real-world problems in a fast-paced, engaging hackathon-style workshop that promotes rapid iteration and continuous improvement.
Engineering Design Process
The Engineering Design Process will guide students through a structured process from problem to ideation and solution.
Hands-On Learning
Students will get hands-on to design, build, and code functional prototypes that showcase their innovative solutions to real-world problems.
Focus on Career Pathways
Each SPE Workshop challenge is designed around a specific sector to promote career path exploration.
Team-Based Collaboration
Students will work as a team to complete the workshop challenge, with each student taking on a specific role - such as builder, coder, designer, business leader, or pitch presenter.
What's included
InkSmith will take care of everything that's required for a successful SPE workshop, including the delivery, content, and student support. Educators are welcome to participate as much as they'd like but it is not required.
SPE Workshop Overview
The InkSmith SPE Workshop format is a tried and trusted format that's incredibly engaging for students and will see them build amazing projects in just one school day!


Students will use the Forward Education Climate Action Kit and micro:bit to build the basis of their functioning robotic prototypes in the workshop.
Sector Coverage
Examples of SPE Workshop Projects
Each SPE Workshop is tailed to the specific SHSM Sector present. Each workshop team will be presented with a persona and challenge related to their sector. Here are some examples of different sector personas and challenges.

Health & Wellness
Students are presented with the persona of Sarah, a healthcare working in a retirement home. Sarah's retirement home wants to encourage its residents to be more self-sufficient when it comes to remembering to take their medications. Students are challenges to create an automated device that will help the reiterement residents with this issue.

Horticulture & Landscaping
Students meet Larry, a manager of a nursery greenhouse. Larry oversees the water schedule of thousands of plants in the greenhouse. Students are challenged to create an automated watering device to help the accuracy and efficiency of the plant watering schedule.

Agriculture
Students are introduced to the persona named José, an agriculture worker responsible for overseeing the planting of various seeds on the farm. José is looking for a way to increase production on their farm by employing automated robots to assist with seed planting.

Sports
Students are introduced to Sam, a manager for a junior league soccer team. Sam wants to create a device that he can use to quickly track things like goals, throw-ins, offsides, etc. Students are challenged to create a wrist device that can track all of these metrics with a few button clicks and inputs.
Ready to book an SPE Workshop?
Complete our workshop inquiry form and someone from the InkSmith team will be in contact with you to proceed with booking your workshop.
FAQs
Is there a minimum amount of students we need to run a workshop?
Yes. For locations less than 100km from Kitchener, ON, a minimum of 15 students is required. For locations greater than 100km from Kitchener, a minimum of 25 students is required.
What sectors can you accommodate for SPE Workshops?
InkSmith's SPE Workshop format is designed to accommodate a wide range of SHSM Sectors which includes:
- Agriculture
- Arts & Culture
- Business
- Energy
- Environment
- Forestry
- Health & Wellness
- Horticulture & Landscaping
- Information and Communication Technology
- Manufacturing
- Non-profit, Education & Childcare
- Sports
- Transportation
Sectors not included in this list are not ruled out entirely. Please contact our team to discuss.
Where are SPE Workshop hosted?
At the moment, all SPE Workshops are hosted on-site at your school or another third-party location. It is the customer's responsibility to provide the workshop location, including ensuring there is sufficient workspace and technical requirements.
What do we need to provide for the workshop?
InkSmith will provide all of the required coding & robotics hardware and software to be successful in the workshop.
The customer is required to provide the physical location to host the workshop, as well as standard supplies like:
- Desks/tables/workspaces
- Chromebooks
- Power outlets
- TV/Projector
Optional additional materials:
Students may benefit from additional prototyping materials in the workshop. Any additional prototyping materials must be provided by the school/customer. These materials may include:
- Cardboard
- Scissors
- Tape/Glue
- Found recyclables
- Other prototyping/craft supplies
Do teachers need to be present for the workshop?
No. InkSmith will facilitate and guide the workshop from start to finish. However, educators are welcome to participate as much or as little as they'd like.
Educator participation could consist of answering student questions, providing troubleshooting support, or judging final presentations.
Educator support when it comes to student management, facilitating breaks & lunch is greatly appreciated.