Otto’s Story: How Social Innovation in Childhood Sparked Future Career Ambitions

Otto’s first experience with Apps for Good came in 2015 when, during his final year of primary school, he and his teammates developed ‘Health Watch’, an app designed to help users identify common health issues. What stood out to him wasn’t just the idea, but the sense of responsibility and creative freedom the programme offered. “The freedom to innovate, especially at such a young age, is so valuable,” he says. “Getting the responsibility and the trust to develop your idea honed that sense of being a young professional.”

Otto went on to volunteer with Apps for Good for several years, co-hosting awards events and meeting other young people as well as Industry Volunteers from organisations like Spotify and SAP. Through these experiences, he developed public speaking and networking skills that proved essential for his personal and academic growth, as well as realising he had a voice people wanted to hear. “The fact that these Industry Volunteers were coming to speak to young people, and were really prepared to listen to them was really good… I remember having some meaningful and inspirational conversations with them,” he recalls. “To speak with students who are from all different age groups, and speak to industry professionals, that’s a really underappreciated skill. It was a building block in my confidence.”

Otto is currently studying law at Manchester Metropolitan University and volunteers with a legal charity, supporting people without representation to navigate the court system. He hopes to qualify as a barrister and is passionate about a future career in politics. He says that Apps for Good planted the seeds of that ambition: “It developed a moral compass for me at quite a young age… and definitely had an influence on what came to be a political interest of mine.”

Reflecting on his journey, Otto encourages other young people to believe in their ideas. “I think young people are some of the most creative innovators. If more people,including governments and politicians, listened to them, the world might be a better place.”