Serious outcomes. Powered by play.
Helping teams solve complex challenges and achieve stronger outcomes by blending structure with play:guiding teams to think differently, collaborate better and move forward with clarity.
Transformative and engaging Workshops
Interactive Learning Experiences
Customised Solutions
Our Offerings
Explore our diverse range of workshops and programs designed to ignite creativity, foster collaboration, and drive strategic thinking within your teams. Each service is designed to create meaningful outcomes while keeping participants engaged and energised.
Tailored engaging Experiences
Workshop facilitation | Trainings | Strategic alignment | Team bonding | Custom Ideation sessions | Creative problem solving | Innovation sprints
Expert Facilitators
Our team of experienced facilitators are dedicated to creating dynamic and interactive sessions that inspire new perspectives and stimulate innovation.
Ongoing Support
Beyond the workshop, we provide comprehensive support to help your team implement insights and decisions, ensuring sustained progress and success.
Innovative Methodologies
We are constantly incorporating cutting-edge tools and methodologies to drive creative problem-solving, strategic planning, and effective decision-making.
“We design every session to deliver measurable results.”
Our facilitation toolkit is meticulously designed, ensuring that every activity and exercise contributes to meaningful outcomes and actionable insights.
Immersive Learning Experience
Collaborative Environments
Flexible Formats
Snapshot of our work.
We cannot always show the details of our work, but what we can share is how play transforms the way we solve problems and collaborate, leading to outcomes that matter.
Brainstorming in Tech day at Leicester High School for Girls: More than 20 students used the design thinking framework to tackle real-world problems, igniting curiosity and excitement for careers in technology
Ice breaker at a high stakes strategic alignment workshop:
Through LEGO play, participants brought key challenges to life and explored them in candid conversations, producing a renewed roadmap with an 80% implementation success
Complex problem solving workshop:
By exploring complex, cross-functional challenges and prioritising empathy to break the ice, the team co-created a data and AI roadmap that has achieved an 85% implementation rate.
Collaboration workshop at PUSH UX:
Investigating research outliers led to unexpected innovation opportunities, resulting in actionable outcomes and average participant satisfaction rating of 4.9 stars.
About Me.
I am Dr Feyikemi Akinwolemiwa-Alao. I have always been fascinated by how people work together. Over the years, I have watched teams get stuck in endless meetings, unclear decisions and frustration. I knew there had to be a better way. This is why I created The Innovation Playground: a space where play meets purpose.My approach blends structure with play, helping teams think differently, connect meaningfully and unlock their creativity.
For me, play isn’t just about fun, it is about giving people the freedom to explore new ideas, challenge assumptions, and find clarity together. With the right mix of play and purpose, teams can achieve amazing things (and actually enjoy the journey).
In recognition of this work, I was honoured with the Cardiff University 30ish Award for Innovation in 2025 : an award celebrating young change makers across the world.
Alongside this, I have spent over a decade leading user research, behavioural science and Human centred innovation at Fortune 500 companies.
“Why play?”
“When teams play, they stop protecting ideas and start building them.”
In facilitating key outcomes, play is the shortcut to depth, it lowers defences, sparks curiosity and lets teams explore complexity without paralysis.This is not about being unserious; it’s about being un-stuck.
Play invites experimentation, reframes failure as feedback and turns rigid roles into fluid collaboration.
Play isn’t just fun, it is a catalyst. It unlocks creativity, builds trust, and makes complex work feel lighter. By opening new perspectives, it helps teams connect more deeply and move forward with clarity: all without compromising on key outcomes: strategy, bonding, Innovation and clarity.
We are playfully serious about better outcomes
Although AI can generate insights, humans still decide what matters. At The Innovation Playground, we help teams navigate complexity, align on decisions and turn ideas (human and AI-generated) into meaningful action.
We create spaces where people collaborate, experiment and Innovate with confidence. Because in an AI-driven world, progress isn’t just about smart technology , it is about smart teams.
Who we have worked with...
We are building enduring partnerships with industry leaders who have experienced the transformative impact of our workshops and innovation programs.
Reviews
''Thank you, Dr. Feyikemi Akinwolemiwa, for joining our day. So many Leicester High School for Girls students have the creative energy and talent to succeed in a field like UX, and user research, and would have really benefitted from hearing about that world''.
Deputy Head,
Leicester High School for Girls
''We would never have gotten to this level of decision making without such as expertly facilitated workshop''
Energy Company
“The experience of working with The Innovation Playground has been invaluable. Their approach has led to tangible and impactful outcomes for our organisation.”
Tilly Green, Future Frontier
''It was a great mix of group work, open discussions, and insights from the presenter''
PUSH UX