Icebreaker Ideas to Engage Fellows

A thoughtfully designed icebreaker activity can be very effective to create connections between staff and fellows, especially when the goal is for them to meet each other and talk, even if it’s on a random topic. Great for a mixer networking event dedicated for folks to connect and meet each other.

When executed with care, they move beyond just surface-level introductions to create meaningful professional relationships.

Fellows are at the intersection of research and application. However, at a corporate event, mixer, or get-together, networking icebreakers serve as a fun and low-pressure way to help kick-start conversations in the room.

Connections across teams and other fellows enables:

• The alignment of research with business goals
• Faster transfer of knowledge
• Interdisciplinary Collaboration
• Robust mentorship pipelines

A well-designed interactive networking activity helps bridge the gap between teams handling research, products, operations, and executive leadership. It ensures that fellows are not only sharing ideas, but driving actual results.

If you are looking to implement a human bingo app into your team building activity, then Jam Bingo offers an engaging way for fellows to get to know each other and the team.

This is a structured networking game that makes sparking new connections a playful and interactive experience, while keeping the focus on professional interests.

One simple, but powerful exercise involves mapping areas of research with company initiatives.

Each participant writes down all three on one sheet:

• 1. Their current research focus
• 2. A key business challenge they are trying to tackle
• 3. A possible connection between the two

Participants form small groups of around 3-5 people. Each person briefly shares their three points.

Then the group discusses:

• Where do overlaps exist?
• Does someone else’s challenge connect to another person’s research?
• Could two areas combine into something new?

After 10-15 minutes, new groups are formed so participants can talk with different colleagues and repeat the process.

One exercise involves each participant sharing:

• What they are working on
• Their area of expertise
• What expertise they need

This approach can be gamified using Jam Bingo to create a digital human scavenger hunt, making the exercise that much more engaging. Each participant receives a digital bingo card filled with prompts customized by the host, such as:

• “Someone researching sustainable energy”
• “Someone mentoring junior colleagues”
• “Someone exploring new market opportunities”
• “Someone working on cybersecurity solutions”

Participants move around the room, seeking colleagues who match the descriptions. When they meet someone, they mark the corresponding square off their digital card and spend a few minutes discussing their work or professional interests. Each interaction encourages sharing expertise, identifying overlaps, and discovering potential partnerships that might not have emerged through standard introductions.

Not every icebreaker activity needs to be complex. Quick-fire questions with only two choices can energize a room and reveal how individuals naturally approach their work.

These questions can easily be incorporated into corporate icebreakers for large groups, especially when using digital polling tools.

A fast-paced round of questions at the beginning of a session can build energy and prime people for deeper conversations.

To make the activity more strategic, prompts can be tailored to the company’s field. Industry-themed “This or That” questions encourage fellows and teams to reflect on how they think about emerging challenges and opportunities, especially in fast-paced industries.

Examples include:

• “Experiment with emerging tools or wait for them to prove themselves?”
• “Internal development or external partnerships?”
• “Take the first-mover advantage or perfect first?”
• “Deep data analysis or decisive action?”
• “Challenge existing systems or strengthen what already works?”

“This or That” prompts can also explore how colleagues prefer to collaborate, plan, and execute their work. Understanding these working preferences can help everyone get on the same page and reduce friction across teams.

• “Well-defined roles or fluid responsibilities?”
• “Brainstorm ideas solo or work together from the start?”
• “Quick, direct feedback or thoughtful discussion?”
• “Small focused teams or large cross-team groups?”

One engaging way to ask “This or That” questions is through a simple physical exercise. The facilitator reads each pair of options and assigns one choice to “stand” and the other to “sit.” As participants respond, visible patterns emerge across the room. Fellows can immediately see how colleagues lean, which can open them up to collaborate with like-minded individuals.

Beyond exercises where participants simply state a preference, reflective prompts can encourage deeper discussion:

• What major shift do you see redefining the field in five years?
• Where is the biggest gap between research and industry application?
• What long-term question should the company invest in today?

By the nature of their title, fellows must be highly aware of the future of the industry in which they work. Future-oriented dialogue can strengthen strategic planning. Consider integrating this theme into a digital networking bingo card with prompts such as:

• Predicts a major disruption in the next decade
• Sees risks with current trends
• Can identify a “bubble” that is about to burst
• Predicts a shift in consumer/client behaviour

Self-reflection can be exactly what it takes to bridge the experience gap. Asking fellows what advice they would give their early-career selves invites both vulnerability and mentorship. This can be incorporated into a digital get-to-know-you bingo prompt, a small group storytelling round, or a digital advice wall.

The transition from a scheduled activity to an enduring professional relationship hinges on what happens after the bingo cards are filled and the polling closes. For fellows, the goal of an icebreaker isn’t just to fill twenty minutes of a retreat, it is to exchange ideas and expertise in service of innovation.

To ensure these initial sparks lead to a lasting impact, you may consider using post-event insights. If using digital tools like Jam Bingo, you will be able to see how attendees connected, helping you map out potential collaboration opportunities.