Participating in competitions, Olympics, challenges and other extracurricular activities during adolescence is a key point for the professional and personal development of young people. Four former participants in the country's largest entrepreneurship competition for high school and technical school students, the Innova Young, promoted by Unicamp Innovation Agency, report positive changes and new opportunities after the experience in which they had to apply an idea to develop a business from scratch.
“When I decided to participate in Inova Jovem I had no idea what we would face, but I chose to leave my comfort zone and discover new things. Today, I say that the competition changed the direction of my future, I discovered what I want to do in college during Inova Jovem activities”, says Maria Beatriz Souza Neves, aged 17, who participated in the 2020 edition as one of the team members Meduza.
Inova Jovem 2021 is the eighth edition of the competition and has already trained more than 2 thousand students spread across Brazil. This possibility of expanding the curriculum by participating in something different from that presented in conventional school teaching was what caught the attention of the members of the Meduza team, winner of last year's Inova Jovem and made up of three girls students from the Poliedro de Campinas school.
Like Neves, her teammates had never had contact with the topic before and this is the main objective of the program. Inova Jovem seeks to present entrepreneurship as a career path, in addition to encouraging the development of a business model based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations (UN), allowing young people to create opportunities to positively impact the society, generating social and economic value.
Last year's winners' project was a sexual violence prevention app for women, which will bring together information about abuse, support points, reporting locations and guidance on the Maria da Penha Law. “The possibility of producing something that proposes a social solution makes us reflect on issues essential to maturity, such as empathy”, comments Estela Salvi Curi, who is in her final year of high school at Poliedro School.
YOUNG PEOPLE WHO IMPACT THE FUTURE
João Victor Cardoso Kdouk was just 16 years old when he won the 2018 edition of Inova Jovem and was studying at Colégio Integral, now Paineiras, in Campinas. Today, he is in his second year of studying Computer Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology and lives in Atlanta, United States.
“I started programming when I was 12 years old, but it was Inova Jovem that introduced me to the path of entrepreneurship. The competition opened my eyes to the possibility of taking my knowledge about programming off paper and taking it to society,” says Kdouk.
The young man, who is already 19 years old, says that in addition to all the knowledge offered about entrepreneurship, he also learned about teamwork and how to face challenges without fear. “My teammates and I developed a lot after the workshop, when we were challenged by Inova Jovem to build a business model from scratch”, he explains.
HOW THE COMPETITION WORKS
Inova Jovem is a competition to broaden the horizons of young people in high school and technical education, fostering a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation. To this end, training is offered, such as a Business Model Canvas workshop (a business modeling methodology), mentoring with job market experts and pitch training, to learn how to present your business to potential investors. The winning team is awarded a cash prize, in addition to the certificate.
To participate, simply be between 13 and 21 years old and register with a team of at least three participants and a maximum of five, whether from the same school or not, from any city in Brazil. It is recommended that one of the team members register, by August 24th, as team leader through the team registration form. Afterwards, all participants must complete the individual form, with attached authorization from the guardian for children under 18 years of age.
INVITATION TO SCHOOLS
The competition is open to all schools in Brazil interested in offering a different opportunity to students, encouraging teaching about entrepreneurship, innovation and social business solutions. Escola Poliedro, sponsor of the competition again, encourages student participation, making students' activities more flexible so that they can dedicate time and attention to the competition. We want to invite schools and teachers who believe in the development of students still in high school and technical education as future entrepreneurs in the country to publicize the opportunity among their students.
“This contact with entrepreneurship is very important for maturity, to open our minds to opportunities that sometimes we don't even realize we have”, adds Luiza Lima Marques, also a member of the Meduza team and a student at Poliedro school.
original article published on the Unicamp Innovation Agency website.
