Working on the project
Photo: Konstantin Velichkov
The winning team
Photo: Konstantin Velichkov
Young Israeli entrepreneurs win int'l competition
Students from Afula, some from disadvantaged backgrounds, win top prizes in entrepreneurship challenge in Bulgaria
Fifty-six students from 10 countries gathered in Sofia, Bulgaria from 11-13 March to take part in an international entrepreneurship challenge. The competition was held for the first time as part of the skills@work project run by the British Council, in partnership with the Junior Achievement Young Enterprise (JAYE) in Europe and Israel.
The project aims to strengthen the relationship between vocational education and success in the labor market.
Representing Israel were students of multimedia and photography from the Amal Ofek School in Afula after they won the local competition held in Tefen in November 2008. Many of the winning students came from disadvantaged backgrounds and this was a unique opportunity for them to travel abroad and meet with youth from other countries.
The competition in Bulgaria divided up the groups and the Israeli students worked together with their new friends from Europe.
Microsoft sponsored the event and posed the challenge: To develop an idea for a product or service in the field of e-government within a time limit of 24 hours. After an intense brainstorming session, the teams presented their ideas to the judges from the business sector.
The winning product “Easy Vote” was developed by a group of students from Bulgaria, Romania, Britain and Israel. Xenia Korgin, the Israeli student from the winning team, the daughter of Russian immigrants, will travel to the UK to participate in a special training program to develop entrepreneurship.
Other Israeli students won second and third prizes and even a prize for the best communication. All three prize-winning ideas were suggested by the Israeli students and subsequently developed by the international teams.
Bringing pride to country
“There is no doubt that the students gained a great deal from this intense experience which required them to cope with business challenges and all without exception responded to the challenge and suggested suitable solutions” said Ori Yaloz, Director of Young Entrepreneurs Israel. ”Participating in the challenge brought a lot of pride to the country, to the Training Department , to Young Entrepreneurs, to the Amal network and the Ofek school in Afula. We worked hard to prepare the students and we saw the fruits of our labors.”
“Our students have already achieved a great deal in the framework of the business initiative program. Participating in the competition was very exciting for them and encouraged them to produce creative ideas and promote their business ideas in Israel and abroad”, added Vera Karniel, Director of the Amal school in Afula.
The British Council is the world’s largest international cultural relations organization. It connects people with learning opportunities and creative ideas to build lasting relationships around the world.
