By Youth Startup Network
School students shine with their start-up ideas and solve world problems. Middle and High School Students from private and public schools across India present their start-up ideas to an esteemed panel of judges in the National Finals of the Global Ideas Pitch Challenge, India’s First International Video Pitching Competition for Students. Participating students were coached by founders of Youth Startup Network, the organizer of the competition, and mentored by students from the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIM-C).
During this pandemic and the global news, students from different schools of India participated in the first of its kind competition on entrepreneurship development organized by Youth Startup Network for the promotion of the Startup India Mission. Middle, High School & College students thought of solutions to real-world problems in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) declared by the United Nations (UN).
Using innovative thinking and a guided coaching program, students explored various aspects of entrepreneurship. They learned about problem identification, discovering passion, ideation, solution thinking, business models, customer acquisition, public speaking, and pitching. Over the past three months, the students also participated in various webinars, entrepreneur interactions, and mentoring sessions to sharpen their ideas. The students from India’s premier institution, Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIM-C), also volunteered and mentored the students to refine their business solutions and pitches; as part of the mentoring program devised by Youth Startup Network.
On Sunday, September 6, the program culminated with the organization of the National Finals of the Global Ideas Pitch Challenge. Fourteen finalists out of many, who participated, presented their pitch decks (presentations) virtually in front of the judges. It is important to note that the current pandemic situation and lockdown did not deter these students, and they presented some exciting solutions to these problems.
“The program has completely changed me, earlier I hesitated to share my thoughts, now I am presenting in the finals!” one of the finalists Simran Jain from The Amity International School, Gurgan shared with all.
“As a participant in the Global Ideas Pitch Challenge, I am learning about entrepreneurship and working on my knowledge of taking a business from idea to execution.” Keyyshav Seth, The Srijan School, Delhi, and the winner of the high-school category challenge.
“My son does not enjoy traditional subjects much and hence lags in the class; this challenge has opened a new world for him. He has participated in energy and done his tasks. I am observing a new child, thank you Youth Startup Network,” mother of Agam Singh, winner of the middle-school category from The Indraprastha International School.
The challenge – Global Ideas Pitch Challenge – is India’s first video pitch competition for students, launched after the country underwent lockdown due to the COVID pandemic. The program’s vision is to inspire kids and help them participate through their ideas in rebuilding for the future. In effect, they also develop an Entrepreneurial Mindset and Skills, which will enable them to be Job Creators in the future. This was conveyed to Prittle Prattle News by sharing a press release.
Through a multi-stage approach, students develop critical 21st Century Skills like:
- Public Speaking
- Pitching
- Creativity
- Idea Generation
- Problem Solving
- Resourcefulness
Judges Panel in the Final
- Dr. Neeta Bali, Director Principal, GD Goenka World School, Sohna, Renowned Academician, and Education Leader
- Er. Anuj Sinha, Chairman of the Board at Network of Organisations for S&T Communication, Former Director VigyanPrasar
- Ms. Divya Rajput, India lead – Incubation Manager Training and South Asia Connect – Texas Global at The University of Texas at Austin
- Mr. Ravi Kikan- CXO, Mentor to Startups & SMBs, Amazon Top Selling Author
- Mr. Bibin Babu, Angel Investor, Entrepreneur, Mentor, BlockChain Evangelist
Dr. Rituparna Basu delivered the keynote
Ph.D. (IIT-Kgp), Associate Professor & Marketing Area Chair IMI-K,
Mentor of Change for ATL by Niti Aayog, Govt of India
Youth Startup Network is the world’s first youth-centric entrepreneurship education organization, which aims to Educate, Empower, and Enable the youth to be future job creators. It aims to provide a truly global platform and experience to our members. In collaboration with other like-minded international organizations, Youth Startup Network is building an ecosystem for entrepreneurial mindset and skill set development.
Focused on the age group of 10 years to 25 years, YSN organizes educational workshops, seminars, camps, experiential tours, coaching sessions, and mentoring webinars for the budding entrepreneurs. One must note that entrepreneurship education is not just for future business persons and is a critical building block to develop into a leader, creator, and solver.
