"RETHINKING EDUCATION: INNOVATIVE IDEAS TO TRANSFORM EDUCATION"
Rethinking education to ensure that young people – today and in the future – are well equipped to fully realize their potential and shape their own paths is one the most complex, pressing challenges of our time. Everybody has a role to play – but no one is better placed than young people themselves to identify the obstacles faced in education and find ways to overcome them.
The purpose of the Youth Summit Competition is to challenge young people to solve the problems that matter to them most by crafting their own solutions, so that they can build the future they want. In doing so, the competition also aims to inspire, create a dialogue on innovative ways to address education problems, and encourage entrepreneurship.
The 2016 Youth Summit Competition invited individuals or teams of 2-4 people aged 18 to 35, from all over the world, to submit innovative and action-oriented ideas on how to provide young people with a quality, inclusive and relevant education, adapted to the realities of the 21st century. The proposed solutions could be aimed at business or policy (e.g. product, service, program, policy, course, initiative etc.), but were required to relate to at least one of the subthemes of the Youth Summit 2016 (Innovation and Technology in Education, Skills for the New Economy, Gender Equality in Education, Education in Crisis Zones).
Between mid-August and September 2016 – the period during which the Competition was open for submissions -- more than 850 teams from over 100 countries submitted their proposals. After two rounds of reviews conducted by an Expert Committee – based on four judging criteria – six teams have been selected to attend the Youth Summit and present their idea during a ‘Pitch Contest’ that took place on November 15th, 2016. Three winning teams have been designated at the issue of the Contest (see below). In addition, all finalist teams have attended two training sessions – one focusing on fundraising offered by 1776, a global incubator and seed fund based in Washington DC, and the other one focusing on Monitoring and Evaluation, organized by World Bank Group experts.
Watch the Pitch Contest here.
Find more details on the Competition Rules in Regulations in the Competition Terms and Conditions.
2016 WINNERS AND FINALISTS
Congratulations to all finalist teams for having been selected and for having presented their idea during the Pitch Contest!
Two winning teams have been selected by the Jury and one by the audience:
Jury’s Choice Winners
NaTakallam
Team Members: Aline Sara, Reza Rahnema, Denise Maroney, and Sherif Kamal
NaTakallam is a platform that connects displaced Syrians with Arabic learners through Arabic language sessions over Skype. NaTakallam gives learners access to affordable, flexible, and tailored training with native speakers, and provides an enriching work opportunity to displaced Syrians who, once resettled in a host country, struggle to join the workforce, due to language barriers or strict labor policies. NaTakallam is currently partnering with universities as a complement to traditional Arabic/Middle Eastern studies, giving a human dimension to the refugee crisis and promoting a unique educational experience to students.
ROYA Mentorship Program
Team Members: Mohammad Asif Rasooly and Shoaib Mehryar
ROYA Mentorship Program is a comprehensive educational program in Afghanistan that enables children of impoverished families – girls in particular – to learn English and acquire computer literacy. Through this program, students have access to classes and computers/internet, are matched with local mentors who advise and encourage them, and also benefit from the financial support of sponsors who cover their tuition fees. ROYA Mentorship Program not only equips participants with the skills and motivation needed to pursue higher education, but also promotes ethnic harmony by building interethnic ties between mentors and students.
People’s Choice Winner
StanLab
Team Members: Job Oyebisi, Adenike Adetoun, Tobi Oyedokun, and Deji Lawanson
StanLab is developing a 3D virtual laboratory that will provide practical science education to Nigerian students who do not have access to traditional laboratories. Equipped with motion sensing devices, StanLab will allow users to visualize and interact with 3D graphics – for instance, users will be able to rotate molecules and observe their constituting elements. StanLab will not only help students better understand science concepts and practice experiments – even in the absence of physical facilities – but also experience a more dynamic and collaborative approach to science education.
Read more about the winning teams here.
Contestants
Khwela
Team Member: Sandiso Sibisi
Khwela is developing a mobile platform that will help unemployed youth in South Africa. The application provides a comprehensive and accessible ecosystem offering career development education – covering steps needed to get ready for employment through nine interactive and practical modules. In addition, the platform connects young people in a structured and tailored manner with mentors, youth program service providers, and employers so that they can acquire the necessary resources, knowledge, and support to work their way towards gainful employment.
InRoE
Team Members: Sulagna Datta, Leah Sebastian Zacharias, and Joel Modestus
InRoE proposes to create a platform which enables Indian students to afford quality education through a low-risk approach, by connecting them with investors and qualified skills providers. Investors will be able to invest in a ‘basket of students’ as an asset class, while students will have the opportunity to enroll in educational programs, without any upfront fee. They will pay back the funds only if they obtain a job and the amount will be proportional to their earnings. This scheme aims to create incentives and broaden access to education and equipping students with market-relevant skills.
School in School (Alohomora Education)
Team Members: Divakar Sankhla, Parinita Jain, and Aaditya Tiwari
School in School is a student-led ecosystem in India that empowers students to design their own learning path. Every week, a few hours are carved out from traditional curricula for a ‘School in School’ learning experience, whereby selected student leaders facilitate learning with other students. Through a process-based curriculum, students not only use online resources to independently learn new skills based on their interests, but also engage with their communities to develop and implement concrete solutions to real-life problems. In doing so, School in School democratizes learning and encourages students to take education in their own hands.
PRIZE
Thanks to a partnership between the World Bank Group Youth Summit and the International Council for Small Business (ICSB) – who sponsors the prize for the second year already – and the generous support of the WBG Information and Technology Solutions, Global Telecom & Client Services , the captains of the two teams chosen by the Jury (NaTakallam and ROYA Mentorship Program) will have the opportunity to attend the 2017 ICSB Academy, which will take place on June 25th to July 1st 2017, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The ICSB Academy provides students, young professionals and entrepreneurs with a full immersion experience in the making of a new entrepreneurial venture, while exposing them to the latest developments in entrepreneurship science under the mentorship of a global team of successful entrepreneurship experts (including entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, business experts, and faculty). This dynamic training program includes learning modules and other tools to help them identify entrepreneurial opportunities and create a new venture. Participants in each cohort are paired with mentors and given time throughout the program to gain insights and advice on their ideas, learn from mentors’ experiences, and network to expand their professional networks.
COMPETITION PARTNERS
