Orange, a student-company from St. Aloysius College representing Malta at the Junior Achievement (JA) Europe 26th annual Company of the Year Competition (CoYC), won the ‘Excellence in IT Award’from AT&T in Berlin on Thursday 30 July. Orange was one of 37 student teams from 36 countries competing for 7 awards on the night. Their participation was possible due to their participation and winning of the Junior Achievement (Young Enterprise) Malta Sixth Form Company Programme in May earlier this year.
Orange impressed the judging panel with their IT innovation-driven concept, which demonstrated strong business potential and sustainability, as well as viability and scalability. The mini-company ‘Orange’ developed SelFeed, a freely downloadable mobile app whereby users are eligible for a discount on their bill at affiliated restaurants after sharing a photo (or selfie) of their purchase on social media.
“This award is just another confirmation that we are doing something right and that we’re going in the right direction. It also gives us the confidence and backing that our mission and goals are being well-received by those around us. We’ve already received this confirmation in our own country, but now we get a chance to experience it on a larger scale in Europe.” – Nick Xuereb, Orange team member.
AT&T supports JA Europe’s Company Programme in six European countries and aims to help secondary students succeed after they leave school through crucial career mentoring;“We hope the Excellence in IT Award from AT&T will help spark innovation and empower young people to use new technologies for personal, career and community growth,” said AT&T’s Peter Daly, Vice President, Global Service Management.
The Company Programme is JA-YE Malta’s flagship programme, having been offered to first year sixth form students in Malta and Gozo for 27 years. The Company Programme gives participating students the opportunity to set up and run a real business with the support of dedicated and experienced business mentors. Participating teams are guided through a process of idea generation, product development, business plan preparation, marketing and PR, sales, dividend distribution and liquidation during the course of the 8 month programme.
Since its start, the JA Europe Company Programme has equipped over 3.5 million students across Europe with the right skills to start-up or become gainfully employed. Research has shown that alumni of the Company Programme are more likely to start their own business and have a higher average income than their counterparts.
“The students showed their ability to identify a need, assess the potential and develop a product that is appealing to the masses, financially viable and scalable beyond our local shores. It is the essence of what we do at JA-YE Malta together with our trusted volunteers, schools and teachers, sponsors and business partners! Through our educational programmes in primary, post-/secondary and tertiary level we are equipping youths to take better charge of their career prospects by means of fun, practical experiences in business that instil key entrepreneurship skills” said Julian Azzopardi, CEO of JA-YE Malta.
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