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EEG News
EEG students win National Innovation Award
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Friday, 3/26/2021
Five students from the School of Economics and Management at the University of Minho won a national innovation award in Junior's Start-Up Program Achievement Portugal (JAP) with a food sustainability project that joins kitchen, vegetable garden, and market in the same space - a vehicle - and that aims to give more visibility to local producers. The project, designated Floreo, won the EDP Groundbreaking Prize, distinguishing itself among the 26 finalists.
The work was developed by students André Machado, Catarina Alves and Sofia Mota, from the Masters in International Business, and Pedro Santos and Sofia Cortinhas, from the Master in Industrial Economics and the Company. The idea consists of a food truck (bus) with the top floor for a hydroponic garden (cultivation without soil) and the lower floor for a kitchen/restaurant and a stall of fruits and vegetables. It also associates an online platform that allows the consumer to buy fresh produce from local partner producers and still get offers or information, like seeing the ecological footprint of products marketed.
The students also carried out a study using a questionnaire, noting that 70% of the 200 respondents would agree to pay 20% more for a healthy meal and 60% would purchase Floreo products and services.
“We propose a healthy and sustainable alternative, contributing to an active way to safeguard the planet and to raise awareness in society ”, says Pedro Santos. The project had the guidance of the EEG professor Nuno Marques and the students are now looking to close the deal with the evaluated sources of financing and other innovation actions and entrepreneurship. The prize that the team obtained also allows them to participate in a professional program and in EDP workshops. “We believe in a community network for sustainable food and the potential of this project on the market, which, being itinerant, allows you to reach everywhere ”, says Sofia Mota. The team estimates that an initial investment of 100 thousand euros and that 50,000 consumers can be reached in five years. For this, franchising and partnership actions are foreseen, with the municipalities of Porto, Braga and Guimarães have already been contacted and shown interest in the project.
The JAP Start-Up Program offers university students training in entrepreneurship providing the opportunity to live and experience the management of their company itself, giving them a perspective of how their skills can be used in the development of a business. With the support and monitoring of volunteers coming from companies, students have a real experience of the business world: developing a concept, an investment proposal, and a business plan.
Congratulations to our winning team and professor Nuno Marques!
+Inf:
facebook.com/juniorachievement.portugal
http://www.japortugal.org/educacao/ensino-universitario/906-start-up-programme.html
Gabinete de Comunicação
Escola de Economia e Gestão
Universidade do Minho
Telefone: 253 604541
e-mail:
gci@eeg.uminho.pt
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