Tuesday, 1/23/2024
On January 15, 2024, the regional
qualifying competition for the 17th edition of the Start Up Program, an
initiative promoted by Junior Achievement Portugal (JAP), was held in the Dst
auditorium of the School of Economics and Management (EEG). JAP is a prestigious
non-profit organization that promotes one of the most important youth
entrepreneurship programmes in Portugal, whose global counterpart has been
nominated twice for the Nobel Peace Prize and ranks 5th out of the 200 Social
Good Organizations with the greatest impact in the world.
The Start Up Program, which
involves the participation of several Portuguese universities, was incorporated
into the Entrepreneurship Curricular Units taught by Elisabete Sá and Nuno
Marques, professors in EEG's Management Department. More than 100 students from
EEG's Marketing Degree and Master's Degree in Industrial and Business Economics
presented 18 innovative projects in a four-minute elevator pitch format, all
geared towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals proposed by the UN
in the 2030 calendar.
The opening session was led by
EEG President Luís Aguiar-Conraria, who gave words of encouragement to the
students and welcomed the partners in this initiative, namely Cristiana
Cabreira, representing JAP and the competition's panel of judges, made up of
senior executives from leading companies, including Ricardo Machado da Silva
(Accenture), António Costa (Cofidis) and Filipa Lopes (Sonae).
At the end of the session, three
teams emerged as the winners, securing their place in the national competition
of the 17th edition of the Startup Program, scheduled for March 2024. The
InCARe project team, made up of Ana Leão, Inês Pinto, José Velar, Mafalda
Araújo, Margarida Fonseca and Patrícia Viana, stood out by developing an
innovative solution to make shopping areas more inclusive of people with visual
impairments. Another team that stood out in the selection process was Pet24,
made up of Ana Eira, Ana Portela, Gabriela Carvalho, José Gonçalves and Mafalda
Macedo, with an innovative proposal for the efficient management of veterinary
information. In addition to these two groups from the Marketing degree, the
SCRUFFE team was also chosen, made up of Bruna Soares, Carina Boaventura,
Juliana Carreirinha, Márcia Oliveira, Maria Carvalho and Raquel Ribeiro,
students on the Master's Degree in Industrial and Business Economics. This team
won over the jury by developing an organic detergent based on discarded coffee
grounds, adopting a circular economy model. The jury's choices demonstrate that
this event not only celebrates innovation, but also cultivates the commitment
of students to contribute to a more sustainable and inclusive future.
Thus, the School of Economics and
Management and the University of Minho once again stand out in training
entrepreneurial talent and are preparing to leave their mark on the next
edition of the Startup Program. In previous editions, EEG students and students
from other courses with Entrepreneurship Curricular Units offered by EEG have
received various distinctions as part of this initiative. In addition to
winning awards associated with this competition, such as the Alumni Leaders
award, the Communication award, the Groundbraking Innovation award (EDP) and
the Ready to Grow award (José de Mello Foundation), a team from EEG was the big
winner of the 15th edition of the national Start Up Program competition, having
represented Portugal in Estonia, at GEN-E, the largest entrepreneurship event
in Europe, where it won the Public Choice award.
EEG congratulates its students on
qualifying to represent the University of Minho in the 17th edition of the
Junior Achievement Portugal startup program!
Gabinete de Comunicação
Escola de Economia e Gestão
Universidade do Minho
Telefone: 253 604541
Email: gci@eeg.uminho.pt
