Fifty-six students from eight schools participated in the fourth edition of the Social Innovation Challenge organised by youth NGO Junior Achievement Young Enterprise Malta Foundation and supported by Microsoft. The aim of the event was to train students on how technology can be used to turn innovative ideas into tangible projects that could address societal needs.

This year’s challenge, hosted at the Microsoft Innovation Centre, invited the participating students to propose solutions to bridge the gap between education and employment

“This year’s challenge addressed a topic which is very high on the agenda not only for Malta’s government but also for Europe. In fact, we felt that addressing this topic supports all youths to further increase their employability opportunities which in turn sustain more economic growth,” said Angela Micallef, philanthropies manager at Microsoft Malta, who coordinated the event.

“Youth employment, further education, entrepreneurship and youth empowerment have always been high on Microsoft’s agenda, which is in line with the government’s objective to reduce the digital and opportunity divide as well as to help lower the number of young people not in employment. Through such events, youths learn about the resources available that can help them achieve their dreams and aspirations,” country manager Panayiotis Ioannou said.

The social innovation challenge is a great opportunity for participating students to learn the basics in creative thinking and problem solving, encouraging them to break away from the constraints of what may be considered as obvious solutions. By learning outside the classroom, they discover the spirit of entrepreneurship and get to develop their interpersonal, as well as problem-solving skills and learn to work under tight deadlines.

The students were personally mentored by the Microsoft Malta team,  were given access to Microsoft tools and attended a developer masterclass with which they could then build their ‘solution’ and their final presentation and business website.

The winning team was from Verdala International School, who proposed a mobile app and a website through which employers can post vacancies and list their key skill requirements. The search engine will match them to potential candidates thus reaching out to the students directly through the app.

“The app uses similar algorithms as those of a dating site where students complete a questionnaire which then automatically categorises them into groups according to interests and skills,” said Asif Akram from Microsoft, who mentored the winning team through the challenge.

The concept behind the solution is to provide an opportunity for those many students who want to take up jobs that help them build their CV. In fact, the app includes a scoring system that relays feedback to employers.

“In a time where employers also tend to prefer candidates who have already obtained work experience and thus shown initiative in building a CV, the app turned out to be the winning project because it not only entices students to take up a job but also prepares them with a variety of skill sets and experiences that help facilitate a move to the larger job market,” Mr Akram added.

JAYE’s CEO Julian Azzopardi said: “It is great to see how enthusiastic young people can be when engaged to identify and develop a solution to an issue that affects them directly. Through the Microsoft Social Innovation Challenge we offer just that and this is why for the fourth year running we have teamed up with Microsoft Malta to allow students explore their entrepreneurial flair in a professional environment.

“Guided by Microsoft Malta staff, eight teams of young socially conscious and enterprising youth got together to tackle an important issue in a way that will offer new opportunities to youths their age and also develop their understanding of what is required to build a sustainable business. This learning-by-doing initiative could not be possible without Microsoft Malta’s disposition and understanding of the importance to allow youth to engage with the world of work and business from an early age and we look forward to developing this further together.”

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