U.S. Embassy in Finland: American Entrepreneurial Challenge (AEC)

Deadline: 1-Mar-21

U.S. Embassy Helsinki’s flagship entrepreneurial program is back! With a new name – American Entrepreneurial Challenge (AEC) – the program will provide students with a unique opportunity to strengthen their entrepreneurial and English skills.

During the AEC, students will come up with a new business idea, create a business plan, and pitch their idea to a panel of judges. Participants will be provided with opportunities to improve their pitching skills and learn from mentors throughout the competition.

How does it Work?

Teams of 2 – 4 students join together to create a business plan or a non-profit service that demonstrates the essential skills for bringing an idea to life: entrepreneurial skills, innovation, critical thinking, problem solving, language ability, and presentation. Each team comes up with a business plan and presents a recorded pitch that is maximum 3-minutes long. Each team needs to have at least one adult mentor – for example their teacher or a local entrepreneur. The AEC is conducted in English only.
In spring 2021, there will be two categories for entries, one for primary school students, classes 7 – 9, and another for vocational school and upper secondary school students. The strict age limits have been lifted.

Submissions

Entries will be submitted through a form. The following information is required:
- Name of the team;
- School/s of the team members;
- First and last name of each team member;
- Phone number and email address, through which the team can be reached: make sure to include an email address that is both active and regularly monitored!
- Name and contact info of an adult mentor of the team (for example a teacher);
- Short, written description of the idea;
- YouTube –link to the pre-recorded pitch.
A pre-recorded video pitch will be required in both categories. The minimum length of the video is 30 seconds, and the maximum length of the video is 3 minutes. The video should include an introduction of all the team members. The format for the rest of the video is up to the students to decide. Unless there is a critical need to use an external assistant (for example when providing a demo of a product), only the team members should participate/speak in the video. The video needs to be uploaded to YouTube and the link provided should be a link to hidden content. Kindly make sure that applicant’s link provided, provides access to the video. The pitch and video should be in English.
Primary school classes 7 – 9
- Each team must have an adult mentor;
- One entry per team;
- No strict age limits (younger/ class 10 students may participate);
- No limitations for the topic or theme of the business idea: the only requirement is that applicant business idea must be new in some way!
- One winner and two runners-up will be selected: awards will include financial support for the development of the business idea and mentoring.
Upper secondary level (vocational schools, upper secondary schools)
- Students of 16 – 19 years old;
- One entry per team;
- One winner and two runners-up will be awarded with financial support for the development of their business idea, mentoring, and a Summer Camp in Finland, with a heavy U.S. entrepreneurial focus.
The topic of the business idea needs to contribute to, provide solutions for, or address one or more of the following:
- Arctic;
- Games and gamifying;
- Disinformation and/or media literacy;
- Circular economy and sustainability;
- Human rights;
- Inclusion and diversity;
- Strengthening Entrepreneurship.