At the end of the 12th edition of the Young Shoots Challenge Final, which took place last night at SKEMA Business School, the team of the ANA SOUNDS project won the Isabelle Attali Prize. This 12th edition, with a shortened 6-month calendar, concludes as we await the start of the 13th edition next September.
Four teams (ANA SOUNDS, APPART-A-PORTER, REGIM’IO, and WASH’N’BAR) were still in the running since the semi-finals of the contest last December. After this, the finalists each received an envelope as well as new coaching sessions in technical, legal, and marketing fields to help them develop their projects.
What criteria were used to designate the winning team?
Several criteria reflecting the local ecosystem’s mark finally led the Jury to designate ANA SOUNDS as the winner: the degree of innovation of the project, the eclectic and complementary profile of the team members, the level of advancement of the project, the grand presentation, and most certainly their determination. With its innovative concept of digital and sound modeling pedal racks for guitarists, the team coached by Sophie ERHARD and Pierre CORBUCCI from the company HONE, succeeded in capturing the Jury’s strong interest.
Carried by two students in Master Electronic Engineering at Polytech’Nice Sophia (Alexandre ERNANDEZ and Nicolas EYNAUD) and Verana MAI (Master in Entrepreneurship & Innovation at SKEMA Business School), the team won €3,000 for the creation of their company, pre-incubation within the Incubator Paca Est, access to Euclyde company’s servers, books from Editions Dalloz, a one-year free membership to the Telecom Valley association, as well as three passes worth €1,500 to participate in the 1st French edition of the “European Innovation Academy” Competition to be held in Sophia Antipolis from July 7 to 25.
Young Shoots Challenge
The Young Shoots Challenge was created in 2002 within the Telecom Valley Association, at the initiative of Isabelle Attali, who was then in charge of Employment-Training commission.
The aim of the YSC is to raise awareness among Master’s and Doctoral students about entrepreneurship in the fields of technological, social, and tourism innovation.
More broadly, this competition aims to create a real bridge between the academic and industrial worlds and thus promote the integration of students into the labor market, particularly in the industrial sector.
The competition is a proven method that fully meets students’ expectations regarding their entrepreneurial projects, like a “serious game”, in the most comprehensive, realistic, and fun way possible.
The main objective is to give students the desire to undertake and train in the entrepreneurial spirit during a competition created, structured, coached, and judged by professionals competent in their fields.
