JAYE Malta has hosted its hotly anticipated National Finals online for a second year running, with the 2021 award-winners now set to compete virtually at a European level.

Held each May, the Finals are an opportunity for student teams from across JAYE’s entrepreneurship programmes to present their work to expert independent judging panels. Due to the challenges presented by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, however, all participants in this year’s event prepared for it without ever meeting their teammates in person, instead working together virtually from start to finish.

“If there was ever a year when we taught resilience and perseverance it has got to be this one!” remarks JAYE Malta CEO, Fiona Captur. “It was great to see the teams think on their feet. From forming teams with people that the students had never met in person, to working together ensuring that everyone delivers online, it has not been easy. Yet, the students combined entrepreneurship competencies they have learnt through JAYE with their practical reality, to pivot rather than ‘go out of business’. The super JAYE Team must also be commended for managing to deliver all the programmes and content to the students within the timeframes.”

While the student teams worked to overcome the odds of the pandemic, the JAYE Malta team had to also change the way it recruited students to the programmes. “JAYE Malta has continued to adapt to this new reality by engaging with students differently, partnering with Freehour and taking on board new skills and partners who are now here to stay, way beyond COVID-19,” continues Ms Captur. “It’s been a rollercoaster in lateral thinking. This is the first time in JAYE’s history where we have not met any of the teams or students in person at any point in time, with everything being delivered virtually and innovating in how we engage, from virtual fairs and an online purchase platform supported by ZAAR to establishing a new student portal. We have really had to practice what we preach!”

The Finals resulted in winning teams from across JAYE’s range of programmes and in a series of categories. As well as the coveted Company of the Year Award, the ‘Candid’ team won the Chamber of Commerce Membership Award and the Atlas Digital Marketing Innovation Award. Team ‘Mycro Pixel Studio’ was presented with the Farsons Ready for Work Award, while ‘Unlimited’ took both the Deloitte Best Business Plan Award and the EQF Quality Excellence Award.

From the StartUp programme, the StartUp of the Year Award went to the ‘Silentsave’ team, completing an impressive run of wins for the team at the Finals that also included the Chamber of Commerce Membership Award, the PwC Concept Validation Award, Tech.mt Digital Innovation Award, the Switch Take Me To Market Award and the Public Vote Award.

Meanwhile, the Enterprise Ministry Sustainability Award was presented to the ‘Unpuzzling Food’ team, Glenn Bugeja received the JAYE John Harper Award and team ‘Flo-Pot’ won the JAYE Philip Bonnet Award for Perseverance.

The winners will go on to virtually compete at multiple prestigious European competitions, as well as becoming official JA Alumni and part of the global JA Alumni network. The Gen-E 2021 – European Entrepreneurship Festival will be introduced this year in host country JA Lithuania, under the theme Render the Future, focusing on Gen-E: the generation of Europeans who believe in the importance of Education, Entrepreneurship and Employment. Likewise, the Company of the Year Competition and the European Enterprise Challenge of the Year 2021 will take place over a two-week event, while the European Awards Night on 15 July will celebrate World Youth Skills Day in the presence of European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit.

With the judging criteria of the local competitions further aligned with those of the European Competitions, the introduction of additional local awards such as the new Digital Award and Sustainability Awards for StartUp, and more customised instruction, JAYE Award-winners are now better prepared to compete internationally.

Meanwhile, the partnership between JAYE Malta and the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry is especially significant this year, since the Chamber’s newly appointed President, Marisa Xuereb, is a JAYE Alumna, having won the Company of the Year Award in 1995 with her team and representing Malta at the European Competition. The Chamber will this year be offering members of the winning teams of both the Sixth Form Company of the Year Award and the Tertiary StartUp of the Year Award a one-year membership as an introduction into the world of business.

“We also have the new Public Choice Award for the StartUp Programme, where the public is able to vote for their preferred team and product, which has received an overwhelming response,” concludes Ms Captur. “We must thank all our relentless supporters including the JAYE Alumni Board, Jobs+, HSBC, Deloitte, Farsons, Atlas Insurance, EFQ, PwC, Tech.mt, Switch, the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry and the Ministry for Energy, Enterprise and Sustainable Development, among a long list of others as well as individuals who join us as mentors. Additionally, we are delighted to have partnered with the Oxford College of Marketing in the UK to help provide our students with cutting edge online courses.”

More information about JAYE Malta may be found online at www.jayemalta.org