The best JA companies in Finland will meet in Helsinki at the Uskalla Yrittää final 21-22 April 2021 organized by Junior Achievement Finland (Nuori Yrittäjyys ry). The final is the national final for the JA Company Program. The final brings together students from all over Finland to compete for the Finnish Championship and for the places in the European competition. The semifinals will be held virtually this year.
Finalists are selected from all over Finland through regional semifinals.
JA company and supervising teacher!
How to take part in the semi-finals:
- The JA company completes the pre-assignments for the semi-finals, which are given below.
- The JA company submits the pre-assignments when it registers for the event. The JA company registers for the semi-finals in its region using the links below. The teacher’s information is also entered in the same registration form.
- After registering, the JA company and the teacher receive a link to join the virtual event on the Howspace platform about one week before the semi-finals.
- The JA company and the teacher use the link to go to the virtual platform on the day of the event. The staff at JA set up exhibition stands for the JA companies based on the pre-assignments sent during registration.
- The JA company finds its exhibition stand under the “Messut” (“Exhibition”) tab. The JA company joins the video chat of its exhibition stand and keeps the microphone and camera on throughout the exhibition.
- During the exhibition, the judges and other visitors will visit the video chat.
- In the semi-finals, teachers can freely tour students’ exhibition stands and take part in the program for teachers under the “Opecafe” tab.
- After the exhibition, the JA company and the teacher watch the award ceremony live on the virtual platform under the “Päälava” (“Main Stage”) tab.
- The JA companies and the teachers that make it to the final will be contacted by e-mail after the semi-finals.
| DAY | TIME | REGION | PLACE | REGISTRATION |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11.3.2021 | 12:00 - 15:30 | Uusimaa | Virtual event | Read more and registrate here |
The virtual platform of the semi-finals is Howspace. Howspace is a versatile, user-friendly platform that enables the organization of virtual events, exhibitions, live shows and chatrooms in one address.
The Howspace platform will include the virtual exhibition stands of the JA companies, which the staff of Junior Achievement Finland will set up for the JA companies based on the pre-assignments that are submitted. On the day of the event, the students can access their exhibition stand to present their business ideas. Exhibition visitors and the judging panel of the semi-finals will have a chance to talk to the members of the JA companies directly via a video connection set up at the exhibition stand. The virtual platform will also contain a separate space for teachers where they can chat and take part in the program for teachers. The virtual semi-finals are crowned with an event stage on the platform where participants can watch the award ceremony live.
Registered JA companies and teachers will receive an e-mail well before the event with an individual link to join the virtual semi-finals. A valid e-mail address is required to log in to the event platform. The semi-finals will also have a public join link, allowing anyone to visit the semi-finals exhibition during the event.
Pre-assignments
Every JA company taking part in the semi-finals must submit pre-assignments in advance. The pre-assignments will be incorporated in the virtual exhibition stand of the JA company. The pre-assignments give the exhibition visitors and the judges a better idea of the company operations at the virtual exhibition and thus also make the exhibition stand more interesting.
One of the pre-assignments affects the assessment of the judging panel. Each JA company chooses the most suitable pre-assignment from two options, a pitch deck and a company presentation video. The judging panel will examine the pre-assignment sent by the company already before the day of the semi-finals to get a better idea of the business operations of the JA company and to be able to tour the JA companies more efficiently during the semi-finals. The assignment will also be added to the virtual exhibition stand so that exhibition visitors can obtain more information about the business operations.
The pre-assignments to be submitted and their instructions are given below. The pre-assignments must be submitted in connection with registration.
To be assessed (choose only one assignment)
The JA company chooses the option that it prefers and answers the guiding questions given in the instructions as part of the assignment. The judging panel will not assess the visual appearance of the outcome, but the content.
1 Pitch deck
The pitch deck is a slideshow of no more than 8 slides, summarizing the key information about the company and its operations. The pitch deck can be created in Finnish, Swedish or English. The pitch deck should be submitted in PDF format in connection with registration.
Procedure:
1. Open the program you want to use to create a slideshow (such as PowerPoint)
2. Answers the questions below in the slides.
3. Save the slideshow (max. 8 slides) in PDF format.
4. Upload the final pitch deck in the appropriate box when you register.
Pitch deck instructions
Answer the following questions in your pitch deck:
- Opening slide (name of the JA company?)
- Problem (What is the customer’s problem?)
- Solution = product/service (What solution to the problem does your JA company provide? What product/service do you offer? What makes it excellent?)
- What has the JA company achieved? (examples of concrete measures that have been taken)
- For example, product manufacture, sales, planning, events etc.
- Team (What competencies does the team have?)
- Learning (What has the JA company learned during the program?)
- Closing slide (for example, contact information, where to reach you?)
2 Company Presentation Video
The maximum length of the video is 2 minutes. The video can be recorded using a mobile phone and no extra points are awarded for the technical production of the video. The video can be produced in Finnish, Swedish or English. The video is submitted by uploading it to YouTube or Vimeo and adding the link to the video in the appropriate field when registering.
Procedure:
1. Use the camera on, e.g., your mobile phone to record a video of no more than 2 minutes. The video does not need to be edited.
2. Answer the questions below on the video.
3. Upload your video to YouTube or Vimeo, make it public and save the link to the video.
4. Enter the final link to the video in the appropriate field when you register.
Instructions for the company presentation video
Answer the following questions in your video:
- Start (Name of the JA company?)
- Problem (What is the customer’s problem?)
- Solution = product/service (What solution to the problem does your JA company provide? What product/service do you offer? What makes it excellent?)
- What has the JA company achieved? (examples of concrete measures that have been taken)
- For example, product manufacture, sales, planning, events etc.
- Team (What competencies does the team have?)
- Learning (What has the JA company learned during the program?)
- End
Other pre-assignments
Two-sentence presentation text
During registration, the JA company writes a two-sentence presentation of its business activities for the virtual exhibition stand.
Logo and company image
The JA company can choose to submit the company logo and one picture of the team, product or service during registration. The logo and company image will visualize the company’s virtual exhibition stand. The images are uploaded in JPG, JPEG or PNG format using the registration form.
Criteria
JA companies compete in different categories in the semi-finals. The criteria for each competition category in the semi-finals can be found here.