GrowUp Students Training
Expose your ideas and be creative – think like an entrepreneur
The GrowUp Students Training has one category: business ideas. You can start with just an idea. An idea can be a product or a service - practically anything that could be used to make a business. Coaching is also possible for a student who has a new development idea for his/her already operating company
Training structure
Registration
Register and submit your video by 25 October 2023 via this link
First phase
- In the first phase of the GrowUp Students training, participants give a 3-minute pitch or sales pitch about their own business idea either in Finnish or in English via video.
- You can participate in GrowUp Students coaching alone or as a team.
- Based on the videos, 8 participants will be selected for the second phase of the training. The coaches look at the following things about your idea: pitch, idea, participant profile, feasibility, potential, novelty value, team, scalability, finances.
- Registration ends on 25 October 2023. Remember to send a 3-minute long video when registering.
Second phase
- The second phase of the training is on 14 November 2023 from 8 am to 12 pm (SeAMK F 207).
- During the day, the participants receive sparring from experts.
- The best idea gets 200 € and the runner-up gets 100 € for developing a business idea.
A student who successfully completes both the 1st and 2nd phases receives 2 credits from the GrowUp Students training.
In cooperation
GrowUp Students 2023 competition is organized by:
Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences
INTO Seinäjoki
South Ostrobothnia Chamber of Commerce
LähiTapiola
Seinäjoki Entrepreneurship Society – SeiES
History
GrowUp Students originates from an SME growth competition Grow Up. Grow Up competition was arranged in South Ostrobothnia for several years and it was very successful. Instead of Finnish SMEs, GrowUp Students competition differs from its predecessor by letting higher education students test their business ideas and businesses.
GrowUp Students -competition was arranged for the first time in 2017 for Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences students. In 2018, Tampere and Vaasa Universities of Applied Sciences joined the competition.
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2022 WINNERS
Business Ideas
1. Cropcorn
A platform to discover local producers, small businesses and events
2. LighthouseOS
A light and easy-to-use operating system that makes it possible to get inexperienced computer users into the internet age and harness used laptops into working machines again!Operating businesses
1. BrightLife
Brightlife develops and produces an online operating platform based on the SaaS model (software as a service) that enhances the availability and quality of mental health services, where help-seekers and help-givers (psychotherapists) can easily and safely meet each other. The purpose is to enhance the work of professionals with the help of an internet platform designed for them, through which they can treat their clients more efficiently and monitor the development of their mental health. The platform includes various services that make the work of mental health professionals easier, such as customer appointment booking and homework, secure communication with customers, and an invoicing service for professionals.In the future, the purpose is to develop a phone application to support the platform for people suffering from mental health problems. The goal of the application is to increase and lower people’s threshold for using mental health services. Customers can participate in the remote reception of their chosen therapist directly through the application, and therapists can directly assign homework to their clients through the application. Shared homework and the information and data obtained from it would produce real-time feedback for therapists, making it even easier for therapists to monitor the healing process of clients and produce even more individual treatment paths for clients
2. Kätevä
Etäterveysasema Kätevä (remote health station) is a private health technology company that develops technology and tools to implement proactive, efficient, affordable and accessible healthcare. -
2019 WINNERS
Belkys Sanders, a student at SeAMK, won the competition’s Business Ideas category with an EZY mobile application that combines light entrepreneurs and their services. The idea for the OWE – Open World Exchange by students Maureen Fontaine, Christian Liefeldt and Mathilde Hermant from Vaasa University of Applied Sciences got the second award. In their community service, especially international students can exchange their experiences and knowledge about life around the world.
The jury chose SeAMK student Pietari Sillasto’s Reissujuna (Tour Train) as the winner of the Operating Businesses category. The Reissujuna organizes experiential museum train trips to various cultural destinations such as festivals. The working group also includes train expert Juhana Siren, serial entrepreneur Robert Ramstedt, communications student Liisa-Anneli Haavisto and technical expert Antero Alku.
Second award in the Operating Businesses category was handed to SeAMK’s student Jenny Ekman-Kaivonen for her sports studio in Västervik, Vaasa.
SeAMK’s students Francisca Gomes and Mubarek Abdillahi received an honourable mention for the best pitch.
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2018 WINNERS
Four competitors or teams from each of the participating universities were selected, Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences (SeAMK, competition organizer), Vaasa Polytechnic (VAMK) and Tampere University of Applied Sciences (TAMK).
The winning competitor/team chosen by the jury was Mindi Pekola with her Anouk Studio. The already operating Anouk Studio sells high-quality contemporary art posters from artists’ artwork to the world. The aim of the company is to allow the purchase of art to as many people as interested at an affordable price. The winner of the award was 1500 euros.
Second place was awarded to Eero Jääskeläinen Oree Oy. Oree Oy produces laundry chemicals for both consumers and businesses. Consumers are directed to the Fure car care product series, which is a trademark owned by Oree Oy. For companies Oree produces private label products and larger quantities for car washes, for example. Second place Eero Jääskeläinen received 1000 euros.
Thirdly, Robin Bulz, Sonia Smolinskan, Linda Herrmannova, Kasper Kumpulainen, Arttu Koskela-Koivisto and Daan Pladet from VAMK with Cuppa. The group won prize money to the value of 500 euros.
For the best pitch, the jury selected Adrien Hustache and five other Tampere students in the Journey in HEL concept, which introduces Finland to the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport for flights to and from Helsinki.
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2017 WINNERS
In the 2017 finals, 12 business ideas competed for the main prize, of which the winner was awarded 1000 euros with second and third receiving 500 euros.
The competition was won by Elmeri Aukeala, a student of mechanical engineering at the beginning of the year, with a business idea related to the management of green spaces. Shared second place was Jonna Leppäharju Unidenhja, a social student, and a nurse student Jaakko Ilin in the social and healthcare sector with auxiliary business idea.
The best pitching was awarded to International Business students Sadi Hasanov (SeAMK) and Daria Khaskina (JAMK).
Kuvassa vasemmalta oikealle: Jonna Leppäharju, Elmeri Aukeala, Jaakko Ilin, Sadi Hasanov ja Daria Khaskina.