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Dare to Change Business Pitch Competition: Win the Prize with a 5-minute Pitch

Ever thought about winning startup funds and supports by simply giving a 5-minute pitch? Organised by The Young Entrepreneurs Development Council, the “Dare To Change Business Pitch Competition” offers students a chance to showcase their business ideas in front of seasoned executives by conducting a five-minute pitch. The competition is sponsored by the Innovation and Technology Commission and co-supported by the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park. All full-time current students and 2020 graduates from Hong Kong tertiary education institutes are eligible to participate in teams. In the preliminary round, each participating team will have 5 minutes to conduct their entire presentation in any form. The presentation will be immediately followed by a 10-minute Q & A session with the judging panel. 10 teams entering the final round will receive one-to-one guidance from business professionals with subsidies as a start-up fund. There will be a total of seven awards with cash prize up to HKD15 000. Some of the winning teams will have an opportunity to execute their business ideas offered by the HKSTPC through the HKSTPC Incubation Programme, and will be recommended to regional contests. Various sorts of Networking Events will be held with the aim to let all the participants have the opportunity to know more about the business realm through potential investors and seasoned professionals. Online registration will close on 8 January 2021 at 3 pm. Please visit the official website for the eligibility and further information.

• #Startup
• #StartupCompetition

Information Days of Tertiary Institutions 2020

Virtual Information Days for post-secondary admissions, covering introduction to various programmes and admission requirements, will be held from October onwards.   Date Institute Highlights 10 October The Chinese University of Hong Kong Live chats sessions 10 October The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Live chats with staff and students on Admissions Chat Box 17 October Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts Expert talks, Interview tips, Q & A webinar  17 October The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Individualized consultation, Virtual campus tour 17 October The Education University of Hong Kong Live webinars with Q&A sessions, Virtual campus tour 24 October City University of Hong Kong (Details to be announced by the institute) 24 October Hong Kong Baptist University Live chats, JUPAS application and interview tips, Virtual visit to laboratories 31 October* The University of Hong Kong Live chat with HKU professors and student ambassadors*Information Month is held throughout October 7 November The Open University of Hong Kong Live talks, Videos, OU360˚ Pre-registration may be required for certain online events to receive the updates on event schedule. Please refer to the latest official announcement via the links.

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• #CareerEducation
• #Study

YETP's Enhancement Measures: Providing Retention Allowance

Providing Retention Allowance On a pilot basis, the Labour Department is providing a retention allowance from 1 September 2020 to young people who have participated in the Youth Employment and Training Programme (YETP) to encourage them to undergo and complete on-the-job training (OJT), thereby stabilising employment. The pilot scheme will run for three years during which trainees will be offered a retention allowance of $3,000 if they are engaged in full-time OJT for 3 months. Thereafter, they will receive an additional allowance of $1,000 for completion of each subsequent month until the end of the 6 to 12-month OJT period. For part-time posts, the respective amounts payable will be halved. Subject to the length of the OJT period, the maximum amount of the retention allowance an eligible trainee may receive under the pilot scheme is $12,000. Increasing On-the-job Training Allowance In addition, from 1 September 2020, the maximum amount of the OJT allowance payable to employers for engaging a trainee under the YETP is increased from $4,000 to $5,000 per month for a period of 6 to 12 months with a view to further encouraging employers to hire young people. For details, please refer to the website of YETP of the Labour Department.

• #CareerEducation
• #YETP
• #JobSeeking

Social Entrepreneur Series – Relentless Work for AR Learning [Education and Learning]

Social Entrepreneurs - Zero Wong and Ernest Chan   Ernest Chan, co-founder of AESIR, joined his partner, Zero Wong to start their own business. They had been through difficult times, but still gritted their teeth as both believe that “It is now or never; we have to act now to change the society.” AESIR specialises in developing AR interactive learning games for SEN (Special Education Needs) students. During his voluntary service, Ernest observed that SEN students were more sensitive to visual stimulation. He was hence inspired to design interesting AR interactive games in a story format, aiming to help SEN students learn in a more efficient way. The road of social innovation was anything but straight for the duo. Their first product was an AR flashcard, which ended silently in failure. Other 3 to 4 different products were launched, but none of them won the consumers’ hearts. Yet, the two fighters were not defeated. “Hang on to what you think is right.” Their endurance was finally rewarded. Their company received job orders and got connected to people related to SEN education. Their business was in a better shape eventually.  Their advice for the fellow entrepreneurs is that, “Research is the key. Try to observe, analyse and predict the market needs and trends. Besides, as traditional wisdom teaches us, acquire your wealth in a noble way, and spend it in a wise way too.”   Innovative Venture – AR Training Play The innovative venture mentioned above is funded by the Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund and assisted and supported by the Fund’s intermediaries in project implementation.  The details of the innovative venture are as follows:   Name of Organisation: AESIR Service nature: education and learning Beneficiary group: children and youth Project type: Start-up Intermediary Programme: Impact Incubator   What is Social Entrepreneur Series? Stories of how other social entrepreneurs aspired to start their own business might facilitate your social innovation and entrepreneurship exploration. A series of social entrepreneur stories will be featured and categorised into six sub-series: Education and Learning, Job Training and Opportunities, Community Participation, Healthcare, Food and Transport.  What you are going to read are stories of social entrepreneurs taking forward the startup projects that help themselves and others.

• #SocialInnovation
• #Startup
• #SocialEntrepreneurSeries

Startup How-Tos: What is your most suitable field for starting a business?

Young people may have questions and doubts in exploring the career pathway: should I start a business? Can I handle it? Which industry is suitable for me? The three quiz tools below provide further references for your better understanding in your strengths and potentials before starting a business. 1. Y.E.S. Services – Career Assessment Kit Professor WONG Chi-sum of the Chinese University of Hong Kong has developed a comprehensive career assessment kit which includes Big-Five Personality Scale, Career Maturity Scale, Entrepreneurship Potential and more. You may try it for free. 2. Employee’s Retraining Board - Training and Career Needs Test The test is designed with reference to the Self-Directed Search (SDS) assessment tool developed by John Holland, which briefly classifies both people and working environment according to six basic types. You may have a preliminary understanding of your career aspirations and select a suitable field for entrepreneurship and relevant training courses. 3. Talent.gov.hk – Career Quizzes There are three career quizzes are provided by the Talent.gov.hk: Skill-Career Quiz, Interest-Career Quiz and the Background-Career Quiz. Through answering a series of simple questions regarding your interests, strengths, education, and experiences, you may get insights on the entrepreneurship direction that suit you the most.   Source: Y.E.S. Services, Employee’s Retraining Board, Talent.gov.hk “Startup How-tos” is an introductory guidebook written for entrepreneurship newbies, providing startup tips and related public services information.

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• #StartupTips
• #StartupHowTos