Students suggest solutions for a sustainable fashion business
JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT CYPRUS 2022-2023 INNOVATION CAMP
Students suggest solutions for a sustainable fashion business
9th ANNUAL JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT CYPRUS INNOVATION CAMP
For the ninth consecutive year, Junior Achievement Cyprus hosted the Innovation Camp, on Tuesday, 13 December 2022. The one-day Innovation Camp encouraged students to use their skills in enterprising and innovative ways, fostering their employability and entrepreneurial flair in the process.
The participants were made up of 103 Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot background students, aged between 15 and 18, from private high schools all over Cyprus. Students had the opportunity to come together in groups of 5-6 people and collaborate to suggest an innovation for a business challenge that was given on their arrival at the premises. The participants were asked to find the main aspects and parameters they need to consider to create a fully sustainable fashion business and to design their business ensuring that all business activities are aligned with circular economy principles.
Students had only a few hours to collaborate with other students they had not met before and to collectively shape their ideas. At the end of the day, all teams presented their solutions to a panel of successful and experienced entrepreneurs.
The winners of the nineteenth Bi-Communal Innovation Camp are:
1st Place: ‘LYOFLIP’ – The company proposes a double-sided design t-shirt that can be biodegraded in a matter of 30 days. The team consists of: Cagkan Tosunoglu (Necat British College), Ulku Ergin (Ted Northen Cyprus), Berzan Ozejder (English School Nicosia), Natalie Hickman (Junior and Senior School), Elise Matson (ISOP), Timinis Konstantinos (Pascal Nicosia).
2nd Place: ‘SWEATEROO’ – The company promoted an application through which consumers can swap clothes.
The team consists of: Lara Wilks (English School Nicosia), Cetin Tutengil (English School of Kerynia), Tülin Irmak Özal (Levent College), Marios Stavrou (English School Nicosia), Madeleine Pietroni (Falccon), Veronica Szczypinska (Silverline).
3rd Place: ‘Stretchwear’ – The company proposed the idea of clothing made from recyclable and biodegradable materials that grow with children.
The team consists of: İzlem Erdendog (Necat British College), Elay Murude Sener (English School Nicosia), Evita Pappou (Heritage Private School), Petr Egorov (IMS), Himali Sharma (International School Of Paphos).
Prizes
The award for the winning team was presented by Dr. Zennia D. Paganini, Public Affairs Officer of the US Embassy. The team will be offered an educational experience that will further develop their entrepreneurial and circular economy skills.
The awards for the 2nd and 3rd place were awarded by ECOMMBX and the US Embassy respectively.
JA Cyprus would like to express their appreciation to the business volunteers who supported the teams: Andreas Panagiotou, Associate Civil Affairs Officer at UNFICYP, Angelis Zittis, Marketing Manager at Ecommbx, Arzu Chagin Samioglu, National Professional Officer at UNFICYP, Cornelia Nicolaou, Senior Lecturer at the University of Nicosia, Marina Vasilara, Civil Affairs Officer at the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Cyprus, and Nazli Soydan, Advisor at NIRAS.
We would also like to express our sincere thanks to the members of the jury committee: Andreas Papadopoulos, JA Cyprus President of the Board of Directors, Fotini Pallikaridou, Director of Madame Lefo, Serdar Atai, Founding member and President of MASDER, Spyros Charitou, Public Affairs office in the US Embassy, Vahit Bassett, Corporate Units Senior Manager at Ecommbx, and Zena Vardaki, Human Resources Business Partner in Astrobank
Warm thanks to Mrs. Elisa Bosio, Head of Rankings Administration at the Research & Innovation Office of the University of Nicosia for the important information that was provided to the students to help them with the challenge.
The event was supported by the Embassy of the United States in Nicosia.
