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CONTEXT
The 2019/20 academic year marked an important change for the JA Portugal StartUp Programme.
In order to anticipate the National Competition of this program so that we had more time to prepare
the representative team in the European Enterprise Challenge, we decided that, in this transition
year, only teams of university students from the first Semester would have the opportunity to compete
in the final event. This academic year marks this transition, and in March 2021, when the next edition
will take place, we will again have the participation of students from two semesters.

THE ACADEMIC YEAR

In fact, this year, 305 students coming from 5 Universities participated in the JA Portugal StartUp
Programme. Altogether, these students were split into 87 teams. Each of them was challenged, in
September 2019, to identify a real-world need or problem, based on the 17 SDG frame, and to
create a solution to this situation in the form of a sustainable business idea.

Throughout the semester, during the months of October, November and December, these teams
received visits from members of the JA Portugal team, as well as volunteers from our network of part-
ners, in order to provide mentoring and help monitoring of their projects. The objective was funda-
mentally to assist in questions to which the teams could not find an answer, also providing constructi-
ve feedback when the path traced out seemed more sinuous. Together with the volunteers in the
classroom, but also at a distance, we were able to prepare these teams for delivering higher quality
work.

In January 2020, in each of the 5 Universities, JA Portugal conducted moments of internal competi-
tion that aimed to qualify the teams for the National Competition. These competitions consisted
mainly of 4-minute pitches with follow-up questions by the judges for 8 minutes. In all, 16 teams were
qualified.

The National Competition was scheduled for March 25 and all teams had approximately 2 months
to prepare for that event. The Competition initially consisted on the previous delivery, a week before,
of the Pitch Deck (already requested for the European Enterprise Challenge). The members of the
jury had a week to evaluate this document. On the 25th there would be two moments: a 4-minute
pitch during the morning and a 10 minute interview conducted in English during the afternoon.
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This was the plan for the National Competition. However, the Covid-19 pandemic decreed by the
World Health Organization on March 11 precipitated the beginning of the quarantine period in
Portugal. Spaces were closed, people started their voluntary isolation and all initiatives involving
the gathering of large groups were suspended or cancelled. The JA Portugal team had less than
a day to decide what to do, whether to keep or postpone the day of the Competition and, if we
decided to keep it, how the process would be conducted.

THE NATIONAL COMPETITION

The decision was to keep the date set since the beginning of the year and try to find a way to
allow the teams to continue to present their projects and the judges to evaluate them, but all in a
virtual way, preserving the safety of everyone. The first action we took was to conduct digital
mentoring sessions to prepare for the National Competition with all participating teams. It was
important to continue preparing the teams and we had to use online tools to do so.

The plan outlined involved inviting teams to make a video with a maximum duration of 4 minutes
where they should present their product / service. For this video they should be as creative as
possible. We did not impose any restrictions. On the contrary, we even suggested sites with free
versions that could help them record this video without them meeting with each other (using
animation, for example). This video would have to be delivered by 6 pm on March 24th, the day
before the event day.

On the other hand, we informed the students that at 2 pm on the 25th, after all the judges had
watched the videos of all the teams, they would receive six questions to answer in an hour and a
half. Answers should be provided in English. These questions could be related to any aspect of
the business idea: finance, marketing, target audience, market research, prototype, skills develo-
pment, amongst others.

Alongside these two novelties, the delivery of the Pitch Deck in the week before the National
Competition, remained unchanged.

On the jury's side, we also had to report these changes. We informed that the pitches would be
replaced by videos (which they should watch and evaluate in the morning of the 25th). And that
the afternoon interviews would be replaced by questions formulated in writing via email after
viewing the ideas and posted after viewing the videos.
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The two major concerns in the face of this sudden change of scenario were, on the one hand, to
ensure that the teams remained motivated and interested in continuing their work and, on the
other, to ensure that these changes did not represent a significant decrease in the quality of the
virtual ceremony.

In the end, we ended up counting on the participation of 11 teams. We had at least one team
from each of the 5 Universities that entered the program this year. To evaluate these projects, we
had 13 jurors from JA Portugal associates and partners. During the eventʼs day – 25th – we
shared all the teams video pitches with the students so we could guarantee there was some peer
learning and also for them to be able to assess the legitimacy of the awards given by the jury.

The evaluations ended at 5.30PM on March 25. From 6.00PM to 7.00PM of the same day, we
conducted a digital meeting with all the members of the jury in order to analyse the results,

discuss and identify the winning team, and also discuss the prizes to be awarded for each of the
designated categories (Communication, Technology, Innovation, Social Impact and Ready to
Go).

Regarding the evaluations, it is important to note that due to the format change we were forced
to make a change in the criteria. From the moment we stopped having a presentation on stage
and an interview, it was essential to re-qualify the points that would be analysed both in the video
(substitute for the pitch) as well as in the questions via email (substitutes for the interview).

Regarding the video, there were obviously similar aspects with a presentation on stage. For this
point the initial criteria (Pitch) were: Relevance and Content of the Presentation; Presentation
Technique and Digital Presentation Support (powerpoint). These have been changed to Relevan-
ce and Video Content; Communication Techniques (clear and fluid language, ability to capture
attention and communication in pitch dynamics) and Video Quality (Adds Value, Creativity and
Digital Skills).

In the questions via email there were more points of contrast in relation to the interviews. In this
regard, it was necessary to review more criteria. The only criterion that we kept unchanged was
Personal Skills Development. The Team Spirit criterion was replaced by Project Feasibility (The
financial projections are realistic, Study and knowledge of the competition in the area where they
operate, How likely is the product / service to reach the market). The Knowledge and Understan-
ding of the Functioning of the Business criterion maintained its designation, but we replaced two
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sub-criteria. Instead of Understanding their roles within the company and The future of the mini-com-
pany, we put Understand the necessary complementarity in a team and Know the market / target
audience of the product / service they are developing.

The purpose of these changes was to build evaluation grids that were true to the products that would
be delivered as well as to facilitate the understanding of the judges' side.

On March 26th, at 11.00AM, we invited all students, jurors and teachers assigned to this event to
announce the awards and celebrate the first digital competition. The video conference lasted
roughly one hour and it was possible to put in contact, even if in a virtual way, all the people who
had participated in the initiative in the previous day. During the ceremony, where Frederico was
hosting, all the jurors were announced and the main sponsor as well as the signature awards repre-
sentatives were invited to leave a few words and announce each winning team. And just before the
announcement ceremony began, Luís Aguiar was also able to leave some words for everyone. After
each award granted the teams were also invited to speak and celebrate.

We also shared a video with all the participants on the day of the awards ceremony where we
showed pieces of all the videopitches and some testimonies of jury members and Frederico. We
share the link for the video in this document.

The results were announced, and we learned that the team qualified for the European Enterprise
Challenge is the MIZED team from ISEG (Lisbon). This team will be the target of a preparation plan
for the European competition, with specific mentoring sessions provided by JA Portugal partners.

Another innovative aspect of this year's edition resulted from the partnership established with the
Montepio Foundation, which allowed all teams that participated in the JA National Competition to
be able to directly access the semi-finals of the Acredita Portugal Competition, a non-profit initiative
that organizes the biggest annual entrepreneurship contest in Portugal.

A final note goes to the fact that we only had 10 days to transform this event. In this sense, our main
objective was to create a flawless event, which would meet the expectations of the main sponsor
and which would be a positive experience for the participating students. Indeed, it was not possible
to create additional engagement and parallel events, which we believe could have added value
obviously. But we didn't really have time for that.
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ASSESSMENT
Points to improve
Excel sheet script with more detailed day's schedule in order to better control the timings of all
actions of all participants. Remotely managing timings, not only in what regards the teamʼs articula-
tion between themselves but also in what concerns the times and deadlines for the different
tasks/parts of the event is a key success factor to keep the flow.

Having only one communication channel within the Junior Achievement team, avoiding dispersion
by emails and different similar platforms for exchanging messages. Creating different whatsapp
groups during the event and working with Teams channels in the preparation of the event are
recommended. Also dividing the team in workgroups for the different components of the event and
clearly attributing responsibilities is also key.

Best practices
Given the significant online offer for creating videos, these can in fact be a good substitute for
pitches on stage.

Betting on social networks to create dynamism and interaction between participants results in a
significant increase in traffic.

A final video conference where we bring all participants together creates a feeling of unity around
the event. It is important to share our gratitude, experiences and feedback and this slightly more
relaxed moment is relevant also from the point of view of stakeholder management.
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SUMMARY - THE AGENDA

20th March
18h – Deadline for teams to submit their Pitch Decks

24th March
18h – Deadline for teams to submit their Vídeos

25th March
9h00 to 12h00 – Judges evaluate the videos
12h00 to 13h00 – Judges send questions in English for teams to answer
14h00 to 15h30 – Teams answer to the questions
16h00 to 17h30 – Judges evaluate the answers
18h00 to 19h00 – Meeting to analyze results and award prizes

26th March
11h to 12h00 – Video conference to announce the winning team and other winners

THE NUMBERS
305 STUDENTS
87 TEAMS
5 UNIVERSITIES
6 UNIVERSITIES SELECTIONS
10 VOLUNTEERS
1 NATIONAL COMPETITION
11 TEAMS IN THE NC
13 JUDGES AT THE NC

LINK TO OUR VIDEO:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzv08H9GwCo
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SOCIAL MEDIA TIMELINE

09:00 POST 13:00 POST 13:00 POST 18:00 POST

Post announcing a summary video with Announcing the
welcome video A post thanking
the jury of the made by the Fundação the video excerpts, as winner of the
Competição Catolica Lisbonʼs Millennium bcp well as some juryʼs Competition
Nacional. Dean, Filipe for the sponsor- messages and parts
Santos ship of presentations.

Day before Day of Day after

the event the event (march 26th)
(march 24th) (march 25th)
09:10 POST 18:00 POST 17:00 POST
welcome video made closing video made Announcing the
by our Main by our CEO, category winners and
Frederico Fezas the awards sponsorʼs
Sponsorʼs manager,
Vital
Fátima Dias
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IMAGES OF THE EVENT AND SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS

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IMAGES OF THE SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS

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IMAGES OF THE SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS

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IMAGES OF THE SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS

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IMAGES OF THE SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS

HTTPS://WWW.INSTAGRAM.COM/JA.PORTUGAL

HTTPS://WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/JUNIORACHIEVEMENT.PORTUGAL

HTTPS://WWW.LINKEDIN.COM/COMPANY/JUNIOR-ACHIEVEMENT-PORTUGAL/