The CBSE has announced the 'Youth Ideathon 2023' - The ultimate student entrepreneurship festival

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has formally begun the much-anticipated 'Youth Ideathon 2023' at its headquarters in New Delhi. This annual event is India's largest festival of startup ideas aimed solely at school pupils.

The festival, which began in 2021 as a collaboration between the Management Entrepreneurship Professional Skills Council (MEPSC) and ThinkStartup, is now in its third year.

Different Inauguration

The third edition of Youth Ideathon was launched on October 6, 2023, at the CBSE Headquarters. Dr Biswajit Saha, Director of Skill Development, Dr. Joseph Emmanuel, Director of Academics, and Dr Praggya M Singh, Director of Academics Assessment, were among those in attendance.

The top five winners of Youth Ideathon 2022's Incubation and Fellowship awards were also present. These winners highlighted Think Startups incubation of their unique firms during the last year. Dr Biswajit Saha, Director (Skill Development), CBSE, addressed the gathering of educators and participants, emphasizing the festival's aim, saying,

"Youth Ideathon aims to inspire and develop change-makers capable of propelling India to global leadership." This multistage innovation festival will endeavor to not only identify, promote, and spotlight some of India's greatest young entrepreneurial minds, but also to instill the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship in schools." "Youth Ideathon prepares young students to navigate the complexities of a dynamically changing world by focusing on society's ever-changing needs," he went on to say.

Dr. Joseph Emmanuel, Director (Academics) CBSE, agreed, saying, "For any society to be a world leader, it must foster a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship." We want to see this implemented in schools. The Youth Ideathon is one such program."

"It is a comprehensive 6-week program in which MEPSC and ThinkStartup conduct Faculty Development Workshops on teaching innovation and entrepreneurship in the classroom." "Schools must make the most of this opportunity," he continued.

The Marathon Of Idea

Youth Ideathon, according to Dr Praggya M Singh, Director (Academic Assessment) CBSE, is a "marathon of ideas" that introduces students, teachers, and schools to the world of innovation and businesses. This five-stage festival provides participants with tremendous learning opportunities.

Shivani Singh Kapoor, Founder of ThinkStartup, emphasized the importance of instilling entrepreneurial thought in young minds in the school setting. "Building entrepreneurial thinking in young minds is a desperate need of the hour," she said. This can only happen in schools. The Youth Ideathon is an attempt in that regard. We incentivize the efforts of school children and teachers through the Youth Ideathon by awarding Prototyping Awards of Rs 15,000 to each of the top 25 teams and an incubation grant of Rs 100,000 to each of the top 10 teams."

Educational Empowerment

Sanjeeva Shivesh, Youth Ideathon's Program Director, emphasized the program's influence and progress, stating, "The 2022 edition drew participation from 95,000 school students from over 7,000 schools." We also trained 12,000 teachers in the classroom to teach innovation, design, and entrepreneurship."

"We are seeing increased interest among schools and students this year." "Thanks to the support of our sponsors Bajaj Allianz Life, CONCOR Limited, Sheatwork, TIDES Business Incubator of IIT Roorkee, Macmillan, Unlock.fit, and several other partners, the entire program is free for all," he added.

Promoting Innovation

Youth Ideathon 2023 is a five-stage entrepreneurial thinking event that offers exciting incentives and recognition opportunities for kids, mentor teachers, and schools. The festival's crowning achievement is a bonus sixth stage in which the top ten student teams are nurtured into real-life commercial operations. ThinkStartup and MEPSC hope to guide young people, aid them in identifying societal problems, proposing solutions, providing financial assistance, and providing industry exposure through Youth Ideathon.

Participate In The Youth Ideathon 2023

Youth Ideathon invites all school kids from classes 4th to 12th in India, as well as students from CBSE-affiliated schools in other countries, to attend the event for free.

Students who are interested in participating in the Youth Ideathon can submit their unique ideas at youthideathon.in/submit-your-idea.