Applications to participate in the “Students’ Innov’Up!”, an innovation hackathon for students in all higher education establishments in Morocco, are open from this Thursday, January 12.
The initiative is organized by the European Union in partnership with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Euro-Mediterranean University of Fez (UEMF) and aims to encourage young students to undertake and innovate by developing entrepreneurial solutions related to the environment and climate change, say the organizers.
Applications are open to all students pursuing their studies enrolled in a public or private higher education institution in Morocco, with a project idea around the theme of the environment and sustainable development.
To participate, students must form a group of 2 to 4 people and submit their idea for an entrepreneurship project before February 5, 2023 on the European Union website in Morocco. The teams selected, on application filewill participate in the hackathon which will take place in March 2023 on the campus of the Euromed University of Fez.
The Hackaton will take place in three phases:
· Pre-Hackathon: during this stage, the selected teams will be supported and advised by entrepreneurship professionals. These coaching sessions will take place over four weeks and will allow candidates to refine their project ideas and prepare their participation in the competition.
· Hackathon: during the 48 hours of the hackathon at the EuroMed University of Fez, the candidates will follow several workshops and short training courses in order to finalize their projects. The teams will then present their project ideas to the juries. Three winning teams will receive prizes.
· Post Hackathon: this only concerns the winning teams, who will receive personalized support to help them go further in the development of their projects.
As a reminder, youth is one of the priorities of the Morocco-EU partnership. It provides young people with the means to act on their own by helping them to strengthen their skills, by supporting them at the different stages of their development, whether in terms of their studies, the creation or development of an entrepreneurial project, or to study abroad and acquire new experiences.
In this context, the European Union in Morocco has launched a communication campaign entitled #Men chabab qrab, which can be translated as “close to youth” or “let’s be close to youth” with the aim of informing and encourage young people to participate in the programs and opportunities offered within the framework of this Morocco-EU partnership.