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JADE-European Confederation of Junior Enterprises | Address: Rue Potagère 119, Brussels, 1210, Belgium | E-mail: mail @jadenet.org | Tel: +32 2 420 17 52
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__ Generations Club 2017 \ JADE – European Confederation of Junior Enterprises
11th Edition
On the 7th of December 2017, Generations’ Club underwent in its 11th Edition and brought together a variety of stakeholders from the public and private sector as well as student NGOs to discuss the topic of Sustainable Innovation. During the event, guests and participants had the chance to share opinions and perspectives in the two sessions respectively presented from Myrna Hausséguy (Entrepreneurs’ Organisation) and André Meyer (DG GROW).
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What would be the right environment to be present in companies and institutions for entrepreneurially-minded recruits to additionally pursue innovative ideas/projects with sustainable goals? The aims of the discussions should be focused on these, but are not limited to: ▪ Identifying the key characteristics of successful innovative workplaces. (i.e. organisational structure, leadership style, values, mission, aims, etc.); ▪ Identifying what are the most effective sustainable projects to pursue; ▪ Identifying the most frequent traits in the attitudes of young people focused on sustainable innovation.
__ Main findings This session provided the participants some
An open mindset and a strong culture
time to reflect on the different variables
have been discussed to be the driving
that make up a successful innovative
forces of change at all levels, especially in
workplace. Overall, there is a general
the organisational structure. Often, a
agreement that in innovative workplaces
strong-open culture greatly influences the
there are four main elements:
leadership style of the management team of a given business or institution, and as it
(1) Organisational mindset/culture (2) Organisational structure
was pointed out, these elements reflect in
(3) Partnerships
leaders
that,
instead
(4) People
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of
leading
by
JADE-European Confederation of Junior Enterprises | Address: Rue Potagère 119, Brussels, 1210, Belgium | E-mail: mail @jadenet.org | Tel: +32 2 420 17 52
instructions, they lead by empowering their
positive effect on the outcome. Vertical
employees and constantly remind them
integration can be taken as an example
about the aim and purpose of the business.
where small companies can greatly benefit
Additionally, it was highlighted that leaders
from the help of bigger companies.
working in open structures are generally
Partnerships also play an important role
more flexible learning new information,
when taking into consideration business
especially regarding trends and habits. The open structure and management style also
challenges
and
hackathons,
as
it
is
fundamental that companies partner and
shape the flow of communication within an
are in close contact with education-
organisation;
related institutions (eg: high-schools,
it
was
argued
that
in
innovative workplaces, often ideas flow
universities,
student
bottom-up approach rather than top-
youngsters
down. Ideas usually come from two main
opportunities and bring fresh solutions to
channels, internally from its workforce or
today’s challenges.
to
NGOs)
to
allow
have access
to
these
from people external to the business via hackathons/challenges. Concrete example to promote sustainable innovation are
hackathons/business SDGs,
creating
challenges spin-offs
on with
green/sustainable missions, outside or inside the company, and projects to help the community, such as “MolenGeek”, a project initiated from Samsung Electronics which helps young people in a difficult district of Brussels to acquire digital skills. ------------------------------
In terms of partnerships, it was discussed that to successfully innovate it is pivotal to look at the value chain of a given market to observe when and where processes can have small improvement that have a
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JADE-European Confederation of Junior Enterprises | Address: Rue Potagère 119, Brussels, 1210, Belgium | E-mail: mail @jadenet.org | Tel: +32 2 420 17 52
The last element which was found to be
taking steps forward by teaching courses
pivotal in an innovative company was
solely on innovation, and in some Nordic
People. Although, it is fundamental to have
countries, courses
an open culture and structure to foster
sustainable development. It was also
innovation, without the idea in the first
mentioned, that awareness for sustainable
place,
exist.
development should be taught not only at
Therefore, people are at the base of any
higher education level (e.g. undergraduate/
innovation. Nowadays, young people are
postgraduate) but also at a younger age in
becoming more aware of sustainability, but
secondary schools to make youngsters
on
sensitive to these topics from an early age.
the
innovation
other
would
hand,
not
without
proper
guidance, it is hard for young people to translate ideas into actions.
focused only on
From a company’s perspective, attracting the best candidates is a must, and when focusing on sustainable innovation, the main “attractors” to recruit candidates with
innovative and sustainable mindset were argued to be the company’s mission, values and structure matching the values of the candidate. This could also be supported from
the element
that
the younger
generation, has this constant need of “generating
impact”
and
therefore
successful companies should be able to offer solutions to real-life problems, so that its employees feel part of a solution rather than part of an “well-oiled engine”. During
the
roundtable
discussions,
Additionally, it was said that money offers
education has been argued to be the key
temporary motivation, but fulfilment at
element in influencing young people to
work was much more powerful for the long-
innovate and some good initiatives are
term.
coming from Universities all over the world
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___________________________ Overall, the discussion highlighted how the organisational structure, mission and culture are key to foster innovation. The core values and missions were argued to be the most important element to attract new candidates with innovative mindsets as well as the leadership styles of the management team. To sustainably innovate, companies in general, have to posses an openmindset, to establish meaningful relationships and/or partnerships with education entities, to collect ideas from both internal and external sources as well as investing money in projects to help the local community. Public institutions were not often mentioned and were said not to be very applicable to the theme question because of their rigid organisational structure which often add barriers and layers to the hierarchy, ultimately making a bottom-up flow of information more unlikely.
___________________________
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Are there enough incentives for the youth to create sustainable entrepreneurial ventures and therefore creating a bridge between entrepreneurial competencies and sustainable innovation? The aims of the discussions should be focused on these, but are not limited to: ▪ Identify means of motivation to push young people to create sustainable entrepreneurial ventures; ▪ Create a list of incentives available to the public to support entrepreneurial ventures with sustainable goals; ▪ Identify the role of institutions, companies and NGOs, to push young people to pursue sustainable entrepreneurial ventures; ▪ Collect relevant examples of successful examples of venture creation and identifying the main reason of success.
__ Main findings In all roundtables, participants broke down
Mentorship and training were considered
the different incentives available to foster
the fundamental motivators for business
and motivate an entrepreneurial youth. When classifying the different types of
ideas
with
sustainable
goals
to
be
successful. Often, individuals may have
incentives, the main incentives were:
great ideas, but on the other hand, may
(1) Training (2) Mentorship
have strong difficulties when it comes down
(3) Money
to be pragmatic and transform it into
(4) Structures
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something
Mentorship and
tangible.
(e.g.
smoothening
trade
barriers).
training, which were said to be the most
Legislation was underlined to be also a
important
the
mean to incentivise sustainable innovation,
implementation of ideas, are offered from
in the case of a greener agenda pushing for
two
resources
main
to
Individuals
sources:
organisation.
enable
Individuals
are
or often
electric vehicles leading to a greener economy less dependent on oil.
business
In conclusion, what appears to be even
guidance
more influential than money when talking
throughout the whole projects and not only
about the “driving force” of sustainable
at the beginning. The latter was considered
innovation is successful mentorship and
fundamental for successful businesses to
training received throughout the cycles of a
survive and thrive in a very competitive
business. When talking about “initiatives”,
business environment. An example of a
people often refer to capital as the main
successful mentorship program is an inter-
player; contrarily, these discussions showed
generational program in France, which
how matching the skills of two or more
connects older experienced professionals
people to implement an idea, is nowadays
with innovative ideas coming from young
more important than capital. Other means
people, creating a synergy between the two
for innovation were identified to be
parties ultimately benefitting the outcomes.
regulation
Examples of organisation that can provide
profound changes in the functioning of our
mentorship and training, were said to be
society. Lastly, it was mentioned that
incubators and accelerators which can
younger generations are motivated to
greatly help start-ups to build solid
create sustainable entrepreneurial ventures
foundation and scale-up more rapidly.
in the possibility to generate a positive
coaches,
professors
professionals,
that
or provide
Money was highlighted as the least
influential motivator when talking about sustainable innovation. Additionally, it was argued that financial grants coming from public institutions are not necessarily lacking in terms of capital, but they are lacking in terms of scope and practical help
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and
legislation
driving
impact rather than financial gains. This further strengthens the idea that money is
a fundamental enabler but not an effective motivator, thus highlighting that sustainable supported
innovation qualitatively
quantitively.
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should rather
be than
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JADE-European Confederation of Junior Enterprises | Address: Rue Potagère 119, Brussels, 1210, Belgium | E-mail: mail @jadenet.org | Tel: +32 2 420 17 52
Final remarks ___________________________ We want to thank all the participants who took part in the event and contributed with their opinions and views in the roundtable discussions. This report will be shared with all our private and public stakeholders to raise awareness and to motivate young people to develop sustainable core values and provide a better future for those coming after us. We encourage you to do that Special thanks to Steven Price, CEO of the European Institute of Industrial Leadership for developing the framework of this event, and to Fabian Zuleeg, CEO of the European Policy Centre, chairman of Generations Club 2017.
___________________________
Participants Simone Baldassarri (DG GROW), Crtomir Flesinger (EPSA), Lara Egli (EIIL), Fabian Zuleeg (EPC), Adil El Madani (Belgian Ministry of Economic Affairs), Guggi Laryea (World Bank Group), Myrna Hausséguy (Entrepreneurs’ Organisation), André Meyer (SME Envoy Network), Aron Wils (Samsung Electronics), Valerija Vidovic (EFPSA), Daniel Cloquet (BusinessEurope), Tamunomiebaka Dibi (EIT), Karolina Sobczak (ABIS), Gaia Cravesana (ThinkYoung), Greta Bertolucci (ThinkYoung), Clara Dikita (CNJE), Emma Brandstedt (JA Europe), Jamie Nuttall (EBS), Gorka Guerrero Ruiz (ESN), Jean-Philippe Dubois (JADE Belgium),
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JADE-European Confederation of Junior Enterprises | Address: Rue Potagère 119, Brussels, 1210, Belgium | E-mail: mail @jadenet.org | Tel: +32 2 420 17 52
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The Generations Club is the main Public Affairs event organized by JADE in Brussels It is composed by 2 main elements: ▪ The “Senior” generation, represented from figures of both the public and private sector; ▪ The "Junior” generation, represented from student NGOs and members of our network.
It was first introduced in 2007 and has three main aims: ▪ Bringing together the “Senior” and the “Junior” generation; ▪ Discussing up-to-date European issues; ▪ Building bridges to foster a more collaborative entrepreneurial society.
Generations Club creates the right environment to promote the dialogue between different “generations” through small focus groups with the final aim of producing a high-quality reports and recommendations for policymakers with the inputs collected during the event.
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__ The European Confederation of Junior Enterprises JADE – European Confederation of Junior Enterprises is a non-profit, umbrella organisation, that represents more than 26’000 students of higher education currently working in 300 student led-organisations from 14 countries in Europe. These organisations, also known as Junior Enterprises, are the environment where students can develop their entrepreneurial skills and culture while being at university by providing more than 4000 consultancy projects to SMEs every year.
__ The Junior Enterprise concept The first Junior Enterprise was founded in France in 1967 and in 50 years, has managed to be replicated more than 950 times and counts more 40’000 currently involved worldwide. The benefits that Junior Enterprises have brought both to students as well as to the global economy have been the key element in its profound success and impact. Its aim? To bridge the gap between the academia and the business environment, promoting the development of each student in an integrated movement while supporting the development of the SMEs through consultancy services.
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