Bubbles rise to the top at JA Company of the Year event
Danish team lift AT&T Award
Lisbon, 28 July 2020
Schoolchildren diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are set to benefit from technology developed by a group of teenage schoolchildren from Denmark.
At the first ever virtual JA Europe Company of the Year Competition, students from JA Company Programme from Denmark lifted the 2020 AT&T Signature Award. The winning team Bubbles has developed a unique way of giving teachers real-time voice access to Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) headphones, which creates a muted ‘Learning Bubble’ in the classroom.
The Bubbles team, from the Herningsholm Gymnasium school, has already sold the technology to four schools amid praise from education specialists and audio experts. Their solution uses a smart and secure system directly connecting students in the classroom to the teacher, allowing the pupils to hear only what’s being taught without any background distraction.
“The depth of knowledge and the ability to solve a very real problem harnessing technology made Bubbles a clear winner,” said Peter Daly, Vice President Global Customer Advocacy at AT&T. “Taking something that already exists in ANC headphones and then developing a system which delivers interference free lessons to young people with ADHD – whilst also tackling issues including cybersecurity – convined our jury members that Bubbles had delivered something with an IT focus and a strong social conscience.
“These young people are still some years away from entering the world of work, and yet were able to engineer something that is as simple as it is brilliant.” AT&T and JA Europe are working together to build bridges between the world of education and the world of work, contributing to closing the skills gap through increased ICT competences and more generally developing young people’s skills to succeed. Every year, over 355,000 young Europeans participate in the JA Company Programme and the best companies from 40 countries compete in the European final every Summer. This year, due to the COVID-19 context the European competition was organised in a fully virtual format, including thematic webinars, a virtual Trade Fair and online Award Ceremony.
“Today more than ever, excellence in IT is a precondition to succeed in business – in fact, it is difficult to imagine an entrepreneur without visionary and innovative use of information technology”, said Salvatore Nigro, CEO JA Europe. “AT&T is one of our key partners in developing the necessary IT skills in young people, and the Excellence in IT Award is a perfect tool to encourage more innovation and entrepreneurship through IT”.
You can learn more about the Bubbles team and its solution by visiting www.bubbles.cx
AT&T Signature Award jury members
- Ruth Agyei – Aspire Mentoring Academy EMEA, Regional Lead
- Peter Daly – Vice President, Global Service Management
- Sigrid Kempeneers, Director Global Services
AT&T Excellence in IT Award judging criteria:
- IT driven innovation (40%): Has the company demonstrated innovative use of ICT (mobile technology, Collaboration Tools, Cloud based technology, Internet of Things or Internet of Everything) in their product or services? Is their product innovative and creative?
- Business potential and sustainability (30%): The vision and goals for the development of the business over the next years. Demonstrate that the solution represents sufficient business potential to justify the investment efforts and the risks to be taken. Show concrete steps have been taken to becoming a real and sustainable business.
- Viable & Scalable Business (30%): Realistic & practical, fulfils a need/recognize market gap, creates a new market
About AT&T Communications
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About JA Europe:
Junior Achievement (JA) Europe is the largest non-profit in Europe dedicated to preparing young people for employment and entrepreneurship. JA Europe is a member of JA Worldwide® which has delivered hands on, experiential learning in entrepreneurship, work readiness and financial literacy for 100 years. JA creates pathways for employability, job creation and financial success.
Last school year, the JA network in Europe reached more than 4 million young people across 40 countries with the support of 140,000 business volunteers and 130,000 teachers/educators.
For more information:
Minna Melleri (minna@jaeurope.org)
Jonathan Moore – Director, Public Relations, AT&T
