About JA Europe Company of the Year Competition 2020
The JA Europe Company of the Year Competition brings together the best student JA mini companies from all across Europe that participated in the Company Programme during the current academic.
Since its launch in 1919, the JA Company Programme offers students aged 15-18 the opportunity to learn how to move a business idea from concept to reality and to discover first-hand how business works. Over the course of a school year, students develop a product or a service, create their own company and manage their business from start to finish.
The JA Europe Company of the Year Competition is not simply a business competition for young people. We attempt to balance the business achievements of each team as a whole with their members’ individual personal development. It is therefore not sufficient for a team to only run a financially successful mini company or to have created an exciting product or service in order to win the award. Mini company members must also demonstrate that they understand how and why the mini-company performed as it did and understand the differences and similarities between their mini-companies and the real companies on their markets.
Phases of the Competition
The Competition takes place during 3 consecutive days and includes the following stages:
Main Stages
- Submission of written Company Report (prior to the onsite part of the competition)
- Submission of the 2-min Investor Video pitch (prior to the onsite part of the competition)
- Panel Interview with the Main Jury (during the onsite part of the competition)
Additional Stages
- Interview(s) with the Signature juries (during the onsite part of the competition – only top 5 teams selected by each Signature jury will be interviewed)
- Submission of the 30-sec Company Commercial Video (prior to the onsite part of the competition) – this video will not be assessed by the juries, but by the public audience. The 30-second commercial is a public video that promotes the student company, their product or service. The commercial aims to grab the attention, garner interest, and get people excited about what the student company sells. The video will be made publicly available (website, social media) and evaluated by public audience for the People’s Choice Award.
Each stage is assessed by the jury. A specific set of criteria has been developed to assess the companies at all stages. The detailed description of the criteria is part of the #CoYC20 guidebook.
There is no winning formula. Each JA mini-company is different and should use its judgment to decide how to best convey to the judges its members’ strengths and experience and present appropriate elements of their unique story throughout the competition.
