This is the sixth time we have had the extraordinary opportunity to take part in Youth Entrepreneurship Week, and each time it has been an experience that has left a deep impression on us. Twice we were allowed to participate as a jury member and four times as a mentor. Youth Entrepreneurship Week offers young people the unique opportunity to work on forward-looking projects and develop creative solutions with like-minded people and partners from the startup community. Here, young talents have the freedom to develop their ideas and turn them into reality.

The Youth Entrepreneurship Week is an inspiring cooperation between the Federal Ministry of Labour and Economy, the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research, the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, Austrian Startup and IFTE. The aim of this project is to support schools in organising entrepreneurship weeks. In the period from September 2023 to August 2024, an impressive 100 of these weeks will be supported in planning, implementation and follow-up.

But how exactly is a Youth Entrepreneurship Week organised?

Each of these weeks stretches over 3½ days and is accompanied by two dedicated trainers and sparring partners. The programme is structured to give the students the best possible learning and development experience.

The week begins with inspiring talks from keynote speakers. In the middle of the week, the mentors are asked to support the students in developing their ideas and business models. Finally, the week ends with the presentation of the projects to a jury.

The event takes place outside the school, at a so-called host. This project ensures that the Youth Entrepreneurship Week is not just a one-off event, but also the starting signal for the young people's projects. Each educational organisation is subsequently networked with further offers and financially supported in order to promote and further develop the ideas of the young talents.

On 11 October 2023, one of these exciting Entrepreneurship Weeks took place at the WKO Regional Office Murau - Murtal. Our colleague, René Thaller, BA MA, was on site as a mentor and, together with three other mentors, supervised around 20 students from BHAK Judenburg.

The students were divided into groups and each group had a unique business idea. Some dreamed of a café as a place for learning and networking, others developed an app to evaluate teachers and improve communication at school. It was particularly impressive to see how far the young people had already come in realising their ideas.

The mentors accompanied each group and offered valuable feedback and advice on refining their business models. They also prepared the students for the final pitch, which was presented to the jury the next day.

The Entrepreneurship Week ends with an award ceremony where the best projects are honoured. It is always fascinating to see the commitment and enthusiasm with which the young people work on their ideas and how much potential they have.

We, from the Department of Financial Accounting, are enthusiastic about the idea and implementation of Youth Entrepreneurship Week and feel honoured to be part of this inspiring project. We will continue to support the students on site in the future, whether as a mentor or jury member. We look forward to more exciting Entrepreneurship Weeks and are eager to see the innovative ideas and projects that the young people will create in the future.