New Delhi, Oct 12 (KNN) The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has officially launched the 'Youth Ideathon 2023' at its New Delhi headquarters.

This annual event stands as India's largest festival of startup ideas designed exclusively for school students.

The festival, initiated in 2021 through a collaborative effort between the Management Entrepreneurship Professional Skills Council (MEPSC) and ThinkStartup, has successfully entered its third edition.

The inaugural event featured distinguished figures such as Dr Biswajit Saha, Director of Skill Development), Dr. Joseph Emmanuel, Director (Academics), and Dr Praggya M Singh, Director (Academics Assessment).

Also in attendance were the Top 5 winners of Incubation and Fellowship grants from Youth Ideathon 2022. These winners presented their innovative startups' progress over the last year of incubation by ThinkStartup.

Addressing the gathering of educators and participants, Dr Biswajit Saha, Director (Skill Development), CBSE, emphasised the festival's mission, stating, “Youth Ideathon strives to motivate and build change-makers who can take India to global leadership. This multistage festival of innovation not only strives to identify, showcase, and feature some of India's brightest young entrepreneurial minds but will also work towards inculcating the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship in schools.”

“Youth Ideathon prepares young students to navigate the complexities of a dynamically changing world by focusing on society's ever-changing needs,” he further added.

Dr Joseph Emmanuel, Director (Academics) CBSE, echoed these sentiments, saying, “For any society to be a world leader, it has to foster a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship. We want this to be introduced in schools. Youth Ideathon is an initiative in that direction.”

“It is a comprehensive program that runs over a 6-week period, during which MEPSC and ThinkStartup conduct Faculty Development Workshops on teaching innovation and entrepreneurship in classrooms. Schools must take maximum benefit of this opportunity,” he further added.

Dr Praggya M Singh, Director (Academics Assessment) CBSE, described Youth Ideathon as a "marathon of ideas" that introduces students, teachers, and schools to the world of innovation and startups. This five-staged festival offers valuable learning opportunities for all participants.

Shivani Singh Kapoor, Founder of ThinkStartup, expressed the necessity of fostering entrepreneurial thinking in young minds within the school environment.

She explained, “Building entrepreneurial thinking in young minds is the crying need of the hour. This can happen only in schools. Youth Ideathon is an endeavor in that direction. Through the Youth Ideathon, we incentivise the efforts of school students and teachers in the form of Prototyping Awards, with Rs 15,000 awarded to each of the top 25 teams, and an incubation grant of Rs 100,000 for each of the top 10 teams.”

Youth Ideathon 2023 represents a five-stage festival of entrepreneurial thinking, offering exciting rewards and recognition opportunities for students, mentor teachers, and schools.

It is open for all school students from classes 4th to 12th in India, including CBSE-affiliated schools in foreign countries, to participate in the festival for free.

Interested students can submit their innovative ideas on the official Youth Ideathon website: youthideathon.in/submit-your-idea.  (KNN Bureau)