We are four students from Socionext, an organization, based out of the Universiteit van Amsterdam, dedicated to using social entrepreneurship to provide scholarships to university students in South Africa. Recently we came upon an opportunity to help the owners of deBazel put their beautiful building to an innovative use. We looked at problems in society that affected us. We saw tha
t students were disillusioned with their future career prospects, unaware of how companies really work, and uninspired with their ability to make a real social difference. At the same time we recognized companies needed a better way to find and assess potential employees. So a creative interactive career fair concept was born
Our Goal:
Our goal is to host an event that is as fun as it is inspiring. We want students leave this event assured of their future career prospects (potentially with a few new contacts), able to perform effectively in a work like situation, and inspired that they can be successful and make a difference in their society. We want companies to leave this event with new innovative ideas provided by potential new employees.
Our Event:
Our event will take place on Dec. 15th. It will consist of inspiring speakers, speed networking, and social drinks. But the main part of the event is the case study competition. Companies will present teams of students with a range of problems; from problems specific to the company's operation to social problems that the company will benefit from solving. The student's challenge is to come up with the most effective and innovative solution by the end of the day. The team with the winning idea will present it to the entire event and have the option of pursuing that solution further if the company wishes. Our event will have companies and students interacting outside the traditional customer/merchant, employee/employer relationship; with both students, companies, and society benefiting.
