For the third year in a row, BT supports iXperiment, the first startup accelerator created for high school students in Romania — an initiative that links the education system with the private sector. iXperiment is a lab where teenagers come up with creative ideas to solve societal problems and create the ideal environment for innovation.

The mentors in the iXperiment community, who are actively involved in guiding the high school students in this programme, are: Dragoș Petrescu – Owner & CEO @ City Grill, Anda Gansca – Co-founder & CEO @ Knotch, George Deriso – MBA Professor @ Leeds Business School Colorado, Dan Pitic – Owner & Founder @ Perpetuum, Radu Georgescu – Serial entrepreneur & Founding Partner @ GECAD, Camelia Şucu – Owner @ Class Living, Iulian Padurariu – Co-founder & CEO @ Pony Car Sharing, Mihaela Rus – CEO @ Vitrina Advertising, Dana Bates – Co-founder & Executive Director @ Fundatia Noi Orizonturi.

To bring these ideas to life, iXperiment participants gain access to human, informational and material resources from the private sector, becoming part of a community of top entrepreneurs and experts from Romania and abroad. In the new edition of the startup accelerator, iXperiment 2018, the organisers have developed a parallel programme dedicated to the entrepreneurship teachers of the accelerator’s participants, with the aim of engaging more closely with Romania’s education system.

The programme will consist of two workshops held in March and April 2018, and its mission is to give teachers access to the resources they need (an innovative education curriculum, top entrepreneurs) to support high school students on a challenging journey into the world of business.

The project stages are: - Ideate — understanding the problems identified, developing initial hypotheses, brainstorming, team building (February 23–24) - Innovate — market research, innovation, developing prototypes (March 16–17) - Initiate — financial instruments, fundraising (April 20–21) - Iterate — marketing, pitching (May 11–12) - The iXperiment Competition (June 8)

At the end of the programme there will be a final competition, at which all participants will receive awards. The iXperiment 2018 Startups will also be selected, and the winners will receive investments to expand their businesses and generate a positive impact in their communities.

The event will take place in Cluj-Napoca, and participation is free for those selected for the programme. The application deadline is February 16 this year, and the application form can be accessed here.