Conway’s Conductor to join global entrepreneurship event

The Conductor announced that its “High School Startup Day” program, presented in partnership with Junior Achievement of Arkansas and the University of Central Arkansas, has been selected as an official event of the 2018 Global Entrepreneurship Week.

Global Entrepreneurship Week is an initiative aimed at inspiring entrepreneurship and innovation during one week in November. The initiative reaches millions of people every year in over 170 countries and with more than 15,000 partner organizations. The initiative is led by the Global Entrepreneurship Network.

The Conductor’s “High School Startup Day” is a half-day event held once a semester on the University of Central Arkansas campus. At the event, high school students convene at UCA and work in teams to identify and analyze a problem they face in high school education, then collaborate with their peers to conceptualize a tangible solution. Students learn entrepreneurial principles in a fast-paced, hands-on format, and work in teams to identify and communicate a problem statement, spend time researching and validating their problem, identify key stakeholders, conduct customer discovery with their peers, and develop a presentation that is presented to a panel of judges.

“High School Startup Day is an incredible opportunity for students around the world to be exposed to entrepreneurship as part of their education and career training. This toolkit will enable schools to tap into the Global Entrepreneurship Network and easily replicate a program that we’ve seen succeed in Arkansas,” said Yuval Yarden, Director for Ecosystem Engagement at Global Entrepreneurship Network. “The Conductor has proven this program to be valuable to its community, and we’re excited to promote this toolkit globally and watch it similarly impact new global communities.”

“One of the core facets of the Conductor’s mission is economic empowerment. If we can educate students at a young age that entrepreneurship is a viable career path, it can be transformational,” said Conductor CEO Kim Lane. “High School Startup Day is an intense event that immerses students into the entrepreneurial mindset, and gives them the tools they need to formulate a solution. Not only does it get the wheels turning in a different way, but it empowers the next generation to take an active initiative in solving the real-life problems they face.”

The Conductor will be hosting High School Startup Day during Global Entrepreneurship Week on November 12, 2018. Any Arkansas high school is invited to participate in High School Startup Day. There is room for 16 teams to participate, and spots are first-come, first-served. Each school may bring a maximum of two teams with a maximum of six students on each team. To learn more, visit here.

The Conductor, a public-private partnership with the University of Central Arkansas and Startup Junkie.