THE JUDGING GUIDELINES
THE COMPETITION
The purpose of the JA-YE Europe Company of the Year Competition is to demonstrate learning outcomes and impact of the Company Programme on the students and award those who have excelled in doing so.
The competition is JA-YE Europe’s annual celebration of the achievements of its students and their Companies across Europe. At this event, the winning Company of each Member and observer organisation proudly presents the results of their Company and their learning.Through the competition process, JA-YE Europe enables the mini-companies to perform in front of an international panel of independent judges who will measure the performance against the competition criteria.
The JA-YE Europe Company of the Year Competition is not simply a business competition for young people. We attempt to balance the business achievements of each team as a whole with their members’ individual personal development. Therefore, for a team to win this award, it is not sufficient just to run a financially successful Company or to have created an exciting product or service. Company members must also demonstrate that they understand how and why the Company performed as it did and understand the differences and similarities between their mini-companies and the real companies on their markets.
The Judges will assess how the Companies succeeded in demonstrating the outcomes of the Company Programme. They will look for evidence that the mini-companies experienced the whole life cycle of a company during the Programme year and learned from each phase of it as opposed to completing a business planning exercise only or achieving only a research and development stage of their project.
Judges will also look for evidence of innovation and the successful exploitation of new ideas in all aspects of running a Company. They will look for understanding that continuous improvement through innovation is essential to the success of a business.
PERMITTED MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM AGE OF PARTICIPANTS
Achievers representing their Companies in the competition must be at least 15 years old and no more than 21 years old on the 31st of July of the year of participation. Younger or older students will be automatically asked to withdraw from the competition.
MAXIMUM NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS PER COMPANY
The maximum number of participants per Company is limited to five Achievers. Additional achievers may attend the event as observers. The additional achievers may NOT participate in any stage of the competition (stage presentation, at the stand or during the interview).
HOW WILL THE COMPANIES BE JUDGED
There are four stages of the competition:
• Company Report
• Stage Presentation – an oral presentation before an audience
• Interview at a Company Exhibition Stand – a trade fair exhibition settings
• Panel Interview with the Judges
Full guidance on the stages is presented in the section Guidelines & Criteria of this website. At each of these stages the judges assess all aspects of the Company performance against the Competition criteria. There is no winning formula. Each JA-YE Company is different and must use its judgment to decide how to best convey to the judges the information about the strength of its members’ experiences and present appropriate elements of their unique story through the competition stages. The reports of the top three companies will be published on the JA-YE Europe website after the event.
OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF JA-YE EUROPE
The language to be used at all stages is English. Companies have, however, the option of using an interpreter for stages 3 (i.e. Interviews at the Trade Stand) and 4 (i.e. Interviews with the Judging Panel). Unless members of a Company have a good command of both conversational and business English, an interpreter should be used. It is imperative that all teams should be able to convey their practical achievements and their understanding of key business principles to the judges. Teams that rely on the linguistic competence of just one of their members may be at a disadvantage.
However, a certain minimum level of English is expected from each participant. It does not have to be perfect but shall allow for normal/basic communication including a basic command of business terminology (such as revenues, costs and margin; and ability to explain the difference between them). An important portion of the competition criteria relates to presentation skills, which includes making a first impression on an audience. It is difficult to expect good results if the audience needs to wait until the communication has been translated. Students who cannot speak English will also be disadvantaged at the networking events and will not be able to benefit from the opportunities this Competition provides to them. It is advised to have these facts in mind at the preparation for the Competition at the Member levels.
COMMON AIMS OF JA-YE EUROPE
To use hands-on experiences to help young people understand the economics of life. In partnership with business and educators, JA-YE brings the real world to students and opens their minds to their potential. The judging process assesses to what extent JA-YE succeeded at doing so.
More information can be found in the Guidelines & Criteria section of this website
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