Apply for a JA Programme

FAQ

For the Company Programme there is a registration donation of Eur40.

For the StartUp programme there is a basic registration donation of Eur 65, unless stated otherwise by your educational institute

As part of the enrolment process you/your guardian will receive an online payment link.

If you are currently attending a sixth form, or are between the ages of 15 to 17, then Company Programme is for you. 

If you are currently, 18 to 30 years old, attending a tertiary level educational institute, then StartUp Programme is for you! 

The JA Malta Company Programme offers post-secondary students the opportunity to take a business idea, formulate it, and make it a reality over the course of 8/9 months, all within the framework of an international network of youths. The programme connects youth to a massive network of business professionals both nationally and internationally.

The programme connects youth to a network of Organisational and global business professionals.

JA Malta Company Programme is based on our principle of learning by doing, and provides a structure that takes the participants through all the phases of the creation of a mini-company. The learning by doing experience is delivered through hands-on workshops, guidance by mentors, and judging panel’s feedback at the respective stages.

The learning outcomes from the JA Malta Company Programme include the ability of the student to:

  • Engage in creative thinking, ideation and problem solving activities
  • The ability to prepare and give a presentation to an audience
  • Build confidence and a can-do attitude
  • The ability to work within a team and collaborate
  • Negotiate and make decisions
  • Set goals, manages time and takes risks
  • Create and execute a Business Plan
  • Develop Financial Literacy

The JA StartUp Programme is a practical and hands-on learning experience that provides youths with the opportunity to build a solid foundation for a potential start-up. Participants in the programme will have the chance to bring their own ideas or come up with an innovative product or service, validate their concept by appraising the market, and ultimately design a supporting business model they can pitch in front of a jury. JA start-ups designed through the programme are built in such a way that by the end of the programme, should participants wish to carry on and launch their idea, they have the solid foundation upon which to do so. 

 

The JA StartUp Programme is offered as a week-long bootcamp, with a networking event and pitching masterclass leading up to the Finals Competition. Throughout the bootcamp, participants will engage in hands-on practical workshops designed to help them take their idea from concept to working business model, ready to be pitched to representatives from the local start-up and business ecosystem. 

 

At JA, the core principle of each programme is Learning by Doing, and the StartUp programme is no different. The content delivered in the bootcamp will guide participants through the actual start-up processes needed for any successful business, including but not limited to: 

 

  • Idea generation 
  • Concept validation 
  • Business Planning 
  • Pitching to investors 
  • Mentorship 

 

Participants will also be exposed to several essential networking opportunities. The programme gives young individuals who are seeking to establish themselves as entrepreneurial achievers in an increasingly competitive labour market, a chance to stand out. It also gives participants the opportunity to bounce-off their innovative ideas with leading experts in the field. 

 

The goal of the programme is to prepare participants for the National StartUp of the Year Competition where the teams will pitch their ideas to a group of judges acting as eager investors. The winners of the competition will not only win a cash prize to help them launch their start-up, but will also represent Malta at Europe’s largest entrepreneurship festival, Gen-E, organised by JA Europe. 

The Company Programme lasts from October until May, ending with the National Company of the Year Competition, together with the announcement of a number of signature awards recognising excellence in specific areas. The national winner will then represent Malta at the JA European Company of the Year competition (CoYC). 

The StartUp Programme will be running primarily over a 1-week bootcamp, starting in April, followed by 3 Saturdays-worth of half-day workshops, pitches and activities, leading up to the National StartUp of the Year Competition in May. 

Both programmes lead to a national competition to choose the top 3 teams. However, all the teams are also eligible for signature awards announced during the year, that recognise excellence in specific areas. 

Company Programme teams should be a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 15. We highly recommend 5 or 7 team members per mini-company. 

The Minimum number of team members for StartUp Programme is 2 students.  We highly recommend up to 5 team members per StartUp team. 

Both Company Programme and StartUp Programme are delivered in English.

The workshops will provide insight, motivation and added input on programme-specific topics related to the outputs required, and tools for the students to achieve pre-set goals. JA workshops are designed in a manner to engage and provide spaces for collaborative work, public speaking opportunities, innovating and building a network of professionals. Due to the nature of the Programme being a self-led experience, the students are to co-ordinate, facilitate, and take responsibility for the stages of their mini-company/start-up.

JA Malta is there to provide the guidelines, framework, and opportunity for students to create and innovate, while making their own decisions. We are there to support and guide, however the students are expected to take all the actions needed to reach success for their mini-company or start-up.

Company Programme – one of the first actions for the team will be to collect share capital to be able to fund the mini-company. Specific guidelines will be provided once the programme starts.

JA Malta has a portal for students to access all resources, upload systems, opportunities and more. Learning content is also being developed so that everyone has access to material, allowing them to learn and read at their own pace. Some material will be expected to be read prior to workshops, allowing workshops to be more focused on the implementation of that information, and to be more practical and hands-on.