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Join on Telegram Rabat- UIR’s Rabat Business School, sponsored by Yassir, a leading Transport private and Mazagan Junior Consulting, kicked off today the first edition of the Junior Enterprise’s Hackathon 2024 under the theme “we Clear your vision”
Scheduled to take place over two days, the hackathon aims to help students bridge the gap between academic learning and real-life business applications.
In an interview with Morocco World News on the sidelines of the opening ceremony, Hajar Belmehdi, Vice President of RBS Junior Entreprise, shared insights on organizing what she described as an inspiring and transformational first edition.
“This event was the result of months of collaboration between two teams and brought together multiple schools from various backgrounds, such as engineering and business,” she stated.
“The goal was to bridge the gap between academic learning and real business applications by having students solve a real-life problem presented by our sponsor, Yassir. Additionally, participants benefited from numerous networking opportunities.”
The hackathon event kicked off with an opening panel moderated by Yasine Hosni, Honorary President of Mazagan Junior Consulting, which explored the topic “University and Junior Enterprise at the Service of Today’s Business: Cross Perspectives.”
This panel featured esteemed experts with significant contributions in the field, including Nadhem Mousserati, President Director General of Yassir Express; Omar Benmoussa, Honorary President of the CJEM; and Yassine Hosni.
The panel offered students valuable real-world experience, helping them develop skills essential for entrepreneurship and employment. In particular, the speakers highlighted how working on business projects for companies enables students to apply academic concepts, tackle challenges, and deliver actionable insights.
Mousserati explored how companies can collaborate with universities to help students apply their soft skills and knowledge in the real-world business market.
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“One of the major problems a company may face when hiring a new graduate is not a lack of theoretical knowledge but rather a lack of practical experience,” he said.
“Therefore, what the company can do in this regard is to collaborate with startups, for example, by offering spaces, opportunities for collaboration, and providing use cases that can help these young individuals apply their knowledge in practice.”
The President of Junior Enterprises RBS concluded the panel by saying his hopes for the Hackathon to be a memorable experience for the participating young businesses. The event essentially aimed to inspire innovation and embrace challenges, he recalled, stressing the need for fostering new entrepreneurial traditions and addressing the changing socioeconomic context in Morocco.
“I hope this event provides an opportunity for you to apply your academic and professional knowledge in Morocco’s rapidly evolving professional, economic, social, and political landscape,” he told the young and aspiring entrepreneurs in the audience.
He added: “We aim to inspire innovation and embrace the challenges that come with it. Without further ado, I thank you once again for being here. I now hand the floor to the President of Morocco”
The afternoon program saw the start of extensive workshop sessions for students, with roundtable discussions exploring various topics.
In addition, the sessions included training and workshop phases facilitated by instructors and experts. They shared valuable insights and knowledge with the students, enriching their learning experience and enhancing their skill sets.
The second day of the Hackathon promises to be just as engaging as the first, the organizers said, noting the continuation of the workshops and training sessions aimed at honing the skills and knowledge of participants.
In particular, they announced in a press statement, the second and last day of the event will feature the eagerly anticipated project or idea defense sessions.
This means students will have the opportunity to present and defend before a panel of experts their solutions to a problem solving challenge that was designed by the event’s sponsor, Yassir Entreprise. The winners of this exercise will receive their prizes during a special ceremony.
