First Youth to Business Conference in Blagoevgrad




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  • 2012-11-13 20:10:22
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Melon Inc., USIT Colors and Denkstatt participated in the first Youth to Business seminar in Blagoevgrad on Sunday, November 11, organized by AIESEC. The conference took place in Balkanski Academic Centre from 10am to 6pm. The topics were entrepreneurship, sustainability and competition. Youth to Business (or Y2B for short) is the biggest project that runs in the global AIESEC network. It gives a chance for students to come face to face with the corporate sector and discuss relevant issues. “We do realize that we can study a lot in universities but when you go out there to face the real world you might have some difficulties and we’re trying to bridge that gap together” said the Vice-President of External Relations in AIESEC Le Thao. The conference was divided in several stages. After the introduction by the organizers from AIESEC, the guest speakers presented their companies. Then the whole group was divided in three workshops and moved to the classrooms on the second floor for the next part of the conference. Business to Youth Melon Inc and Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship is a very popular topic at AUBG. Petar Svarc, Marketing Manager at Melon Inc. and an AUBG Alumnus, had prepared a presentation in which he spoke about the differences in the challenges entrepreneurs faced when he graduated in 2002 in contrast to today – the huge pool of alumni who are always willing to help, the internet and the past. “Whatever you do, there‘s no excuse not to educate yourself,” Svarc said. He urges the new generation of students to take advantage of this arsenal and not to forget that while networking is important, we have to be careful: “Talk to other people as people,” he added. He then went on to give some advice for students interested in starting their own business. The workshop peaked when students were divided in groups to present their business plans while the rest of the group acted as investors who decided whether to fund their projects or not. Some students presented ideas that they are working on and got valuable advice from Peter. “I would describe the workshop as a very engaging one. A lot of practical information was presented and I found it very useful” said Novak Novakovic, one of the participants. Denkstatt and Sustainability Denkstatt is an Austrian consulting company focused on sustainability that has a chapter in Bulgaria.  On the seminar the company was represented by Anton Valkov, who is an AIESEC alumnus. Their workshop went under the motto Sustainability – the ability to sustain ourselves. After a short presentation about the company and their practices, the students were divided in teams with the task to examine sustainability at AUBG in three criteria – economic, social and environmental sustainability. Students proposed policies to stimulate improvement in those areas and touched on many topics such as the quality of education, the mission and values of our university. “It opened our minds for things we take for granted” said Darsun Holimova, who participated in the company's workshop. USIT COLORS This company is very close to AUBG students. It was represented by Aneta Shimbova, manager at the Blagoevgrad branch, and Anita Bogdanova. This session was all about work and travel and students had a lot of questions regarding the process. They were also curious about the recent cases of students being taken out of the program at the last moment and all the factors that contributed to this situation. The representatives also talked a lot about a program called Erasmus in Practice, which is not as well know as the Erasmus Exchange Program. They urged students to take advantage of this program when applying for an internship. Youth to Business After a quick lunch break the three groups gathered in the Andrey Delchev Auditorium to share their experiences and give feedback on the workshops. This was the part where students were asking the questions. Most of them were concerned with what employers are looking for and how to go about the task of finding a job. The panel stressed a few key things that companies look for in candidates: motivation, communication skills, ability to work in a team and independence. They emphasized the importance of the interview as it is often the main determinant. They advised candidates to always check the company's website for information and be presentable. “If a girl comes with flip-flops, she will not continue” said Aneta from USIT. Petar Svarc also busted the myth that employers always check facebook profiles, which turned out to be not as widespread as you might think. “I do it sometimes, but unless I see something really weird, it’s not going to matter much,” he confessed. After a short break, the organizers closed the first Y2B conference in Blagoevgrad. Neli Popova, a member of External Relations at AIESEC, was satisfied with this trial conference:  “Students were very active and took the work seriously. Some interesting ideas were presented… We will for sure make another Youth to Business event and we’ll make it even better”