By David Li, bostonese.com
In the morning of September 22, the IBM NECINA YES (Youth Entrepreneurship Service) Program 7.0 had its kickoff class at IBM Innovation Center in Waltham, Mass. About two dozen students from local high schools listened to Joseph Perry, IBM Regional Innovation Center Manager for the North American Eastern Region, on the basics of developing a business plan.
Joseph Perry (standing) talks to students during the opening class of YES 7.0.
According to NECINA (New England Chinese Information and Networking Association)’s website, the YES Program 7.0, organized by NECINA and IBM, is a FREE program, for high school and undergraduate students to enter the world of real business. From the 10-class program, students learn to work in teams, develop business ideas and participate in a business plan contest. The program will cover Business Plans, Product Conceptualization, Company Structure, Finance, Sales and Marketing, Public Speaking and Presentation skills. Each class will feature a distinguished speaker and an exciting instructor to show students how skills learned can be applied in the real world. Winners will have cash scholarship and possible internship opportunities in big firms or corporate.
Stephanie Chan attended the YES 6.0 program last year, and was a member of the Connect Book team that won the business plan contest. She wrote about her experience attending the YES program as follows.
| “The administrative group for the program, the YES 6.0 team, led by Daryl Luk, provides constant support for the students from offering advice on business ideas to working classes around SAT tests. And finally, in this unique student group, each team supports its own members and other teams. The competition can be fierce but the time spent waiting for judges to declare the winner can also be a time of mutual understanding and camaraderie. Without a doubt, the YES program allows students to dive into the deep end of business with the sharks.” |
This year’s YES theme is “Make Our Cities Smarter”. YES teams will be encouraged to conceptualize, detail, and develop mobile applications that can have a positive impact on our metropolitan areas. Each YES team can incorporate their big ideas into their plan for the application, and with the support of NECINA, could move from idea to reality! Technical skills are not required, as NECINA and YES will help teams understand development needs, and provide tools to guide each team to success.
The following video features students from the YES 6.0 program, including Stephanie Chan.
Each class will be held from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon at IBM Innovation Center, North Entrance, address: 404 Wyman Street, Waltham, MA 02454
| (09/22/2012) Class 1: Introduction to Business Plan (10/06/2012) Class 2: From Idea to Product (10/20/2012) Class 3: Company Structure and Team Building (11/03/2012) Class 4: Sales and Marketing (11/17/2012) Class 5: Finance (12/01/2012) Business plan mentoring session 1 (12/15/2011) Business plan mentoring session 2 (Christmas and New Year Break) (01/05/2013) Effective communication training (02/02/2013) Semifinal (02/13/2013) Final Competition (NECINA Annual Meeting) Award Ceremony |
If you have questions, please email: [email protected]. To register for YES 7.0, please go to necinayes7.eventdove.com. Deadline is Oct. 6, 2012.