Junior Achievement (JA) Europe is the largest non-profit in Europe dedicated to preparing young people for employment and entrepreneurship by creating pathways for employability, job creation and financial success. At the beginning of January 2021 JA Europe announced a new collaboration with Intel, which aim is to empower and equip young Europeans in the area of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The Intel® AI For Youth Programme (AI4Youth), will enable JA students to get a chance to learn and test AI applications during their entrepreneurial journey.
As the JA Europe states, the first step within this initiative will be a pilot for 240 young people aged 15-19 in four countries: France, Italy, Portugal and Spain, where Intel® AI For Youth curricula will be blended with JA Europe’s entrepreneurship programmes.
By integrating AI into JA Europe’s entrepreneurship programmes, youth will have a deeper and more accurate understanding of technology and its impact to society (e.g. employment, inequality or inclusion). The participating students will be able to understand and use the AI tools and methodologies in a responsible way to create purposeful solutions that address various local and global challenges. In addition, the partnership aims at demystifying artificial intelligence, equipping young people with the skills and mindset required to be ready for the jobs of tomorrow by providing them with a deeper understanding of AI.
The learning journey will be staged in 4 phases:
- Inspire thanks to the endless possibilities of AI through discussions around this topic;
- Acquire basic concepts in AI and understand computer vision through the use of relevant cases;
- Experience during technical workshops, using insights in data collection, model training and code modification; and
- Empower to build innovative solutions using AI through Junior Achievement’s Innovation Camps.
This new partnership aligns with JA Europe’s mission to ensure that youth acquire and apply the necessary competences to launch their own business to succeed in today’s digital economy, and that they make informed financial decisions. Doing so democratizes young people’s access to AI tools while training them on how to use them skillfully. In this way, AI will be a key component of Junior Achievement’s Innovation Camps at national level, as participants will use it to propose meaningful solutions with social impact.
Read about the initiative and many more JA Europe programmes here.
This publication has been prepared within INDIGISE project. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the project coordinator and may not always reflect the views of the European Commission or the National Agency.
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