Students to participate in Scotiabank/Junior Achievement Innovation Camp

One hundred students from high schools across the island will gather at Hope Zoo today to be a part of a Scotiabank/Jamaica Junior Achievement Innovation Camp. The students who have all benefited from a financial literacy programme rolled out to eight- and ninth-graders, will be expected to conceptualise and present on solutions for specific challenges related to technology and the banking industry.

This is the second year of this competition, which pulls on the creative skills of the students who must come up with ideas and create the most influential presentations within a short period.

Teams of five students each will work together to develop the most innovative ideas. The top teams of the first challenge will be expected to present on a second challenge, the winners of which will participate in a regional challenge.

"We are looking forward to the concepts that will come from this year's presentations. At the last execution, the pitches were good and we got some interesting ideas from the students," said Yanique Forbes Patrick, vice-president of marketing, Scotiabank.

At last year's event, Mount Alvernia High was selected as top school, followed by St Hugh's High and Hampton High, which took second and third place, respectively.

In 2016, Scotiabank invested US$2 million in a regional Junior Achievement project, Road to Success, to raise awareness among youth about the importance of managing their finances, and to have clear professional goals, interests and values. The Innovation Camp is one element of the Road to Success project.

The programme has been rolled out in 16 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean and has had an impact on the lives of thousands of students.