Generation Entrepreneur partners with Department of Education to run incubator for Sydney high schoolers

Student-led organisation Generation Entrepreneur has partnered with the NSW Department of Education to run iEntrepreneur, a business incubator program for high school students across Sydney.

Running out of the Sydney School of Entrepreneurship from June until September, the iEntrepreneur program will see teams attend a series of workshops before pitching their ideas at demo day.

Jack Leung, managing director of Generation Entrepreneur, said, “With this new program we aim to provide entrepreneurial students the necessary skills and resources to develop their business ideas.

“We believe all young people have the power to change the status quo and are delighted that the NSW Department of Education has acknowledged the importance of fuelling the entrepreneurial spirit among young people.”

Teams will be given $500 in funding to help develop their ideas, along with the support of mentors from organisations including Westpac, Deloitte, and Right Click Capital.   

This is the latest program from Generation Entrepreneur to focus on developing the skills of entrepreneurial students.

The organisation was first launched by Baulkham Hills High students Alex Luo and Victor Zhang in 2014. Then in year 11, the pair brought in entrepreneurs to speak to students at the school about startups and entrepreneurship before creating Initiate 48, a weekend hackathon event for students.

iEntrepreneur is the latest high school program to launch as more experts highlight the need for Australia to develop a culture of entrepreneurship among students.

StartupAUS has long recommended in its Crossroads reports the implementation of entrepreneurship programs in all Australian primary and secondary schools and universities; according to the 2017 Startup Muster report, just 3.8 percent of current founders and 8.1 percent of future founders are aged 25 or younger.

Among those looking to grow these numbers is Brisbane’s St Paul’s School, which in 2016 partnered with coworking community River City Labs to launch an Entrepreneurs Club, aimed at helping students, staff, and parents transform their startup ideas into viable businesses.

According to the AFR, the school has now launched a $50,000 fund, backed by private donors, to invest in businesses founded by students.

You can learn more about Generation Entrepreneur here.