The final stage of the student contest “Be the Change” organized jointly by Ameriabank and VISA payment system was held today. The contest started in December, 2021. Within the framework of the contest, teams comprised of 4-6 students were invited to submit innovative ideas aimed at making change in the life of people, a social group, a branch of science, or sector of economy.
Emphasizing the potential, ideas and progress of young people, Ameriabank offers them the opportunity to come up with innovative, productive ideas. One of the key eligibility criteria for participation in the contest was that the project should be feasible in Armenia within a period of 1-2 years, with a total budget of AMD 3 million.
The projects were reviewed and evaluated by a panel of judges, comprised of the following experts representing different fields:
1. Tigran Jrbashyan, Head of Ameria Management Advisory Services
2. Rebecca Hakobyan, Chief Marketing and Communication Officer, Ameriabank
3. Vahan Melkumyan, Head of Learning and Development Division of the Human Resources Management Service, Ameriabank
4. Elen Danielyan, Head of Personal Banking and Cards Direction, Ameriabank
5. Artyom Shamtsyan, Chief Innovation and Digital Officer, Ameriabank
6. Nazareth Seferian, Corporate Social Responsibility expert
7. Armine Mkrtchyan, member of the Board of Trustees of “reArmenia” platform
8. Seda Papoyan, Managing Director, Girls in Tech Armenia
9. Diana Arzumanyan, CEO and Co-Founder, Orion Worldwide Innovations Armenia
10. Anna Khachatryan, Operations and Community Manager, EPIC incubator
The highest-scoring teams presented their projects at the final stage of the contest.
The main prize of AMD 3 million went to TakeAR, a startup aimed at implementing AR and VR learning technologies in Armenian schools. At the initial stage of the project the team intends to develop a virtual laboratory (mobile app) for the biology course (human anatomy) of the 8th grade.
The following five teams got incentive prizes of AMD 100,000 each:
World Without Waste
Based in Kapan, Syunik region, it is the aim of the team to prevent pollution by collecting and recycling used paper from businesses and individuals.
Teska
The aim of the project is to launch a chain of smart trashcans in Masis. Each trashcan will bear a QR code by using which stakeholders will be able to learn how to sort trash correctly. Already sorted trash is expected to be sold to recycling companies.
Outvite
The aim of Outvite is to free people from the need to spend long hours searching for and planning leisure activities by creating an app where the places of leisure and entertainment in the area will be represented in one place.
Faithful to Hippocrates
The project was launched in 2014 by the Armenian Association of Young Physicians. The team strive to improve the quality of people’s life by bringing free medical services to people in areas where quality medical services are currently not readily available due to lack of facilities and sanitary conditions.
Cups with Seeds
The team want to implement a project to make Armenia greener. For this purpose they are planning to launch production of double-layered cups and plates made of eco paper. The space between the layers will contain seeds of various plants. When thrown away, the paper/cardboard component of the cup will decompose completely and serve as fertilizer, while the seeds will grow.