Social Impact Business Challenge

Did you know that every year in Europe approximately 12% of students drop out of school and many more fail to fulfil their academic potential? (Eurostat, 2021). Esade’s home country, Spain, has the second-worst figures for early school leaving in the European Union. According to Eurostat's latest annual report on this subject, in 2020, 16% of Spanish young people between 18 and 24 years of age had not completed secondary school — the minimum compulsory level — a rate surpassed only by Malta, which leads the ranking with 16.7%.

Experts point out that there are several factors that cause school failure among young people. They range from undiagnosed dyslexia, which causes difficulty in reading and reading comprehension, to underdeveloped language skills, a lack of emotional stability, insufficient financial support, an addiction to video games or nomophobia (a fear of being detached from mobile phone connectivity), and beyond.

One conclusion is especially worrying: the OECD has stressed that a higher level of education is associated with better career prospects, and they agree with other studies that warn that young people who have low academic performance or who drop out of school have a higher risk of being socially excluded. The OECD's Education at a Glance 2022 study considers that completing secondary education is the “minimum qualification” that young people need to “participate successfully in the labor market.”

The problem we’ve presented affects every country. We’re asking you to apply all your skills, knowledge and critical thinking, and send us your answer to this question:

How can we take advantage of the potential of the Metaverse to reduce the school failure rate in your country without increasing young people’s addiction to technology?

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What are we looking for?

You will be rewarded for coming up with the most convincing, impactful and robust answer (you won’t make your project more competitive just by compiling more data!). Specifically, we want you to show us your capability to:

1. Understand and argue (with data) the magnitude of the problem in your home country.
2. Identify the main factors and demonstrate them during your video proposal.
3. Prepare a maximum of two main ideas/lines of action and explain them in detail (always based on your previous research and linked to the analysis).
4. Show how to calculate the impact of your actions.
5. Come up with and present a proposal that is understandable, relevant, convincing, robust, well grounded, impactful, creative, credible, and consistent.

Presentation guidelines

1. A slide presentation of a maximum of 6 pages explaining your proposal.
2. An executive summary highlighting key ideas.
3. A 4-minute video explaining the journey you have taken to reach your proposal. Don't forget to explain which part of creating your proposal has been the most difficult for you.

• All documents and video should be presented in English.
• The slide presentation must contain the project/problem title and your personal information: name(s) and surname(s), nationality, country of residence, school name, e-mail and contact telephone number.

If no applications meet the eligibility criteria or guidelines, the Esade BITLASI Take Action Challenge Committee reserves the right to declare a prize void.

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