Start-up from Malta wins European Challenge in Helsinki with Intact, an innovative system to increase safety for motorcyclists

This year’s edition of the JA European Enterprise Challenge has gathered 19 start-ups from 15 countries in Helsinki. University students who took part in the Start-up programme were competing and presenting their startups to a selected jury.

The main award was presented to the Maltese student team from St Martin’s Institute of Higher Education. They impressed the jury with their Intact system, a technology enhancing safety for motorcyclists. Impact sensors installed in the rider’s helmet are connected to a smartphone app that automatically alerts emergency services and relatives, providing the location once a collision is detected.

“Winning the award is overwhelming, it happens once in a lifetime. From the beginning, we wanted to have a positive impact on society and our focus was to improve safety for motorcyclists on the road. Participating in the JA Start-up programme was a practical experience of our studies in entrepreneurship. We learnt team work, how the real business works and how to present our company. We’re going to keep on working on our system for further success,” said Intact member Katryna Briffa.

Every year across Europe, the Start-up programme engages over 14,000 students from 300 centres of higher learning, giving them the opportunity to experience running a business from top to bottom. Supporting European goals of improving youth employability and the start-up ecosystem, the programme fosters key competences to ensure that students are prepared for success after university. They gain key understanding in self-employment, business creation, risk-taking and coping with adversity, all with the support of experienced business volunteers.

“The strong passion, determination, creativity and professionalism demonstrated by our young and motivated team members, have truly left an impact on this year’s jury members,“said Jaye Malta CEO Julian Azzopardi

After announcing the winners, Hans Daems, head of Public Affairs at Hitachi Europe, who chaired this year’s jury, in a tweet said: “#Intact is a very deserved winner of #jaEEC17. Great talent and very strong business plan. Well done to the youth of #Malta.“

Intact was also awarded the Roschier Client in Focus Award, which award recognises that JA Start-up company that excels at creating value for their clients, listening to their clients and walking in their shoes to understand their world and anticipating and serving their changing needs.

The Intact team, composed of Katryna Briffa, Nicole Marie Cassar, Stephen Mintoff and Sam Hoiles was accompanied in Helsinki by Jaye Malta CEO Julian Azzopardi and Programme coordinator Sophie Back as well as the principal of St Martin’s Institute of Higher Education Charles Theuma.

Jaye Malta chairman Dr Karl Briffa said: “Jaye Malta has only been running the Start-up programme in Malta for the past three years and indeed it is an accomplishment to have managed to clinch this award for the first time in such a short period of time. This award will find its place together with the several other European achievements and recognitions which our teams have managed to achieve over the past 30 years of Jaye Malta’s existence. I cannot but thank all those who have helped achieve this success including our dedicated staff, mentors, volunteers and supporters and not least HSBC Malta Foundation and all other corporate and programme partners who help provide for all our financial and logistical needs.”

Jaye Malta Foundation is Malta’s largest provider of education programmes for entrepreneurship, work readiness and financial literacy, reaching an estimated 7,000 students since its inception. Jaye Malta works with all education institutions, business communities, government and all other stake holders to provide young people from primary school to university with practical learning experiences that build the skills and competences they will need to succeed in a global economy.

The Start-up programme is offered to students aged 18 to 30 attending tertiary education institutions, including University of Malta and St Martin’s Institute of Higher Education. The 2017/2018 edition of the Start-up programme, which shall coincide with the 30th anniversary celebrations from the setting up of Jaye Malta, shall kick off at the start of the next scholastic year. Interested students or institutions who wish to participate in such edition are requested to contact Jaye Malta by email on info@jayemalta.org or phone on 2124 5054.