Not only does an education in entrepreneurship benefit children by nurturing unconventional talents and skills, it also helps them learn how to use their initiative and develops a sense of self-confidence. Through Moriah College’s entrepreneurship programs, students learn about teamwork, social justice and have an outlet for their creativity to flourish.
Moriah College offers a number of programs to foster entrepreneurial thinking in students. Here, we take an in-depth look at three such programs.
Moriahpreneur
Now in its third year, Moriah’s very own ‘Shark Tank’ aims to encourage innovation and develop a business-savvy mind. As part of the Year 10 Commerce unit Running a Business, students form teams to come up with an exciting new business idea and pitch it to an independent panel of judges for a $100,000 investment.
This inquiry-based learning task allows students to develop their problem-solving skills and creativity, covering all aspects of business management – from marketing and financial planning to building business ideas and setting vision goals.
Each team submits a report and presents it to a judging panel, with parents also invited to attend. Prizes are awarded for Most Innovative Idea, Best Financial Plan and Best Presentation.
Naase Scholars in Entrepreneurship
The Naase Moriah Scholars in Entrepreneurship program launched in 2017 as the result of a generous donation from Kelly + Partners and the Moriah College Foundation.
Each year, five students are awarded an all-expenses paid trip to Israel to visit leading Israeli start-ups and entrepreneurs.
The program sets ambitious goals for students in Year 11, who have to pitch ideas for life-changing start-up businesses that will have a positive impact on society in order to win one of the five sought-after spots.
The objective is to encourage students to think globally, to have a social conscience and to believe that they can make a positive difference in people’s lives.
To be selected in the entrepreneur program, students undertake a challenging application process where they have to come up with an innovative idea, develop a professional pitch and present it to a panel of leading Sydney business figures and chair of the Moriah Foundation.
This incredible opportunity also allows students to make a connection between the real world and what they learn in the classroom. Students visit start-ups, think tanks and big players in the technology sector to see first-hand the kind of selfless entrepreneurial thinking Moriah College hopes to inspire in them.
MIT LaunchX Club
In 2018, Moriah launched Australia’s first LaunchX Club in association with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
LaunchX is an American organisation that provides entrepreneurial high school students with real-world business experience by supporting and assisting them in creating their own start-up companies in just six months.
Students in Years 9 to 12 at Moriah College have formed teams that will design, develop and build their own fully-functioning businesses.
Recent Moriah graduates, Zac and Jake Wein, initiated the club.
“LaunchX provides us with a course structure to go through and certain requirements and objectives to meet each week so that our teams can stay on target and grow their businesses in the right way,” says Jake.
“The great thing is that age is not an issue,” Zac adds. “It’s about your passion for entrepreneurship and whether you think you can take on the responsibility and have the right skills to succeed.”
Entrepreneurship captain
Extending its focus on entrepreneurship, Moriah College also appointed its first Entrepreneurship Captain, as part of the Year 12 College Leadership team, in 2018.
“My vision is an environment that fosters entrepreneurial drive and develops in students the soft skills necessary to understand and navigate their future occupations,” says Joshua Todes, who was the first student to take on this newly created role.
“Entrepreneurial skills such as resilience, focus, self-reliance, drive, and innovation, to name a few, are not just skills relevant to commerce but are skills essential for life.
Currently, Moriah’s MIT LaunchX Club is an opt-in for students in Years 9 to 12. It runs a course giving students the tools and mindset to start real companies. I will work to introduce entrepreneurial programs like LaunchX to all high school students at Moriah, and my goal is to extend this initiative and develop a synthesised introductory entrepreneurship program in the primary school, promoting innovation from the get go. Finally, I intend to establish an ‘Entrepreneurship Club’. The club would provide speakers, resources and online courses and, more importantly, a thought-generating platform.”