Architas Brings Global Innovation Challenge to JA Students
July 19, 2022
The first-ever Architas and JA Worldwide Global Innovation Challenge, called “JA’s Got Talent,” invited nearly 100 students from France, Indonesia, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates to submit their strategies to improve sustainability in their communities.
Architas is an asset manager and part of the global AXA Group. Formed in 2008, Architas provides investment solutions to meet the varying investor needs through a range of diversified multi-manager offers, giving a greater choice to clients in fulfilling their investment aims. Today, Architas operates in 13 countries across Europe and Asia.
In recognition of AXA Week for Good, a company-wide initiative dedicated to employee engagement and philanthropy, students collaborated to imagine innovative ideas for the challenge. Architas volunteers served as judges to determine the finalists, while employees voted to determine each regional winner. This year’s week focused on climate change and biodiversity, hence the JA Innovation Challenge’s focus on sustainability.
The challenge scenario tasked students with creating strategies to improve sustainability in their community. The judges assessed teams and selected the winner using the following criteria:
Innovation and Creativity – Clearly define the intended purpose and demonstrate how the strategy achieves the stated goals and objectives.
Presentation Quality – Creatively present your strategies in an innovative and original way that addresses the needs or gaps identified.
Strategy Feasibility – Represent sustainable and replicable strategies that add value to what is currently available.
Teamwork – Engage young people, include accurate visuals, and suggest how team members participated throughout the experience.
Meet the Winners
Organizers announced the winning teams at the final event on June 24:
Asia Pacific winner: Trash Cash (Indonesia) proposed creating a vending machine that encourages people to properly dispose of trash by providing points that can be redeemed for discounts on products.
EMEA winner: Dark Phantoms (United Arab Emirates) proposed creating an app that encourages people to reduce their environmental impact from energy consumption and transportation by providing points that can be redeemed for products.
Congratulations to the winning teams!