University students with an entrepreneurial spirit and who want to transform their Course Completion Work (TCC) into a technology-based startup can now enroll in the Academic Working Capital program 2020. Groups of 2 to 4 students can participate, all over 18 years of age, in which at least one of the members – the author of the TCC that will originate the startup – is enrolled in the final stage of graduation. Entries must be sent until 08/19 via the website awc.institutotim.org.br/inscreva-se.
In its 5th edition, AWC comes with news and a new evaluation criterion: the project’s contribution to the challenges of Brazil in a post-pandemic society of COVID-19. “Times of crisis bring many opportunities on new land. Habits have been changed ”, says AWC general coordinator and professor at the University of São Paulo, Marcos Barretto. “This year, young people entering the job market will encounter an even more complex situation of employability. A good alternative is to undertake, because undertaking has no day, no time. ”
Another big difference from AWC 2020 is the calendar. Workshop I, which opens its activities, starts at the end of August, and the cycle will extend until May 2021, when the Investment Fair takes place – a date that also marks the beginning of AWC 2021. “We are moving to a cycle from May to May, to take some of the energy from the group that ends and insert that energy into the group that is arriving ”, explains Barretto.
All workshops will be online, with the exception of Workshop V, which precedes the Investment Fair. The program will be divided into two stages: the first will run until the end of 2020, in which the groups will seek to validate their business vision and find their problem market fit, and the other, which takes place in 2021, involving the prototypes and development phase of business.
How to apply
To apply, the groups must guarantee their registration by filling in the Registration form at awc.institutotim.org.br/inscreva-se. Then, it is time to set up the proposal and organize the necessary documents, which should be sent through the form Send your documents, on the same page.
The proposal should be clearly characterized as a TCC aimed at establishing an innovative startup. The project may be either a technology idea whose application in the market is not yet quite clear, or an application idea that still needs to better develop the technology in order to be feasible.
Each proposal comprises four documents:
- Description of the Proposal, with summaries and descriptions of the product or service and business vision of the group.
- Proof of enrollment of the group leader in the subject of the TCC project or statement that he/she will start the course of the subject in 2020.
- Declaration of Agreement signed by each member of the group.
- Video presenting the project and the group and demonstrating the entrepreneurial attitude of the members and the technological innovation differential of the product or service.
Proposals must be sent by 08/19. The selection board will choose the best between 08/20 and 08/23 and the result will be published on the AWC website on 08/24. To see the complete timetable, go to the program website. To learn more about the selection process, see the public notice (in portuguese).
