AWC and Bateria do Instituto TIM take part in TIM Talks Experience 2020

The challenges of Bateria do Instituto TIM of transforming on-site classes to an on-line format, and the Academic Working Capital program’s impact on student entrepreneurship were the topics that Instituto TIM brought to TIM Talks Experience 2020. As the largest development program in the Brazilian corporate market, the digitally broadcast event counted with 180 activities performed from 5 to 24/Nov. The initiative gathered employees, partners, and society as a whole to reflect on business and technology, the relationship between environment, wellbeing and society, and diversity and inclusion.

The “Batucada Digital: o projeto Bateria na sua Casa não deixa o samba parar” live took place on 11/Nov with the participation of Bateria do Instituto TIM’s coordinator, Rubens Kurin, Mestre Mangueirinha, and monitor Pedro Ivo. Moderated by TIM’s Environmental, Social & Governance director, Marcio Lino, the keynote started with the Bateria’s history (which has emerged in CIEP Oswaldo Aranha, at Rio de Janeiro’s west region, as part of the TIM Música nas Escolas project), addressed the challenges of teaching music to impaired children and teens (firstly exclusively to deaf pupils, then to persons with any type of disability), and ended on the experience of bringing such a face-to-face and linked to senses project to a digital format.

Mestre Mangueirinha recounted that students build simple instruments with stuff they have at home, and that classes are different on every Saturday with theoretical and playful contents. He also highlighted the importance of family participation. “We have to teach the parents. They should feel comfortable in understanding and then we can teach the children. They are the monitors”, he explained. After 7 months of virtual classes, Bateria na Sua Casa achieved its goal and kept the group connected. “We were able to maintain this bond that we’ve physically built”, Rubens added.

Watch the complete live “Batucada Digital: o projeto Bateria na sua Casa não deixa o samba parar”

On 12/Nov, it was time to discuss “Empreendedorismo nas Universidades: o projeto AWC como impulsionador de novos negócios e novas tecnologias”. Having Marcio Lino again as moderator, the live counted with the participation of USP Polytechnic School and overall AWC coordinator, Marcos Barretto, of CAOS Focado’s co-founding partner and AWC’s coordinator over the past five years, Diogo Dutra, of AWC 2019 participant and one of Beep startup’s businesswomen, Fernanda Melo, and AWC 2020 participant Rafaela Gonçalves.

After a brief presentation on the history, focus of activities, main results, and AWC-created prominent startups, Marcio Lino recounted that in 2020, one of the criteria for selecting proposals was their contribution to Brazil’s post-pandemic development. The initiative’s distinctiveness, which brings a view of entrepreneurial education to university students’ development, was also addressed by Marcos Barretto: “When we talk about innovation, we must understand people’s needs and work with them so an actual solution can be found”, he stated.

Diogo, AWC’s former coordinator, and Fernanda, former participant, talked about their trajectories as entrepreneurs and the teachings the program leaves on those that go through it. “People try to put it as a matter of a gift, ‘yeah, that guy was born an entrepreneur, it’s in his blood’. Actually, no, this is learned. I learned”, explained Diogo, who is a partner of companies Nave à Vela and Cromai. “I’ve never seen a mentorship program that grabs you by the hand, like AWC, and says ‘let’s understand your customer’. That was our greatest learning and our biggest challenge”, Fernanda added. Lastly, Rafaela discussed her current experience in the program. She’s ahead of a project that intends to develop a biodegradable internal tampon made from banana bark. “It’s making me grow a lot. It is a golden opportunity to really bring stuff into reality and not just be something staged, not only an idea that people are moved by but things never really change.”

Watch the complete live “Empreendedorismo nas Universidades: o projeto AWC como impulsionador de novos negócios e novas tecnologias”