Vodafone Foundation continues to combine young people's knowledge and skills in the field of artificial intelligence with their entrepreneurial competencies within the scope of the Artificial Intelligence Stars project implemented with Habitat Association. This year, the entrepreneurship component of the project, AI Startup Studio, aims to have young people question the effects of the digital world on individuals and society and develop innovative solutions supported by artificial intelligence, with the theme "Digital Wellbeing in the Age of Artificial Intelligence".
Designed with a three-stage incubation model, the program allows young people to turn their ideas into feasible projects. In the first stage of the program, 25 teams will take part, and 10 teams will continue in the second stage. At the end of their entrepreneurship journey, 5 finalist teams will bring together the projects they developed with industry representatives, mentors and investors at Demo Day. The team selected first in the final will receive a prize of 150 thousand TL.
Vodafone Türkiye Foundation President Hasan Süel said:
"In today's world, where artificial intelligence technologies have become an integral part of daily life, digital transformation not only raises new opportunities, but also new questions that need to be considered in terms of individual and social life. Conscious use of technology, developing safe and healthy experiences in digital environments, strengthening the relationship that individuals establish with the digital world, and transforming technology into social benefit are gaining more importance. Organized within the scope of our Artificial Intelligence Stars project, AI Startup Studio invites young people to be an active part of this transformation with this year's theme, Digital Wellbeing in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. Within the scope of the program, teams are expected to learn about the impact of technology on individuals and society. "They are expected to identify a problem related to its effects and develop innovative, applicable and social benefit-oriented solutions to this problem by using artificial intelligence technologies. By considering the concept of digital welfare through their own experiences and observations, young people will have the opportunity to become individuals who not only use technology but also generate ideas for technology to make positive contributions to human life."
Habitat Association Chief Executive Officer Bora Caldu said:
"As Habitat Association, we care that young people are not only a part of digital transformation, but also individuals who direct this transformation and produce social benefits. Within the scope of the Artificial Intelligence Stars project we carry out with Vodafone Foundation, we support young people to develop their knowledge and skills in the field of artificial intelligence, as well as to use these skills to produce solutions to real-life problems. With AI Startup Studio, we offer young people an area where they can develop their ideas, experience entrepreneurship processes and turn their innovative solutions into concrete projects. This year, with the theme 'Digital Wellbeing in the Age of Artificial Intelligence' "We aim to enable young people to look at the digital world through their own experiences, develop solutions to the problems they face, and contribute to the safer, more inclusive and human-oriented use of technology. The most important gain for us in this journey, which will start with 25 teams and will be completed with 5 finalist teams, will be not only the projects they put forward, but also the critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork and entrepreneurship skills they develop. We will continue to contribute to young people shaping the future as individuals who produce, not consume, with technology."
A THREE-STAGE PROGRAM
AI Startup Studio offers a comprehensive development journey where high school students can experience entrepreneurial processes from idea development to prototyping, from business model creation to project presentation.
25 teams that will be selected for the first phase of the program will develop their project ideas by participating in artificial intelligence and entrepreneurship training and applied workshops. The 10 teams advancing to the second stage will focus on maturing their solutions, developing their prototypes and testing the feasibility of their projects with mentoring and coaching support.
During the program, young people; They will have the opportunity to develop future competencies such as problem solving, critical thinking, teamwork, creative thinking and entrepreneurship. In the third and final stage, 5 finalist teams will present their projects to industry representatives and investors at Demo Day. The team selected first in the final will be supported with a grand prize of 150 thousand TL.
With this structure, AI Startup Studio aims to help young people not only generate ideas, but also transform their ideas into concrete solutions and introduce them to the entrepreneurship ecosystem.
YOUTH WILL DEVELOP SOLUTIONS TO SOCIAL PROBLEMS
The focus on production and social benefit with technology, which forms the basic approach of the Artificial Intelligence Stars project, is moved to the field of entrepreneurship with AI Startup Studio.
The program encourages young people to go beyond seeing artificial intelligence as just a tool that makes their daily lives easier and use it to develop solutions to social problems. With the projects to be developed focusing on digital well-being, it is aimed for young people to evaluate the relationship between technology and humans from a more holistic perspective, to transform the opportunities offered by the digital world into social benefit and to develop their own solution proposals.
APPLICATION DEADLINE IS NOVEMBER 14
High school students between the ages of 14-16 can apply to AI Startup Studio. Applications will be made in teams consisting of at least 2 and maximum 3 students. Each team must have a consultant to guide them throughout the program.
Advanced coding knowledge is not required to participate in the program. Young people who are interested in technology, open to learning and want to create solutions to social problems with artificial intelligence can apply to the program. During the application phase, it will be sufficient for the teams to share the problem they have identified within the scope of the digital welfare theme and the artificial intelligence-based project ideas they plan to develop for this problem. Applications can be made until November 14.
The Artificial Intelligence Stars project aims to improve the artificial intelligence literacy of children and young people in 81 provinces, strengthen their digital competencies and enable them to produce with technology. The project, which brings together children and young people with technology through trainings, applied workshops and development programs for different age groups, also supports the entrepreneurial potential of high school students through AI Startup Studio.
AI Startup Studio, which will be held this year with a focus on digital prosperity, creates space for young people to contribute to the digital world of the future with their own solutions by using artificial intelligence technologies for the benefit of people and society.
