Ewha Interdisciplinary Program of Social Economy Hosts Ewha Impact Startup Academy 2024 in Collaboration with Merry Year N
- Date2024.12.30
- 10942
11 teams of undergraduate and graduate students from Ewha participated
Developed solutions addressing various social issues, including environment, education, youth, generational integration, and disabilities
The Interdisciplinary Program of Social Economy at Ewha Graduate School, under the Ewha Social Economy Startup Academy (led by Director Professor Jang Yi-Gwon and Professor Kim Min-Jung), hosted the Ewha Impact Startup Academy 2024 in collaboration with Merry Year Foundation on Thursday, November 28. This event served as the concluding event for the 6th Ewha Impact Startup Academy. The event was further enriched this year with support from the Merry Year Foundation, Korea Social Investment, and Ewha Startup Support Center, and in collaboration with organizations such as SparkLabs, Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-Koo Foundation, Impact Foundation, and the Korea Social Enterprise Promotion Agency.
The competition featured five judges, including Professor Jang Yi-gwon (Director of the Ewha Impact Startup Academy), Choi Woon-jeong (Secretary General of the Merry Year Foundation), Kim Sang-jun (Director of Ewha Startup Support Center), Professor Lee So-hyun (Ewha), and Seo Ji-hee (CEO of Ewha Technology Holdings). They selected six outstanding teams from the participants. The winning teams received awards—Ewha President’s Grand Prize, Merry Year Foundation Excellence Award, Ewha Startup Support Center Special Award, Korea Social Enterprise Promotion Agency Special Award, Korea Social Investment Special Award, and Impact Foundation Special Award.
The event began with an opening speech by Professor Jang Yi-gwon, followed by congratulatory remarks from Choi Woon-jeong and Seo Ji-hee. Cho Sang-mi, Director of the Korea Central Public Agency for Social Service, also shared a congratulatory message via video. Presided by Professor Kim Min-jung, the event featured presentations from 11 teams (34 graduates) who completed the Academy’s program. After two months of refining their ideas, the teams presented innovative social economy startup solutions addressing issues such as the environment, education, youth, generational integration, and disabilities.
Grand Prize (Ewha President’s Award) went to team “Ondal-eum” (Kim Tae-yeon, Oh Seong-yeon, Kim Chae-ri, Noh Jae-eun from the International Studies) for developing a gamification-based platform providing an integrated solution for stray animals.
Excellence Award (Merry Year Foundation Excellence Award) went to team “GreenNest” (Yoon So-yeon, Sociology; Han Hye-sun, French language and literature; Kim Ha-neul, English language and literature; Kim Hae-in, Consumer studies; Park Su-an, Business Administration) for planning an upcycling furniture platform promoting sustainable consumption and resource circulation.
Korea Social Enterprise Promotion Agency Special Award was given to team “Arnect” (Kim Min-seo, Economics) for creating a platform connecting new artists with the world through copyright protection and artist-business matching.
Korea Social Investment Special Award went to team “GoGreen” (Jang Yi-sol, International office administration; Lee Seo-yeon and Hwang Seon-hye, Design; Kang Su-ryeon, Computer science) for developing a sustainable platform targeting eco-conscious individuals in their 20s and 30s.
Impact Foundation Special Award was awarded to team “Square of Hope” (Qiang Huai Ying and Wang Shun Xi, Communications and Media) for developing an automated and efficient platform addressing elderly loneliness.
Ewha Startup Support Center Special Award was given to team “Go-Quality” (Ha Se-bin, International office administration; Jeong Ah-in, Design; Yu Je-ah, Design; Bae Ji-won, Health convergence) for developing a mobility art program enhancing bonds between children and foreign mothers in multicultural families.
The event concluded with the Director’s words of encouragement to all graduates of this academy.
The 6th Ewha Impact Startup Academy 2024 ran for ten weeks (September 26 to November 28, 2024) and included four common education sessions, a hackathon, mentoring, and a field trip. Lectures were delivered by experts, including Kim Min-jung (Program Chair), “Entrepreneurship and Startups”; Park Jung-ho (Deputy CEO of MYSC), “A Global Impact Business Perspectives MYSC Pursues”; Lee Jong-ik (CEO of Korea Social Investment), “Impact Business Models and Investment”; Cho Seong-joo (KAIST MBA Professor), “Lean Startup Strategies to Reduce Startup Failure Rates by 42%”; Kim Yoo-jin (CEO of SparkLabs, “Business Models for Startups.” In particular, this year’s Academy attracted both domestic and international students, fostering global collaboration on social issues and providing participants with opportunities to grow as social impact entrepreneurs. A diverse panel of mentors from various sectors also guided participants, including representatives from SK Happiness Foundation (Manager Kwak Ye-sol), Gyeonggi Social Economy Center (General manager Kim Min-seok, Team leader Kim Sung-keun), MYSC (CSO), Merry Year Foundation (Team leader Lee Su-yeon), Non-profit organization PUMP (Manager Han Seo-young), Korea Social Investment (Director Lee Hye-mi), Lzeet (CEO Jang Yoon-seok), Triplelight (CEO Chung Yoo-jin), Beeconnectlab (CEO Chung Hong-rae), and Metlife (Director Hwang Ae-kyung).