Innovation education for 'gap year' generation

Following a nearly two-year hiatus of international travel and study programs, edtech company HEX has launched its first global immersive program for startup founders and students since the pandemic, designed to guide and accelerate new and early-stage ideas to make them a reality.

The two-week hands-on program called Endeavour Singapore will take place from 2–16 July in the emerging Asian startup hub of Singapore, which has overtaken Silicon Valley as the world’s number one place for startup talent and is home to more than 3800 tech-enabled startups.¹

Since it was founded in 2017, HEX has delivered future-focused innovation and entrepreneurship programs to more than 5000 university students and the next generation of talent. It has also led more than 40 local, global and virtual study tours, including regular visits to Silicon Valley, Singapore, Tel Aviv and beyond.

HEX will be one of the first education programs recommencing in Singapore, following tourism restrictions easing this month. Startup founders and students from around the globe will participate in the program, with early applicants joining from around Australia, the UK, Vietnam and the US.

Learning from business and social impact and innovation leaders including Google and Zendesk, and in collaboration with Victorian Government Trade & Investment — South East Asia (Victoria’s service offer for Australian scaleups), participants will work on their own real business problems and iterations of their own startups with the support of business experts and mentors.

Throughout the program, ‘HEXies’ will learn new economy skills like rapid prototyping, market research strategies, growth hacking, pitching their idea, as well as raising capital and investment. They will also have direct access to investors, accelerators, founders and professionals from Australia and Singapore to arm themselves with a business support network.

Jeanette Cheah, CEO and founder of HEX, said: “We’re extremely excited to be kicking off our first international program since the pandemic started, and have students and startup founders from all around the world join us in the fast-growing startup ecosystem of Singapore.

“The past two years of international border closures and restrictions forced us to rethink and redesign our programs and delivery, and while it was a challenge, we are proud to share that we successfully had around 1500 students across 13 countries take part in our virtual programs. As educators teaching students how to innovate and respond to the fast-changing business world, it was important for us to ‘walk the talk’ and evolve our business strategies so we could continue to thrive.

“It’s been a long-awaited moment to relaunch our global programs, and we’ve been working closely with Australian Government agencies to make this possible. Whether you’re an early-stage startup founder with an idea or a student who is keen to learn hands-on skills and knowledge about innovation and entrepreneurship, we encourage you to apply and learn from a strong network of business experts.”

University students taking part in HEX programs are eligible to receive academic credit from participating universities. Currently, HEX is affiliated with more than 37 global universities and has academic credit approved across Australia, New Zealand, Canada, UK and the US.

HEX is currently accepting applications for Endeavour Singapore until midnight on Sunday, 24 April.

^{1 Startup Genome, https://startupgenome.com/ecosystems/singapore}

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Gajus