Micro-Tyco is a entrepreneurship competition which challenges young people develop innovative solutions whilst also addressing social and environmental issues. Finalists are then able to work in collaboration with the corporate partners, to build and amplify the idea.
A team of four Year 9s travelled down to London on Wednesday 7th May to take part the Micro-Tyco final that was held at the BNP Parabis head office.
Stephanie:
On Wednesday 7th May, we went to the Wildhearts Micro-Tyco finals in London to pitch our idea called Fruitea. In order to get to the finals we had to produce an innovative idea that aligned with the UN sustainable goals, or SGDs, that was relevant to our school or local community. We had to submit a draft, respond to the feedback and then re-submit it to see if we could get through to the final – and we did! The whole finals day was full of surprises and amazing opportunities. Everyone really liked the day, and we appreciated the opportunity greatly. We learnt a lot about a variety of careers in business and improved some valuable skills such as listening, public speaking, pitching and confidence. It was brilliant and we are extremely happy with coming in third.
Carena:
We presented the idea we created; Fruitea, a sustainable fruit tea brand that turns leftover fruit parts (like peels ) into eco-friendly tea blends. Our plan was to sell Fruitea Kits that include reusable tea bags, biodegradable packaging, simple recipes, and infusers, so people can make their own teas at home while reducing food waste, along with developing our sustainable Fruitea blends made from local ingredients or food that would otherwise go to waste.
We wanted to help the environment by cutting down food and plastic waste. Instead of throwing out fruit leftovers, we found a creative way to reuse them. Fruitea is our way of encouraging people to enjoy tasty drinks while helping the planet.
We created a sample of teas that we had developed in school using food that was used in the school kitchens, for example apple peel saved from the crumble that had been made. We then dried it in the Food Tech ovens and combined the ingredients to create 3 flavours. Orange, lemon and apple was our favourite!
Michelle:
We went to the Wild Hearts Micro-Tyco Finals and had a truly amazing day. There were 7 teams there, and we watched all of their pitches. Each team had a different idea, and they were all interesting and varied in topic.
After the pitches, we had lunch and then took part in a career’s carousel, where mentors including ours spoke to us about their jobs and what path they took. It was helpful to learn about different career paths and inspired us to think about what we could pursue in the future.
At the end of the day, there was an awards ceremony. We were extremely delighted to come 3rd place and be awarded a magnificent trophy amongst stiff competition. We really enjoyed being part of the event!
Emily:
During the time through the competition our team was supported by a mentor who helped us with our time management, planning and confidence. Throughout the day we were encouraged and assisted in developing and performing our pitch. In the afternoon, following on from presenting our pitch and whilst we were waiting for the judges, there was a careers carousel. This gave us the opportunity to talk more in-depth with all of the mentors. We found out about their careers, along with how their decisions on their GCSEs and A levels, have helped and aided them in their current jobs, as well as hearing about the skills they have transferred from their subjects to their work. Overall, it was a very enjoyable experience to have a mentor and his knowledge really benefitted us and helped us shape our final pitch.
