In a scenario in which traditional education often fails to engage young people – according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), 10.9 million Brazilians between the ages of 15 and 29 neither study nor work – innovative initiatives such as Decola Startup School seek to introduce concepts of entrepreneurship and technology into classrooms.
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The startup from Paraná seeks to transform school culture and prepare students for the challenges of the future. Driven by the state program Paraná Anjo Inovador, Decola was founded in Londrina by Ana Murakawa and Dirceu Perre. The motivation overseas data arose from the founders’ concern about the high rates of “neither-nor” young people in Brazil – those who neither study nor work.
CEO of the startup, Ana believes that the lack of purpose in traditional education contributes to this scenario, discouraging students from choosing their careers.
“We want to transform the school’s culture and implement a culture of innovation, working on entrepreneurship at the grassroots level. Entrepreneurship is about wanting to do and doing, that is, being able to identify a purpose in life and mobilizing to achieve it, even in the face of difficulties,” he says.
Innovative methodology and focus on the teacher
Decola Startup School stands out for when is operational excellence necessary? its innovative methodology, which places the teacher as the protagonist in the educational transformation process. “The teacher is the main cog in the educational process, for anything you are going to do”, says Ana. To this end, the startup offers two main products: Junior Startup School and Hackathon Startup School.
Results and social impact
Since its founding in September 2022, Decola Startup School has already impacted more than 7,000 students in 150 schools, with 200 trained teachers. The startup uses indicators such as the number of innovative projects developed by students whatsapp database philippines and the level of student engagement to measure the results of its programs. “We measure how engaged students are at the beginning of the program and how much they are able to look at school in a different way after the program,” adds Ana.
Decola Startup School also seeks to promote inclusion and equity, especially in public schools. “We want to show that innovation and entrepreneurship are for everyone, regardless of social class,” says Ana.
Plans for the future
With the support of the Paraná Anjo Inovador program, which allocated R$250,000 to Decola Startup School, the startup plans to expand its operations to other regions of Brazil and even to Latin America. “Our goal is to take our methodology to as many schools as possible, transforming education and preparing young people for the challenges of the 21st century,” says Ana.
Decola Startup School is also developing a gamified app, Desafio Decola, which will allow online and hybrid hackathons to be held, reaching an even larger audience. “We believe that technology is a powerful tool for transforming education, and we want to use it to bring innovation to all schools,” concludes the CEO.
