A junior enterprise is a civil social nonprofit organization established and executed entirely by students of a university or a business school, both at the undergraduate and postgraduate level. The organization's purpose is to provide services for companies, institutions and society, often in the form of consultancies, while enriching the learning of its members with practical experience in the field of their studies. Usually, a junior enterprise is linked to a particular university or business school; by internal regulation, in most cases, a student must be studying at the specific university to join the organization.
The most common expertise areas for junior enterprises are business and management, engineering, marketing, communication, IT services and law. The members of the organization have the chance to take part in real-world projects, while experiencing the functioning of a real company: junior enterprises, indeed, either are real companies, or resemble one in their operational activities, often having a management council and an executive board, together with an own regulation.
The concept
Non-profit
1.1 Not necessarily by legal status but by nature of activities (in countries, where legal circumstances affect the non-profit legal status) 1.2 Surplus of the JE should not be used for any economic benefits for the members of the JE unless it is for the execution of project work. If the legal status allows economic benefits for Management Board, then the National umbrella should ensure that there is a rule in place to prevent this from happening in a JE Non-political: not affiliated to political movement or party. However, they are able to lobby. Non-religious: not affiliated to a religious movement or church. Managed entirely by students: only students make and execute strategic decisions. Linked to an institution of higher education, but not necessarily affiliated legally. However, proactive efforts should be made to seek support from the University. Legal entity: legal settlement should be proactively sought. Fostering entrepreneurship spirit: 7.1 Proactively engaging members in decision making; 7.2 Encouraging them to start their own projects; 7.3 Actively look for new opportunities. Contribute to the development of the National Network by training the Junior Entrepreneurs about the Network and motivating them to participate in its activities. Fostering members development 9.1 The end result of every project should be the development of members by any mean; 9.2 Every project should develop a soft or a hard skill. However, if the market allows, the business acquisition should focus on acquiring projects which develop hard skills (e.g.: resource management, analytics, technical, etc.) 9.3 Projects should assume interaction with external parties: private and civil companies Aiming at sustainable activity (The Junior Enterprise aims to achieve sustainable activity by running at least one project a year for clients). Therefore, the organization actively seeks to implement the Concept with high quality.