Young Innovators
Learning to dare, starting in 10th grade!
Each year, we aim to train several thousand high school students by giving them the tools to take action, create, and transform their ideas into concrete projects through an entrepreneurial mindset.
Our goal: introduce 10,000 young people to entrepreneurship over 5 years across France.
Since the decree of November 29, 2023, all 10th-grade students must complete a two-week observational internship to explore professions and choose their academic and career paths.
30% of students cannot find an internship.
Companies struggle to host high school interns, family networks are limited, and the internships obtained are not always as enriching as students rightfully expect.
Through the Young Innovators program, HEC transforms this mandatory internship into a meaningful experience that gives students self-confidence and a desire to take action. For two weeks, students experience an entrepreneurial immersion within their school: they work in teams on the creation of an innovative project, coached by their teachers and supported by HEC.
The final event, held on the HEC Paris campus, is a highlight: each group presents its project before a jury of teachers, entrepreneurs, and alumni.
Already piloted in 2025, the program will next year involve 1,000 students from 42 high schools in the Paris region and 250 students in Marseille, with the support of the Ministry of National Education and numerous partners.
HEC Young Innovators is much more than an internship: it is an introduction to innovation, teamwork, and self-confidence.
A program that shifts students’ mindsets: they no longer passively undergo their orientation—they actively build it.
In 2025
across 4 regional school districts (Paris, Créteil, Versailles, and Marseille) in 2026
in 2030
YOUR SUPPORT IS KEY
HEC Young Innovators is a pioneering program, created on the ground to address a national challenge: offering every 10th-grade student a truly meaningful internship, not just a formality.
Your support is essential to help the program scale up.
By contributing to this initiative, you are not simply funding an educational project—you are offering thousands of young people the opportunity to validate their mandatory internship while developing decisive skills such as creativity, self-confidence, initiative, and an understanding of the world of leading higher-education institutions they often do not know. They discover that new horizons are within their reach.
This is a unique opportunity to promote equal opportunity and empower every young person to dare, create, and innovate.
Before the program, I thought entrepreneurship was for adults. Today, I know that I too can create something useful. I’ve learned to trust myself and believe in my ideas.