New European Bauhaus Prizes 2023

Initiative category

Identify the award category for which this initiative is being submitted
Prioritising the places and people that need it the most

Email user
venis.ivanova@gmail.com

Basic information
Initiative title
StudyMates

Full initiative Title
StudyMates by Venislava Ivanova

Please provide a short, catchy description of your initiative to be used in communication towards the public.
Nowadays, when a student applies to high school, at first they experience difficulties with the study material, the teachers and the atmosphere in the new school. That is why I want to create a web platform that connects bigger students from one high school (as mentors) with first year high schoolers from the same high school to help them. It will be for all of the high schools and the little ones will get used to the school and find new friends and the bigger ones will get a lot of experience.

What was the geographical scope of your intiative?
National

Where was your intiative implemented?
Member State(s) and Western Balkans
Bulgaria

If relevant, insert names of region(s)/municipality(ies) involved
At first I am going to start in Burgas, Bulgaria and then I am going to include the other towns.

Does your initiative address mainly urban or rural issues?
Mainly urban

Does your initiative refer to a physical transformation of the built environment or other types of transformations (hard or soft investments)?
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)

Has your initiative benefited from EU programmes and/or funds?
No

Has your initiative won an EU prize with a monetary value awarded?
No

Does your initiative has a minimum level of maturity? The minimum level of maturity is exemplified by stakeholder/ initiative promoter commitment to implement the initiative in practice and a clear methodology /approach.
No

On whose behalf are you submitting the application?
As an individual
Please provide the contact details for the intiative promoter (the individual or representative of the organisation authorised to represent the intiative).
- First name: Venislava
  Last name: Ivanova
  Gender: Female
  Nationality: Bulgaria
  Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: j. k. Izgrev, bl. 57
  Town: Burgas
  Postal code: 8008
  Country: Bulgaria
  Direct Tel: +359 88 690 1506
  E-mail: venis.ivanova@gmail.com
Social Media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.)
- URL: https://www.instagram.com/venivanova/
In case my initiative is selected as a finalist of the NEB Prizes 2023, I agree to share the name (individual and/or organisation’s), email address, website and social media accounts indicated above with other NEB Prizes finalists. I also agree to publish the name (individual and/or organisation’s), website and social media accounts indicated above next to the public description of my initiative in the channels of the European Commission.
Yes

How did you hear about the New European Bauhaus Prizes?
Social Media

Description of the initiative
Please provide a summary of your initiative
StudyMates, created by Venislava Ivanova
When I started high school in Bulgaria (in some schools it is in 5th grade and in others in 8th grade) I was so stressed and I had difficulties with the study material, the teachers and the atmosphere in my new mathematics school. That is why I decided to survey the fifth-graders in my school and it turned out that around 70% of them will feel safer if they know someone from a higher grade. In Burgas there are 17 high schools and this problem is in each one of them.
Therefore, I decided to create a web system called StudyMates in which the new students will be finding their own mentors from a bigger class to help them with getting used to the school. For the first version of the project I am going to start with my school, but then there will be a subscription for the web system and I will add the other schools. Each one of them will have its own platform so that the kids can choose from a list their own school and sign up for a mentor. I will match the little student with the bigger one based on surveys with the aim that their characters can match and to create the perfect team. In the next version the matching is going to happen with machine learning. The little students will be able to rate their mentors which will be getting a scholarship based on that rating - the higher the rating, the higher the scholarship will be.

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with 5 key words.
Support new students

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
Improve education

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
Connect little students with more mature ones

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
Make friends

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
Overcome new students' problems

Please give information about the key objectives of your initiative in terms of sustainability and how these have been/will be met. Please highlight how the initiative can be exemplary in this context.
In my idea everyone wins. The mentors will be getting a scholarship form our sponsors and a certificate for participation, the new students will get help with their material and the most important thing is that they will understand what each teacher requires and how to prepare better for their class thanks to their mentor's experience. The sponsors and the investors will earn money form the subscriptions and will be able to find unique interns, they will be able to self-promote with the fact that support the Bulgarian education and we will post their logos on our website and social media. Teachers will benefit from the fact that students will be doing much better and schools will gain prestige and new applicants.

Please give information about the key objectives of your initiative in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience for people (through design, positive emotions and cultural benefits) and how these have been met. Please highlight how the initiative can be exemplary in this context.
My idea is to find the perfect match between a new student and a mentor. At first this is going to happen manually by comparing their survey answers. Then the matching will be done with machine learning in order to be automatic. This will create the perfect pair and symbiosis. In addition, the little student will find a new friend who will help them every time they need and will always be there for them.

Please give information about the key objectives of your initiative in terms of inclusion (ranging from accessibility and affordability for all to inclusive governing systems, design for all principles or new societal models) and how these have been met. Please highlight how the initiative can be exemplary in this context.
My initiative will be accessible to each school by an affordable subscription. Schools will be motivated to subscribe because of the benefits that it gives to their students and the prestige it brings.

Please explain the way citizens benefiting from or affected by the initiative and civil society have been/will be involved in the initiative and what has been/will be the impact of this involvement on the initiative
The new students will get mentors by signing in the platform and filling out a survey to determine their character. After that the platform will match them with their perfect mentor who also filled out the same survey. We will select the mentors based on their grades, a teacher recommendation and extracurricular activities. When a team is created, the two students will have meetings every week which will be available online and in person. The bigger one will give tips and tricks on how the little one can do better in each class and will help them with all the questions they have.

Please explain how different stakeholders at various levels (local, regional, national, European) were engaged in the design and implementation of the initiative.
There are not stakeholders that are engaged in my initiative.

Please explain which disciplines and/ or knowledge fields were reflected in the design and implementation of your initiative. Please explain how representatives of these different fields interacted with each other, and what the added value of this process was
Education and human resources are a big factor in my initiative, because they are both connected to create the perfect environment for students.

Please highlight the innovative character of the initiative, when compared to mainstream actions in the field of the initiative
The private lessons from the teachers in the same school are my idea's big competitor, because the students can see the teacher's methods. However, in the web platform the mentors will explain the methods of each teacher to the new students. That is our way to overcome this obstacle.

Please describe which elements of your initiative could be replicated or transferred to other places, groups of beneficiaries and contexts. This may involve, for example, aspects of the methodology, technology, processes, products, learnings, etc.
The matching system can be later used in universities or even in big companies in order to connect more experienced students or workers with newbies.

Please describe the methodology or approach used in your initiative.
The new students will get mentors by signing in the platform and filling out a survey to determine their character. After that the platform will match them with their perfect mentor who also filled out the same survey. We will select the mentors based on their grades, a teacher recommendation and extracurricular activities. When a team is created, the two students will have meetings every week which will be available online and in person. The bigger one will give tips and tricks on how the little one can do better in each class and will help them with all the questions they have.

Please explain what kind of global challenges the initiative addresses by providing local solutions
Nowadays, students find it more and more difficult to make friends and feel more anxious when they are in a new environment. My idea solves these problems and in addition improves the education of students and succeeds in preparing them for their life.

Please detail the scope of progress in the implementation of the initiative. This can include already demonstrated results/outputs related to the chosen Prizes category, and the already achieved benefits from the initiative for direct and indirect beneficiaries. This can also include a development plan of the initiative, with a particular attention to the steps envisaged in the year following the application, and including envisaged results and benefits from the initiative
There are several schools and teachers that are interested in the idea and would support it. I reached out to kids who loved the initiative and said they couldn't wait to for it to happen. Within a week I conducted an experiment and connected an older student with a fifth-grader to help them with the difficulties they were experiencing and everyone was fascinated by the result.
I will promote the idea through school websites and student council social media, and as vice president of the school council of the most prestigious high school in my town, I have access to a large community of students to pitch it to.

Please provide documents that demonstrate the maturity level of the initiative and commitment to implement the initiative in practice (e.g.: evaluation report, final or mid-term initiative report, certification, publications, building permit, grant agreement, letter of support, partnership agreement, etc.)
Both
PDF
- pdf-1-18805.pdf
Web link
- https://studymates.my.canva.site/
If relevant, please describe how your initiative contributes to developing new competences, especially in the context of the European competence framework on sustainability.
My initiative helps education and training institutions to integrate sustainability into teaching and learning and across all aspects of their operations. Improves young students' knowledge and their confidence.
Please attach at least 6 high resolution images or visual representations of your initiative to your application.
If you would like to upload additional documentation, please upload or write below.
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By submitting your application you confirm that you are the copyright owner of the images provided and that they can be used by the European Commission for the purposes of promoting the New European Bauhaus on all platforms (websites, print, social media and other).
Yes

By ticking this box, you declare that you are not in in one or more of the exclusion situations foreseen under Article 136 of the Financial Regulation.
Yes

By submitting this application, I declare that I am not related to the entities subject to EU restricted measures under Article 29 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and subject to Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU)1, and entities covered by Commission Guidelines No 2013/C 205/05), which are not eligible to participate in any capacity.
Yes

By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that you assume sole liability in the event of a claim relating to the activities carried out in the framework of the contest, that the proposed initiative has not been proposed for the New European Bauhaus Prizes in any other category or strand and that it has not been subject to any type of investigation, which could lead to a financial correction because of irregularities or fraud.
Yes

By submitting your application, you guarantee that you are the author or have the rights to proceed with the application and to authorise the use of the initiative and that you have obtained any necessary consents, licenses or assignments from third parties and included copyright notices when necessary
Yes

By submitting your application, you understand that all the applications that meet the eligibility requirements will be shared for the purposes of the selection processes, and notably published on the secured platform prizes.new-european-bauhaus.eu and for the purposes of the promotion of these on the New European Bauhaus website and/or other European Commission communication channels. In this sense, the applications would be widely available. Applicants should ensure that they present their initiatives, initiative, in such a way that they could be shared without giving rise to intellectual property related concerns. If your submission is selected as one of the finalists, it will additionally be shared for the purpose of the public vote that will take place. The European Union is granted a licence to use and share your application with the general public and the official external experts for the purposes of the selection process, including the voting. The European Union has the right to use the images and visual materials and the description provided in the application for communication purposes related to the contest and beyond. Rights granted comprise the right to store, reproduce, display, publish and communicate or distribute copies in electronic or digital format, including, but not only, through the internet. Unless you have disclosed your name, the European Commission has no obligation to share your name when using or disseminating your contribution to the public. The European Union cannot be held responsible in case any submitted initiative, initiative is found to infringe third party’s rights. The European Union shall be neither responsible for the use that third parties may do of the applications or related content.
Yes

By submitting your application, you acknowledge that you read and understand that the ‘Guide to Applicants’ of the NEB Prizes 2023, available online in the website of the NEB Prizes 2023, is an integral part of this application form and that it must therefore be observed when completing and submitting your application.
Yes