European Commission

Ready to get to know another finalist of this year’s SME Youth Essay Competition? Let’s meet Ngaio!

Ngaio Olsen-Stahl is a passionate Social Science student at the University of Strasbourg, who developed an interest in international relations and comparative politics due to her own mixed cultural heritage from France and New Zealand. She hopes to pursue a career in public policy, and after taking part in a Model European Union event, was all the more inspired to do so within the EU.

What made you enter the SME Youth Essay Competition?

I just happened to be surfing the web and looking at upcoming events in Europe, and came across the essay competition information by chance. At the time it was the middle of August and I was enjoying a break from my studies, but after reading the question I thought it would be an interesting challenge. I am very passionate about the EU and its values, and I wanted to discover what I thought about innovation. Truthfully, it was not something I had thought about a lot, but after my research it has really grown on me, and I’m now very interested in how I can create and find innovation in my career path.

What did you think of the SME Assembly 2018?

The SME Assembly was a fantastic event, with people from all over Europe (and indeed, the world) coming together for the purpose of supporting business, ideas, and innovation in Europe. People from all industries, and all different career levels, shared their stories with me, and it was a very humbling experience to be able to gain so much knowledge just by simply getting to know people. I made some great friends too! The speeches, debates, and policy sessions were varied and incredibly useful, my favourites were The Big Debate and Bridging the Skills Gap. The App made sure I knew exactly where to go and when to be there, and Graz was such a beautiful city to explore during my free time. Overall it was a life-changing experience that has inspired me to work on an entrepreneurial venture.

The theme of this year’s SME Assembly was to ‘Connect. Share. Innovate’, what does that mean to you?

To me, this embodies the spirit of collective power. Acknowledging the strength of Europe as a Union and business as a team, our world is moving towards being ever-more globalised, interdependent and invested in a number of different economies. This diversity and growth will be the fuel for new ideas in the future.

What is next for you? Any exciting plans to share?

I’m currently in the exciting/terrifying transition between my Bachelors and the unknown. I will be applying to Master courses in Public Policy, different research projects in social development, and some graduate opportunities in government ministries. So, my exciting plans are all hypothetical at the moment but I’ll leave you with a graceful ‘watch this space’!

Read Ngaio’s essay and have a look at the presentation she made at the SME Assembly 2018.

Don’t forget to have a look at fellow competition finalist Joakim Davidsson!

Youth of Europe – Voices of the future

The Youth of Europe have a voice, plenty of ideas and innovative visions of the future, but how can they make their voices heard? The European Commission values the voices of the future and is proud to announce that the SME Week Youth Essay Competition is back, with a fresh question ready to be answered. Keep reading and visit the News Portal for more information on how to enter.

Have a look through this latest edition for all the EEPA updates as well as upcoming entrepreneurial events and remember that we want YOUR stories, so update us for future editions.

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