HEC Jeunes Innovateurs HEC Jeunes Innovateurs
Learning to be an entrepreneur from high school
A new way to turn the observation internship into a unique entrepreneurial experience.
About HEC Jeunes Innovateurs
HEC Jeunes Innovateurs transforms the traditional work-experience placement for 10th-grade students (Seconde) into a genuine entrepreneurial experience.
Over two weeks, students move from observation to action: working in teams, they identify a real-world problem, imagine a solution, and develop their own project, supported by their teachers, entrepreneurs, and HEC Paris teams.
Recognized by the French Ministry of National Education, the program is an approved educational alternative to the mandatory work-experience placement for Seconde students, while helping young people develop essential skills for their future.
Launched in 2025, HEC Jeunes Innovateurs continues to expand in 2026, reaching 30 high schools across the Paris, Versailles, Créteil, Aix-Marseille, and Toulouse education authorities, with participating schools in the Paris region, Marseille, and rural areas around Toulouse.
HEC Jeunes Innovateurs
2025
Program launched
30
participating high schools in 2026
550
students supported in 2026
500
students awarded an HEC Paris certificate
5
cities: Paris · Versailles · Créteil · Aix-Marseille · Toulouse
2
weeks to explore entrepreneurship by creating a concrete project
An Initiative Born on the Ground
HEC Jeunes Innovateurs was born from a conviction: access to a first professional experience should not depend on a student's personal network.
The program first took shape with Lycée Léon Blum before expanding with the support of education authorities and new partner schools.
The ambition was to rethink the traditional work-experience placement for Seconde students: rather than simply asking them to observe the professional world, why not give them the tools to imagine, create, and become entrepreneurs themselves?
This initial experience gave rise to a program that is now being deployed across several regions, with one shared ambition: to make entrepreneurship accessible to young people from a wide range of backgrounds and environments.
Why HEC Jeunes Innovateurs?
Empowering every young person to take action.
Not all students have access to the same opportunities or professional networks when looking for a meaningful first work experience.
HEC Jeunes Innovateurs turns this challenge into an opportunity by enabling young people to become active participants in their own experience.
Since 2026, the program has also been open to vocational high schools, further expanding its ambition to support young people from diverse educational backgrounds and regions.
In 2026, 550 students participated in the program, with 500 earning an HEC Paris certificate. Beyond discovering entrepreneurship, participants develop skills that will serve them throughout their journey: autonomy, creativity, teamwork, public speaking, problem-solving, and self-confidence.
Upon completing the program, each participant receives an official HEC Paris certificate, enabling them to showcase the experience as part of their academic journey and future applications, particularly on Parcoursup, the French national higher-education admissions platform.
A two-week entrepreneurial experience
Dix jours pour passer d’un problème à un projet
Pendant dix jours, les élèves travaillent en équipes de quatre et découvrent les différentes étapes de la création d’un projet entrepreneurial.
Le parcours combine vidéos pédagogiques, exercices pratiques, ateliers collaboratifs et l’accompagnement d’Hector, leur mentor virtuel basé sur l’intelligence artificielle.
Observe and Identify
Identify a real-world problem in their daily lives or society and understand who it affects.
Go into the Field
Meet and interview potential users to test and validate their idea.
Imagine and Build
Develop an innovative solution, define their value proposition, and build an initial business model.
Convince
Learn how to tell the story of their project and defend it in a pitch before a jury of entrepreneurs and professionals.
From High School to the HEC Paris Campus
From their first pitch to a national final
The experience continues beyond the program's ten days. Following a final held at each participating school, the best team from each school advances to a regional final.
Selected teams then have the opportunity to compete in a national final on the HEC Paris campus.
In 2026, the national final took place on July 1 at the HEC Paris campus, giving young finalists the opportunity to present their projects at the heart of the School's ecosystem
For schools
A new way to experience the observation internship
The program enables schools to:
- offer a quality experience to all students, regardless of their personal network;
- introduce teaching methods developed by HEC Paris;
- strengthen the school's engagement with innovation and entrepreneurship;
- join a national network of partner schools.
For teachers
Teachers benefit from:
- a dedicated two-day training in entrepreneurial methods;
- an educational platform including videos, resources, and ready-to-use activities;
- support enabling them to adopt the role of coach and project facilitator.
For students
HEC Young Innovators enables high school students to:
- develop their self-confidence;
- learn to work as a team;
- strengthen their creativity and independence;
- acquire public speaking skills through the pitch;
- discover the entrepreneurial spirit of HEC Paris.
Soutien & partenaires
Join the program
Are you a school?
Bring HEC Jeunes Innovateurs to your students from the start of the 2026 academic year or for the 2027 edition.
Join the network of partner schools already helping their students discover innovation and entrepreneurship.
Contact us if you are interested in joining the program!
Are you a student?
What if your work-experience placement became your first entrepreneurial project?
Find out how to participate through your school.
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