Student entrepreneurs from Beijing City International School (BCIS) and the International School of Tianjin walked away with the top prizes in the thi^rd annual Avenir Business Competition held at BCIS over the weekend.

Ten high school teams and six middle school teams from schools across Beijing and Tianjin competed for cash prizes and stipends for overseas travel in the contest organized by BCIS students and faculty and sponsored by the Queensland University of Technology (QUT).

The two-day competition saw student teams hone their business plans in sessions with Beijing-based business mentors and pitch in front of a panel of three seasoned professionals who rated them on their plans.

The senior high division was won by BCIS students who developed a plan for an internet-enabled pillbox designed to help senior citizens remember to take medicine on time.

Second place in the high school division was awarded to a team from Western Academy of Beijing (WAB), with their pitch for an online platform that matched digital artists with buyers.

A team from BCIS placed third with their company that designs logos, posters, and graphics for students and commercial businesses.

In the Junior division, the top prize was awarded to students from the International School of Tianjin, for their plan, the “Multibag”, a customized set of bags for grocery shopping aimed at reducing the use of disposable plastic bags.

Two teams from Beijing Huijia Private School bagged the second and third prizes, with their pitches on a radiation protection product and a plan for an online learning platform for students at international schools.

Between adding finishing touches to their plans, the students heard keynote speeches on social responsibility and sustainability from three well-known Beijing-based social entrepreneurs.

“The organization was great,” said keynote speaker Aaron Moniz from Inspire Citizens, a teacher-created collective provides that customized project-based learning towards a more sustainable future.

“The fact that there was a student leadership team was powerful, the choice of keynote speakers and diverse backgrounds of the mentors was a very positive way to show students that business is important — but being innovative, ethical, and sustainable is even more important.”

Also addressing the students were Sam Waldo, co-founder and CEO of Mantra, an eyewear brand that provides vision care for under-resourced rural Chinese students; and Joseph Harvey, co-founder of The Bulk House, which encourages people to understand their waste and then reduce it.

“Entrepreneurship competitions like Avenir generate a lot of student engagement,” said George Carlo Lomboy, the head of the Business Management department at Huijia. “They allow students to see for themselves if they have properly framed a problem or a pain point, and if they have covered all their bases on the functional areas of business, through the perspectives of real-life entrepreneurs, seasoned venture capitalists, and academics.”

Lomboy also praised this year’s focus on sustainability and social responsibility. “It makes students aware that in business, money is not everything.”

Photos: Courtesy of Avenir

In anticipation of the Beijing International School Expo on January 16-17, we’re highlighting local and international schools around Beijing from the upcoming 2016-2017 beijingkids School Choice Guide, which comes out on January 4

The school was founded in 1993 and introduced the IB program in 1995. As a new-style boarding and commuting school, Huijia has been focused on IB standard-based research and bilingual and bicultural education for 21 years, and has formed a complete system of IB curriculum (elementary PYP, junior MYP, and DP high school) and a professional team of management and foreign teachers under a stable bicultural environment. Huijia is the first bilingual IB school in mainland China where students of 3-18 years old study IB courses in a bilingual and bicultural environment and are trained to cultivate good habits of behavior, both of which are the foundation of Huijia basic education and the core of Huijia philosophy of complete education. We also emphasize physical education and artistic accomplishment. In Huijia, 2400 students from 15 countries and regions study in an international environment where different languages, cultures and educational backgrounds can be experienced to achieve a complete education for international learning and growth.

Founding date: 1993
Age range: 5-18
Grades offered: Grades 1-12
School type: Private day and boarding school
Total area: 100,000sqm
Curriculum description: IB(PYP, MYP, DP)/GAC/AP
Boarding program: Yes, Grades 1-12
Number of students: 2,400
Is the school accredited by the Ministry of Education? Yes
Foreign passport holders accepted? Yes
Local Chinese students accepted? Yes
Tuition fees (2016-2017 academic year):
• Application fee: RMB 2,000
• Grades 1-6: RMB 158,000
• Grades 7-9: RMB 175,000
• Grades 10-12: RMB 208,000
Lunch offered: Organic lunch with produce from Huijia’s farm
Nationality of students: 10 percent foreign, 90 percent Chinese
Primary teaching languages: English and Chinese
Average class size: 20-25
Average teacher/student ratio: 1:5
School hours: 8:30am-4pm
After-school activities: Piano, computer, swimming, dance, painting, pottery,
calligraphy, paper art, seal cutting, fashion design, and more
School facilities: Health center, dental clinic, science and computer laboratories,100 piano rooms, outdoor playground, two inflatable basketball courts, golf practicing court, horsemanship practicing court, two electric drum rooms, three libraries, swimming pool inside and outside, gym, technology
square, agricultural experimental base, and more
School nurse or doctor available? Yes, all full-time
Contact: 157 Changhuai Lu, Changping District (400 889 1993,  admissions@huijia.edu.cn) www.huijiaedu.org 昌平区昌怀路157号

Photo: Courtesy of Beijing Huijia Private School

In anticipation of the Beijing International School Expo on January 24-25, we will be highlighting local and international schools around Beijing from the upcoming 2015-2016 beijingkids School Choice Guide, which comes out on January 20.

The school was founded in 1993 and introduced IB program in 1995. As a new-style boarding and commuting school, Huijia has been focused on the IB standard- based research and bilingual & bicultural education for 21 years, and has formed a complete system of IB curriculum (elementary PYP, junior MYP, and DP high school) and a professional team of management and foreign teachers under a stable bicultural environment. Huijia is the first bilingual IB school in mainland China where students of 3-18 years old learn IB courses in a bilingual & bicultural environment and are trained to cultivate good habits of behavior, both of which are the foundation of Huijia basic education and the core of Huijia philosophy of complete education. We also emphasize physical education and artistic accomplishment. In Huijia, 2400 students from 15 countries and regions study in an international environment where different languages, cultures and educational backgrounds can be experienced to achieve a complete education for international learning and growth.

Founding date: 1993
Age range: 5-18
Grades offered: Kindergarten to Grade 12
School type: Private day and boarding school
Number of students: 2,400
Is the school accredited by the Ministry of Education? Yes
Accreditations: IB, AP, GAC
Foreign passport holders accepted? Yes
Local Chinese students accepted? Yes
Tuition fees (2014-2015 academic year):
• Application fee: RMB 400
• Primary: RMB 128,000
• Middle school: RMB 148,000
• High school: RMB 178,000
• Accommodation: RMB 10,600-12,000 per year depending on grade level
• Uniform fee: RMB 1,769-1,945 per year depending on grade level
• Lunch fee: RMB 6,000 per year (primary day school), RMB 13,000 per year (primary boarding school), RMB 15,000 (middle school), optional for high school
• Insurance: RMB 200
Lunch offered: Organic lunch with produce from Huijia’s farm
Nationality of students: 10 percent foreign, 90 percent Chinese
Primary teaching languages: English and Chinese
Average class size: 20-25
Average teacher/student ratio: 1:5
School hours: 8am-4pm (boarding school), 8.40am-4pm (day school)
After-school activities: Piano, computer, swimming, dance, painting, pottery,calligraphy, paper art, seal cutting, fashion design and more
Extra help offered? Yes
Scholarships offered? Yes, available for high school students only
School facilities: A health center, dental clinic, science and computer laboratories, 100 piano rooms, an outdoor playground, two inflatable basketball courts, golf practicing court, horsemanship practicing court, two electric drum rooms, three libraries, swimming pool inside and outside, gym, technology square, and agricultural experimental base, three Film Movement stadium construction
School nurse or doctor available? Yes, all full-time
Contact: 157 Changhuai Lu, Changping District (400 889 1993, admissions@huijiaedu.org) www.huijiaedu.org 昌平区昌怀路157号

Word from a Parent:
“Celine joined Huijia in Grade 4. Since it was her first time leaving home, we were initially a bit worried. Luckily, she adapted fast and got along with her classmates. Over the past few years, Celine has become more happy, lively, and independent. Her interest in Chinese has increased tremendously and her results have improved a lot. The one-year study tour to the US in Grade 6 also cultivated her interest in English books. Huijia enables students to improve their all-around development in a friendly environment, not just studying for exams. We are thankful to the teachers for their guidance, and for enabling Celine to have a happy and fruitful school life.”
– Father of Celine Sim (Grade 8, Singapore)

1. Application fee: RMB 1,000
2. One-year tuition: Grade one RMB 90,000/year, plus RMB 5,000 year by year
3. Other: uniform fee (RMB 1,769-1,945), primary school food (12,000RMB/year), middle school food (14,000RMB/year), high school food is optional