Nearly 100 simulated businesses created and run by 2,400 students across 80 Long Island schools will participate in a live, interactive trade show and compete for best business plan, best sales pitch, best exhibit booth, and more during Virtual Enterprises' (VE) Long Island Regional Conference and Exhibition, on January 10 and 11 at LIU Post in Greenvale, NY. The annual event draws Long Island students who run simulated businesses with their classmates involved in the VE program as well as around 100 corporate volunteers from regional business, colleges and industry.
Students participating in the Regional Exhibition - which takes place each day from 9 a.m. through 12:45 p.m. at LIU Post’s Pratt Rec Center - will showcase their businesses while they network and sell their goods/services using VE’s unique, virtual banking system during this live, interactive event. The student-led firms focus on everything from clothing and financial services to corporate social responsibility efforts and travel and tourism.
At the same time, the event’s Regional Conference will take place at LIU Post’s Humanities Building where competitions for best Business Plan will take place each day from 10:00 a.m. through 12:30 p.m.
An awards ceremony will be held January 10th and 11th at 12:45 p.m. through 1:00 p.m. at LIU’s Pratt Rec Center.
“Since VEI's inception, we've transformed over 200,000 students into business leaders and professionals," said Musa Ali Shama, president of Virtual Enterprises International. “It is both exciting and humbling to know that we’ve helped students develop the skills and competencies needed to be college and career ready.”
Teams at the Long Island Conference and Exhibition will present their business plans to industry judges in hopes of advancing to compete in VE’s National Business Plan Competition (NBPC) in April 2023. The NBPC showcases some of the top student leaders and budding entrepreneurs in the country. View last year’s NPBC winners here: 2021-22 NPBC.
VE solves one of the biggest challenges facing education and the economy today – providing students with the best career and college-readiness experiences possible. At a time when only 43 percent of employers surveyed in the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Job Outlook Study feel students are prepared with the professionalism and work ethic needed for careers, VE's apprenticeship model helps students identify a career path, develop 21st century business and management skills and help shape their college journey. When compared to other high school students throughout the U.S., VE students reported a higher likelihood of going to college, feeling better prepared for it, and identified future career interests.
The news media are invited to attend this event and should contact Rossana Weitekamp with their press credentials at 917-363-2510 and/or rweite@gmail.com.
ABOUT VIRTUAL ENTERPRISES INTERNATIONAL
Virtual Enterprises International (VEI) is an educational nonprofit that provides a solution for schools to offer all students meaningful skills-based career experiences. Through our hands-on, task-based curricula, aligned to the VE Career Readiness Framework, students test drive potential careers and develop in-demand skills and competencies that post-secondary institutions and employers are seeking. By managing the day-to-day operations of a company, students not only develop business skills and an entrepreneurial mindset, they also identify career pathways that align with their interests, talents, and aspirations.
Since its inception in 1996, VEI has served over 200,000 high school students, including many from under-resourced communities. In 2015, VEI introduced the VE-JV Career Academy, a similar two-year program that enables middle school students to develop technology and entrepreneurial skills by starting and managing business ventures. Roughly 90% of VE students interact with business professionals who mentor them on a regular basis and 87% identify a career path of interest due to their involvement in the VE program. We annually support 20,000+ students across the U.S. and are part of a global network spanning 40+ countries and 7,000+ student-run businesses. Learn more about VE on our website, Facebook, Twitter