Thinking of people who want to change a habit of life within 30 days, such as smoking or losing weight, monitoring the progress of this change, the startup “Pocket Change” is being created in the European Innovation Academy (EIA). The team, with foreign and Portuguese students, counts with the participation of Miguel Pinto, student of the School of Engineering of the University of Minho (UM). The student is the only one to represent this higher education institution in the world’s largest digital entrepreneurship academy.
Miguel Pinto is at EIA Porto 2022 thanks to the scholarship that the Santander Foundation to participate in the largest digital entrepreneurship programme in the the world. “We have developed a tangible booklet, customisable to the consumer’s taste, in which inside of which the consumer can write a few words that will accompany him throughout their 30-day journey, as well as their signature, to make the consumer the consumer to be more connected to his PocketChange. In addition, you will have an interactive page where, the user, as soon as he achieves the objective set, will feel the change that is happening in themselves.”
The team realised, based on studies developed by the universities of Harvard and Yale universities, that “the human being connects much more to a material object than to a digital application”. “Some 76 per cent of participants in these studies said they would prefer to read a book in physical format rather than an e-book, or write notes in a notebook rather than on a notebook instead of writing on a tablet or computer”, said Miguel Pinto. The “PocketChange” team intends to start selling the booklet, in the second year of operations, to institutions and entities linked to the area of education, so that that “the children can understand the value of having objectives and of the change of goals and change them, in order to evolve as people and as students”.
About obtaining a grant from the Santander Foundation to be at EIA Porto 2022, the EEUM student says he feels “quite fulfilled”. “I have always been fascinated by the area of entrepreneurship, and I intend to make it my my future. I am very grateful to Santander for giving me the opportunity to to be ever closer to my goals, experiencing all the steps behind the formation of a startup. The EIA programme is extremely well formed, enabling, in just three weeks, a high connection with university students from all over the world, as well as mentors who are trained in their respective fields. It’s proving to be an unforgettable experience.”
Source: Inacademy
