Twelve teams and 12 good ideas about web-based businesses. Participants of the Digital Entrepreneurship Project came up with innovation solutions for a task presented to them at the online Innovation challenge.

And where are these creative people located?  US and Russian student from Lyceum # 1799 in Moscow, Russia and South Dade Senior High School in Homestead, Florida are working hard to develop their ideas into solid business plans. And they are working together in four-person international teams, two Russian students and two US students, using a variety of digital communication media.

The student ideas, developed during last December,  are innovative and range from an online art gallery and store, to products and advice for pregnant women, fitness fans, and on-line shoppers, to business consulting, and a site that promotes the research efforts of young scientists. Their ideas can be reviewed on the project website  here >> .

Now that the teams have posted their concepts on the project website, the teams will spend the next month perfecting their ideas.  Each team will explore how digital media can be used to promote and sustain their proposed businesses. And they will have help from experienced business volunteers who will help them think through their plans.  Each team has its own mentor, and in addition, business volunteers are providing lectures using HPE’s online meeting space, My Room. Industry experts will judge the plans mid March, and the finalist teams will prepare presentations and winners selected in late March. The winning teams will have an opportunity to visit each other’s country, meet their team mates in person and visit local technology companies.

The project’s co-directors, Dr. Nina Kuznetsova, executive director of Junior Achievement Russia, and Dr. Nancy Needham, president of Global Initiatives, Inc. met the US students this past week in Homestead, They had an opportunity to answer questions about the project , and to meet the US teacher, Mr. Peter Corletto and his colleagues, Sonia Samaroo, MDCPS Educational Specialist for Business Technology for the Miami Dade School district, Patricia Rivera, Magnet lead Teacher, South Dade Senior High School , and Dr. Lupe Diaz, Executive Director, Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Department of Career and Technical Education.