JA Enterprise - Learning About Business by Doing Business

From a Small Idea to a Growing Club

The JA Enterprise Club began at PBIS a few years ago and has grown into a thriving business and innovation extracurricular activity, offering valuable learning experiences and opportunities for every student interested in entrepreneurship, creativity and problem-solving. As engaging secondary school enrichment activity at PBIS, it provides practical experiences that extend far beyond the classroom.

A Practical Pathway into Business and Innovation for Everybody

“You don’t need to be good at business, or a top achiever to join. At PBIS, there are opportunities for every student. You just need to be willing to try something new.”

Eliška Mwingira, Individuals & Societies Teacher at PBIS, and Mentor of the JA Enterprise club.

Supported by JA Czech and connected to successful local businesses, this entrepreneurship programme for students is designed to be accessible to everyone, regardless of previous experience, helping them develop confidence, professional networks, and essential skills for the future.

Whether it is participation in one-day challenges, structured innovation camps, or year-long student company projects - each route offers a different level of commitment, which means students can get involved in a way that fits their age, interests, and time. 

Exploring Entrepreneurship

At the basic level, anyone is welcome to take part in one-day events and introductory challenges such as The JA Innovation Camp. These provide an early understanding of how business ideas are developed, discussed, challenged, and improved. Students get to work alongside peers from PBIS, and other schools, and mentors from established corporations.  

Tackling Real-World Challenges

Here, students form teams and work on advanced challenges which require commitment and application of cross-field knowledge to solve real global issues. An example of such programme is the Sci-Tech Challenge programme. In 2026, they were challenged to harness their STEM knowledge (science, technology, engineering, mathematics), and present an innovative business idea that would reduce plastic waste. 

Building a Student Company

At this stage, students officially register their company, commit to a business idea, and demonstrate not only the quality of their ideas, but also planning, sales, marketing, and growth potential.

Some companies progress successfully, others do not work as expected. What students learn here is that business involves uncertainty, mistakes, feedback, and constant adaptation.

Companies present their products at student fairs, face expert juries and receive feedback from experienced professionals. Along the way, students learn how to adapt, overcome setbacks, and respond to real market challenges, building the confidence and resilience that successful entrepreneurs need.

Local and Global Achievements

The quality of student outputs is reflected by the success of PBIS students on national and international stages. This year, PBIS Team Recycling Rangers won the national round of Sci-Tech Challenge with their B2B bubble wrap recycling solution. They advanced to the European finals presenting their idea in Brussels, returning home with the Runner-up Award from European Commission, ExxonMobil and non-governmental organizations panel.

Prismatica was awarded the Best Student Company in 2024/2025 (school year) and represented the Czech Republic at GEN-E event in Greece - the European Finals, and the biggest youth business festival in Europe accessible only to the best student companies.

More recently, Velin represented PBIS at JA Expo in Prague, one of the country´s largest student entrepreneurship events. Competing against 40 of the strongest student companies selected from over 160 applicants, the team earned second place for Business Pitch and Marketing, as well as third place for Innovation and Stand & Product Presentation.

What Students Say About Their Experiences

What matters most is not only the final product, award, or presentation. It is what students learn through the process.

As Max, CEO/CMO of Velin, reflected:

“The achievement that stands out most is successfully turning a simple idea into a real, working product. It shows that the team didn’t just plan something theoretical, but executed it in a practical, real-world way.”

Another Velin student, Jindřich, described how the team had to respond when the person managing their website left the school. The group reassigned roles, taught themselves new skills, and gradually became more confident.

“At the start it was honestly a bit chaotic. Things didn’t always work, and we had to figure a lot out by trial and error. But after some time, we got more confident and things started running properly again.”

More Than a Club

JA Enterprise is more than an extracurricular activity. It is a practical, structured experience where students learn how to transform ideas into action. It gives them access to real challenges, real audiences, real feedback, and real responsibility. Most importantly, it helps students build the confidence to try, the resilience to improve, and the curiosity to explore what is possible.