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"I wanted to start a business but didn't know how to proceed, so I felt lost. Now that I've taken this professional education, I understand what to prepare and how to do it, and I'm very satisfied." This was a testimonial from a student who completed the 'Social Venture Startup Course' last year. Yangcheon-gu (District Chief Kim Su-young) is recruiting students for the '2017 Social Venture Startup Course' targeting 'youth interested in entrepreneurship' until October 9th. Starting a business in the social economy sector is difficult from the beginning for aspiring entrepreneurs. To address this, the district has prepared a social venture startup course to support youth entrepreneurship through intensive startup education and foster social enterprises. This course will be operated by 'underdogs,' a social venture startup education specialist, and will proceed with a systematic 7-stage program including practical education from current and former entrepreneurs, hands-on training, and provision of various startup manuals. A total of 25 participants will be selected for the program through document screening and individual interviews based on applicants' entrepreneurial will and business ideas. The startup course will run for 13 sessions from October 17 to December 5 at the Yangcheon-gu Social Economy Support Center. Students will form teams of 3-5 people to identify various social problems and develop business ideas to solve them. Each team's ideas developed through the educational program will be reviewed for investment potential by professional judges and will also undergo final evaluation for actual startup. The district expects this startup course to serve as an opportunity to discover business models that can solve inconveniences and contradictions in daily life. Additionally, the district plans to support student participants in the '2017 Social Entrepreneur Development Project' hosted by the Korea Social Enterprise Promotion Agency. Through such startup activity support, the district also expects job creation. Any youth interested in entrepreneurship can apply. Visit the Social Venture Startup Course through the Yangcheon-gu Office homepage's event information menu and submit an application through the support link. District Chief Kim Su-young stated, "I am pleased to support youth entrepreneurial activities to solve social problems through this startup course. I hope many young people will participate, share their expertise and talents, and work together to find solutions to social problems." Yangcheon-gu Social Economy Support Center (☏2084-5458)