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A Startin × NEXT partnership

The 100-day Route

A route that finds talent, prepares it and connects it with the real economy — without taking it out of its territory.

Are you young and want to apply? Start here →
The concept

Talent exists. What is missing is a route.

Most youth-employment programs require a résumé, personal equipment or connections that a teenager from an underserved community simply does not have. The Route removes those barriers to entry: it does not require a résumé or personal equipment, only the willingness to learn.

Ways in

Two paths into the Route.

Through an institution

Schools and educational institutions nominate their students as part of their AI adoption process with Startin.

Through direct application

Young people in the region apply individually through Startin’s WhatsApp channel.

Paths by age

A different stage for each young person’s moment.

AGES 13–14

Early pathway

A first approach to AI tools and project thinking, with no employment commitment.

AGES 15–17

Applied learning

Practical training with real company challenges, under the legal arrangements that apply to minors.

AGES 18+

Formal connection

A direct connection to employment or entrepreneurship opportunities after completing the process.

The cycle

A journey, not a one-off event.

01

Diagnosis and selection

Identification of participants and companies that pose real challenges.

02

Intensive training

AI literacy with the NEXT accelerator and founder mentorship.

03

Challenges with companies

A real innovation challenge from a company in the region is solved.

04

Completion and connection

Demo Day with partner companies, and connection to the appropriate path by age.

Curriculum

Enterprise and frontier tools.

The platforms where real work happens — Microsoft and Google — and the frontier tools where the future is being shaped.

Microsoft Google Claude ChatGPT Lovable ElevenLabs

Some of the tools we work with today — the list evolves at the pace of AI.

Innovation challenges

Real problems, not practice exercises.

Companies in the region open real operational challenges so participants can propose AI solutions — while also creating a showcase of talent for those companies.

Across the whole Route

They learn to use AI without giving up thinking.

Teaching AI tools to a teenager without teaching judgment is a risk, not a benefit. The legal, ethical and responsible use of AI is not a separate module: it runs through all four phases of the Route.

Legal

Personal data, intellectual property and what can and cannot be done with AI.

Ethical

Bias, attribution and integrity: distinguishing what the tool contributed and what the person contributed.

Cognitive

AI as an amplifier, never a substitute. Verifying, comparing and deciding are trained.

The partnership

One fixed core, and the partners of each territory.

Startin

AI adoption methodology, pedagogical support and training in legal, ethical and responsible AI use.

NEXT

The accelerator, founder mentorship and access to frontier tools.

Territorial partners

The Route is activated with the partners of each territory: associations, local governments, companies and social organizations in the region where it operates.

Quindío — Cámara de Comercio de Armenia y Quindío Perú — Niños Rurales New territories — local partners
Activate the Route

Three ways to activate the Route.

Companies

Sponsor, pose a challenge or receive talent with verified training.

I want to pose a challenge

Institutions

Nominate students from your institution for the Route.

I want to nominate students

Startin team

Find opportunities to join the team that activates the Route.

Join our team
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