Problem addressed

Young graduates often struggle with finding their first employment opportunities, in part due to limited work experience, a lack of professional network, and skills mismatches. In Latvia, young people are almost twice as likely to be unemployed compared to the rest of the population (12.2% compared to 7.4% in 2018). It is widely recognised that work-based learning can be an efficient way of addressing labour market imbalances and allowing young people to acquire valuable skills to help them land their first job. Work-based learning is also beneficial for companies, as it allows them to attract creative talent to help them innovate their products and processes at the same time as training a potential pool of new recruits to cover their current and future work force needs. Nevertheless, access to quality work-based learning opportunities remain unequal across the EU.

Innovative solution

Demola is a platform that connect students and companies operating in different fields that can mutually benefit from working together. The main innovation of Demola is that it presents students to companies as potential problem solvers, instead of as young people in need of work experience.

The Demola platform started in Finland in 2014. Demola Latvia was set up in 2015, and is part of an international network of more than 50 universities, 750 000 students and a number of major companies from around the world.

Companies submit an open or specific problem situation for students to address. Students apply to participate in the platform’s activities. Successful applicants are then gathered in teams of five or six and assigned to a specific company and business problem, according to their interests and skills. They participate in workshops on different topics related to marketing and product design, facilitated by the universities involved in the platform. The team is then responsible for presenting potential solutions to the company in a final pitch. If the company is interested in one of the solutions, it can purchase it. The financial compensation is shared among the students according to their workload. The amount of financial compensation per participating student is calculated according to specific criteria, and its distribution is coordinated by the project facilitator.

Participating companies come from a wide range of fields, ranging from marketing to food processing, insurance and logistics. Typical marketing problems that need to be solved include the need to attract new customers, or understanding the productive chain relating to specific products or markets. In one example, the largest Latvian meat processing company challenged students to develop an original concept for their upcoming chain of stores, increasing their competitive advantage, purchasing volume and attracting new customers. In order to compensate students for their work, companies are requested to financially contribute to the activities offered by the platform.

Since 2016, the project in Latvia has been run by the Riga Technical University (RTU) Design Factory and the University of Latvia, with the support of the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia. The universities primarily liaise with organisations, facilitate the students’ work, and coordinate the communication aspect of the project (i.e. attracting companies to the platform and managing the application process for both companies and students).

Key results and benefits

Since 2016, 625 students have applied for the project in Latvia. Of these, 195 students from 15 different secondary education institutes were selected to participate in 50 different cases submitted by the participating companies.

One of the key benefits of the platform is that students can gain practical experience in methods for designing, providing and selling solutions to business problems in different areas. They develop social and professional skills, and enhance their knowledge of the implementation of different business models, as well as methodological and research approaches. Moreover, they learn soft skills such as working in a team, and gain experience in customer-oriented relationships. A number of participating students have gone on to undertake internships at the companies involved in the platform.

The key benefits for companies centre on the opportunity to develop innovative solutions to problems without facing substantial financial risks, since the cost of each solution under this scheme ranges from EUR 1 000 to EUR 3 000.

Potential for mainstreaming

The Demola platform is now implemented in 16 different countries. This demonstrates the platform’s substantial potential for transferability across different national contexts, as it features methodologies and working processes that can easily be replicated and are particularly cost-effective.

During its piloting phase in Latvia, the platform received Interreg funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and since 2019, it has been financed under the ERDF Latvian Operational Programme. Thanks to the support of other international branches, Demola Latvia revamped its business model to enable it to rely on local funds (i.e. the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia) and financial contributions provided by the participating companies. This supports its potential for sustainability.