Volunteers make the Global Youth Investment Summit possible! They support the event by serving as judges for the stock pitch and case study competitions, attending networking sessions, running workshops and more. Please see the description of sessions below. If you are interested in attending the GYIS on May 29-30, 2025 at Cornell Tech on Roosevelt Island in NYC as a volunteer, please contact mariamiles@yis.org for more information.
VOLUNTEER NEEDS:
- STOCK PITCH JUDGING:
The stock pitch competition is the culmination of the YIS experience for students. They pick a company, write a report and create a presentation on whether they recommend the company as a buy or sell. The first round of the competition is virtual and the top 100 teams from around the world are invited to compete at the GYIS. As a judge, you will listen to the presentations (about 10 minutes each) and then have the opportunity to ask a couple of questions (5 minutes) and then give the team feedback (5 minutes). You will see a set of teams and then you will rank how each team did based on criteria we provide.
- WORKSHOPS:
We hold interactive workshops on a variety of topics. If you or someone at your company is interested in providing a workshop, please contact Maria.
- VENTURE CAPITAL COMPETITION:
This is a new competition this year and will be targeted at students who have less experience and are new to YIS. Volunteers will spend the first portion of time mentoring students as they work on their business idea. Then volunteers will listen to the pitches and give students feedback.
- NETWORKING SESSIONS:
Students love meeting new people and learning about your journey through your education and career. It is so helpful for them to see people like them who are successful and also willing to connect with them. Volunteers will get to meet with students for a short period of time to answer a few questions and then rotate to a new group of students.
- PANELS:
Students also love panel discussions, particularly when they are interactive. You will see that we will have several panels on a variety of topics. You don’t need to be a top expert in the area, but someone who is willing and able to discuss the topic and answer student questions about the area. We will have a moderator for each panel.
- PERSONAL FINANCE GAME:
This is another event geared towards students who have less experience or are new to learning about finance. This is less of a competition and more of a learning experience. The students will answer questions on a live Kahoot (online quiz platform). The volunteers supporting the game will then see how many students got an answer right or wrong. If more than 30% of the students get a question wrong, then the volunteers will pause the game to review the topic. The volunteers will be given the questions and answers prior to the event. They will also have supplemental materials to help explain and expand on any question. The game will be run in 2 sessions–beginner and advanced. The questions will be tailored to each level so volunteers can choose the level they are most comfortable supporting.
- CASE STUDY COMPETITION:
This is a popular competition. The students are given a business case (last year the topic was AI) and they are asked to come up with a solution to the problem. They have a short time to prepare with their teams and then they give short 3-minute presentations to the judges. The judges pick the winners for their set of students. The top teams then present in a final round to reach a winner.
