ONE hundred students from high schools across the island are expected to gather at Hope Zoo today for a Scotiabank/Jamaica Junior Achievement Innovation Camp.

The students, who have all benefited from a financial literacy programme rolled out to 8th and 9th graders, will be expected to conceptualise and present on solutions for specific challenges related to technology and the banking industry, a release from Scotiabank has said.

Now in its second year, the competition pulls on the creative skills of the students who must come up with ideas and create the most influential presentations within a short period. The release said teams of five students each will work together to develop the most innovative ideas.

The top teams of the first challenge will be expected to present on a second challenge, the winners of which will participate in a regional challenge, the release said.

“We are looking forward to the concepts that will come from this year's presentations,” Yanique Forbes Patrick, VP marketing, Scotiabank, is quoted as saying in the release. “At the last execution the pitches were good and we got some interesting ideas from the students.”

At last year's event, Mount Alvernia High School was selected as top school, while St Hugh's High and Hampton High took second and third place, respectively, the release said.

Scotiabank said, in 2016, it invested US$2,000,000 in a regional Junior Achievement project, Road to Success, to raise awareness among youth about the importance of managing their finances, and to have clear professional goals, interests and values. The innovation camp is one element of the Road to Success project, the release said.

The programme, according to the release, has been rolled out in 16 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean.