Milena, Hasmik, and Arsen are the founders of a student social enterprise. While still studying at school, they took part in an EU-funded EU4Youth grant project on ‘Fostering practical entrepreneurial and career management skills of young people through the innovative Student Social Entrepreneurship approach’. Through this initiative, they gained the knowledge and skills necessary for their activities.

The programme is designed to equip young people with entrepreneurial, digital, and career management skills by integrating the Student Social Entrepreneurship (SSE) approach in schools. Through practical business activities, students identify and address local or global social challenges, while gaining hands-on experience in entrepreneurship, sustainability, and leadership. The programme was launched two years ago and has been implemented in Armenia by the ‘CODE-SE HUB’ NGO.

The story of Trinity

The three young people are currently 12th-grade students at Secondary School No. 187 in Yerevan. They first heard about the programme two years ago from their social studies teacher, Arayik Hakobyan, then joined the training sessions, and started thinking about creating their own social enterprise. Although there were initially more participants, over time the group became smaller, and finally the ‘Trinity’ student social enterprise was established with Milena, Hasmik, and Arsen as its founders.

Their first initiatives were carried out at school, starting with a waste collection project. The income they generated was used for further activities. Later, they came up with the idea of creating a board game called‘Sutlik Vorskan’ (named after Hovhannes Tumanyan’s well-known fairy tale). The game’s main target audience is teenagers and young people, and it has an educational purpose: it helps players strengthen and review the knowledge they acquire from school textbooks. All the questions in the game are based on school materials, allowing learners either to discover new information or to revisit what they have already studied.

The personal stories behind Trinity

Milena Sargsyan leads a very active life. Alongside co-founding Trinity, she is passionate about music and regularly takes piano lessons. Nevertheless, she has chosen architecture as her future profession and will soon begin her studies at university. She says she enjoys combining different interests, and believes that every situation is an opportunity to gain new knowledge and skills.

Hasmik Grigoryan’s favourite pastime is watching movies, and she is especially interested in detective literature. When it came to choosing her future profession, she decided on management and marketing. Hasmik explains that she enjoys presenting a brand and strengthening its reputation. After co-founding the social enterprise, she also realised that these activities truly match her personality.

Arsen Sahakyan describes himself as very meticulous and responsible, with a passion for initiating, creating, and managing organisational tasks. He notes that his skills have been particularly valuable in learning and practising social entrepreneurship.

Once the team was formed, they decided to name their social enterprise ‘Trinity’ and began working on their first projects. The idea of creating a board game was suggested by their teacher, Arayik Hakobyan. The students say they had considered several different directions for their enterprise, including launching a school magazine, but ultimately they wanted to choose something that would serve not only as entertainment but also as an educational tool.

The game development process

At Hasmik’s suggestion, they named the game after the fairy tale ‘Sutlik Vorskan’. “The game is based on true and false statements, most of which come from school textbooks,” Milena explains. “Players are asked whether a given statement is correct or incorrect. If they don’t know the answer, they learn it while playing. This is what makes the game special for us – it carries an educational purpose. Through it, we teach our peers, younger students, and even adults in an engaging way.”

During the training sessions, the students learned what social entrepreneurship is, how it is managed, and how a business model operates. They studied examples of real-life social enterprises, took tests, and explored the content of various guides and materials.

According to Arsen, the school staff also played an important role in this process. He says the greatest opportunity was being able to show their peers and younger students how to create an enterprise that not only functions as a business but also benefits the community. He adds that their experience has inspired other students as well, and new groups are already forming within the school.

Arsen adds that although he has participated in several programmes and seminars before, this one was unique, because the skills and knowledge they gained could be applied in practice. Throughout the entire process, consistent support was provided by the CODE-SE HUB, which offered mentorship and closely followed their progress.

The creation of the game went through several stages: content development, printing, and the involvement of partners and experts. Before that, however, the students studied the field and existing experiences.

According to Hasmik, there are many games available on the market today, but ‘Sutlik Vorskan’ plays a unique role, as it is specifically designed for schoolchildren and is based on materials taken from textbooks. “Another important point for us is that this game is one of the few created by teenagers themselves, with almost all the work carried out thanks to our efforts. It represents student social entrepreneurship, which is still not very common in Armenia,” adds Arsen.

The team also emphasised the importance of making the game part of real life rather than the virtual world, encouraging players to come together face-to-face. “It was very important for us that our game not only stand out but also exist in the real world, bringing people together. We tested it with our families, and it worked wonderfully,” Arsen noted.

The game went through a testing phase, during which they presented it to different target audiences and made improvements based on feedback. They also managed the printing themselves, with friends stepping in to help. Each team member has a specific role: Arsen manages organisational tasks, Milena is in charge of external relations and partnerships, while Hasmik is responsible for marketing.

The game is now being showcased at various exhibitions and promoted through pre-sales.

Lasting impact

“The programme had a significant impact on me. At this age, not everyone gets the chance to master such details and acquire such skills. We learned how to manage finances, deal with risks, and understand legal issues – all of which gave us invaluable knowledge,” says Milena.

Hasmik highlights the importance of networking and building connections with experts from different fields, who can continue to support them in the future.

Arsen adds that beyond the skills, the programme provided them with direction and practical experience that will help them pursue their professional paths and, why not, continue leading their own enterprises. “What matters most for us is continuity – so that, by seeing us, younger students and the next generation will also carry this work forward,” he concludes.