What is entrepreneurship education? Why is its integration within educational systems so important? What are the ongoing initiatives, and what is their impact on young people?
Those where some of the questions tackled during the Open-LAB “Entrepreneurship Lessons”, organised as the Multiplier event of the EnYouth Teacher Erasmus+ project, and involving experts and managers of innovative projects in the field of entrepreneurship education.
CIAPE – The Italian Centre for Permanent Learning, on the 14th of July at the Employment Centre of Rome Cinecittà, organised the Open-LAB “Lessons of Entrepreneurship” as a Multiplier event within the Erasmus+ European programme.
According to the new Eurydice report “Entrepreneurship Education at School in Europe 2016”, teaching entrepreneurship means developing – among students – the necessary competencies and attitudes to transform creative ideas into entrepreneurial actions, thus sustaining also personal development, creativity, innovation and risk taking. In this period, struggled by the economic crisis, low employment rates and – more generally – a complex economic and social panorama, entrepreneurship education represents a possible solution for young people.
The Open-LAB was the occasion to spread out the potentialities of the EnYouth Teacher project, and moreover it represented a necessary moment devoted to sharing among the experts at Italian level, as well as an occasion to debate about the impact of the most successful projects and the definition of joint initiatives, to be tested through pilot actions at national and/or European levels.
During the Open-LAB, participants debated about innovative projects in the fields of entrepreneurship education at school, as well as of enhancement of entrepreneurial spirit during dual-learning pathways, counselling for entrepreneurship and business projects.
The event was international, as also the EnYouth Teacher project partners were present. During the event the tools developed within the project were presented, which are now available free of charge in the different languages of the partners involved. Participants had also the chance to see the functionalities of the Enyouth Teacher platform in action.
31 professionals and counsellors in the field of entrepreneurship education, as well as interested stakeholders from different Italian regions attended the event. The morning opened with a plenary session, followed by parallel round tables, each one introduced by representatives of best practice projects who shared ideas and working tools with the aim to develop new shared initiatives.
All the participants were very interested in the Enyouth Teacher tools presented. There was a shared desire to use the training tools within their own working environments, as well as to exploit them within other projects. In particular, they have appreciated the usability of the platform. They believe that it is a very innovative and “needed” tool.
Some of the best practices presented from other projects dealing with entrepreneurship education:
- Posso, Non Posso…Vado! 2 (2011-1-IT1-LEO05-01928 CUP G72F11000080006)
- “Promuovere il Social Business nelle Scuole Secondarie della Regione Emilia Romagna”I e II Ed.
- COMEET+ Training community actors to foster entrepreneurship education (2015-1-ES01-KA204-016-081)
- FarmInc. Introducing Marketing principles in the Agricultural Sector (2013-1-IT1-LEO05-03986)
- Extended Choices for Young People in VET (2014-1-UK01-KA202-001655)
- TEAMCOACHING (DE/12/LLP-LdV/TOI/147535)
- Promoting Intergenerational Learning in Mediterranean Countries (II-B/4.1/0219 40/2381)
- SORPRENDO – Software per l’orientamento alle professioni
- Toscana 2020. Il rinascimento della cooperazione. Percorsi di Educazione cooperativa
Special thanks go to:
Ag. For. METRICA, Antares Europa, CNR, Emme, Ethiconomy, Euphoria, Forma Camera, Generazioni Legacoop Lazio, IFOA, Inventolab Milano, IRFI, Legacoop Lazio, Matera Hub, Pangea, Università di Macerata, Università San Raffaele and to the staff of CIAPE, of course!
09:00 – 09:30 Registration of participants
09:30 – 09:40 Welcome participants and International Conference opening. Introduction of the Enyouth Teacher project (Eleonora Perotti, President of CIAPE)
09:40 – 09:50 The importance of entrepreneurship for young people at European level (Maria di Saverio, ISFOL)
09:50 – 10:00 Speech from a young entrepreneur: effectiveness of entrepreneurial teaching at school (Emanuele Davenia, a student who opened a business after attending an entrepreneurship education programme at school)
10:00 – 10:15 Speech from a Trainer: the key skills for the future (Marilù Carnesi, psychologist and counsellor)
10:15 – 12:00 Opening of coffee break and of the working tables
Table 1: Promote the development of the entrepreneurial mindset among young people (business mentors in the classroom, developing personal skills and soft skills).
Table 2: Promote the implementation of activities and concrete business projects (business plans, alternating work-school).
Table 3: Raise awareness among students on the topic of self-employment and entrepreneurship as possible career choices.
Table 4 (in English language): Promote the development of specific business skills and knowledge to start and run a business (the EnYouthTeacher project follow-up).
12:00 – 13:00 Presentation of working table results and debate
13:00 – 13:30 Launch of the Enyouth Teacher platform and conclusion of the conference.