Vocational Education for Educators of Responsible Entrepreneurship Erasmus Project

Project Title

Vocational Education for Educators of Responsible Entrepreneurship

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for vocational education and training

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2014

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Entrepreneurial learning – entrepreneurship education; Environment and climate change

Project Summary

The project Vocational Education for Educators of Responsible Entrepreneurship (VEERE) has been set up in order to meet teachers and schools managers’ needs to foster the spirit of enterprise in schools and bridge the gap between Enterprise Education and Education for Sustainable Development and global citizenship.

Its aim is to develop, evaluate and promote a teaching guide as an Open Education Resource on Education for Responsible Entrepreneurship for secondary and vocational school teachers of 14 – 19 year olds. The term Responsible Entrepreneurship is used for entrepreneurship that is part of the Green Economy and Social Economy and cares for employees, customers and the wider community, as well as the environment and ethical profit – in other words it links to social and sustainable enterprises and cooperatives.

These troubled economic times mean that we need ethical and enterprising people now more than ever – fresh thinkers who spot opportunities, apply their entrepreneurial talents and overcome the obstacles to make their ideas happen. Our project is filling a much-needed gap in more conventional enterprise education and bringing it more clearly into the 21st century as well as fitting well with new major political policies and support.

The project is based on a 4-part approach – the social, cooperative, green and glocal (global/local). It provides an alternative approach to enterprise education with its focus on social enterprise providing results that help wider society. It also explores an alternative governance structure to the hierarchical and sometimes undemocratic focus on the single Director. Its focus on sustainability, especially in the management of waste and energy, is something that all businesses from the largest to the smallest are having to address both through self-interest on their bottom line, as well as customer and political demands. Lastly it provides a perspective on trade, partnerships and communities of interest that focus on the required balance between globalisation and localisation. This 4-part approach is firmly part of the new and emerging social and green economies which future generations of employees and enterprises are having to recognise and understand.

The three project partners are all experienced, motivated by and complimentary in different aspects of education. SustEd, UK, is a training enterprise that has a particular specialism in education project management and education for sustainable development. Anima Mundi, Italy, is a social enterprise, as well as a cooperative, that focuses on the green economy and green jobs. Historisch-Ökologische Bildungsstätte (HOEB), Germany, is an NGO adult education provider that runs a large project on student-centred mini-enterprises.

The main results were a downloadable Teaching Guide, an OER website, a YouTube Channel and a small network of educators.

1) A free downloadable pdf Teaching Guide to Education for Responsible Entrepreneurship in three languages. The Guide includes a description of the approach in four parts, together with case studies, simple activities, weblinks to downloadable publications and videos.
https://sites. .google.com/site/veereproject/teachers-guide

2) An open educational resource website which includes the downloadable guide and files, videos, details of the teacher’s workshops and conference, presentations, and a review of curricula and qualifications. All the key project files are on this site.
https://sites.google.com/site/veereproject/home

3) A YouTube Channel with 20 or so short videos, mainly in English) mentioned in the Guide on Education for Responsible Entrepreneurship. The channel includes a wide range of videos in English that could be used with students. These are also on the website.

4) A small European network, based on the website, which can communicate about forthcoming events, and act as a platform for discussion etc.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 51513,5 Eur

Project Coordinator

Susted & Country: UK

Project Partners

• Anima Mundi società cooperativa sociale
• Historisch-Ökologische Bildungsstätte Emsland in Papenburg e.V.