Boost your future career opportunities through managing fictitious companies on the international market Erasmus Project

Project Title

Boost your future career opportunities through managing fictitious companies on the international market

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 Schools Only

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2015

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Entrepreneurial learning – entrepreneurship education; ICT – new technologies – digital competences; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

The project was a new approach to preparing students for their future professional career: it combined theoretical and practical knowledge in the field of economics, foreign languages and cultural awareness. The main objective of the project was to equip students with practical skills necessary to set up and run a company on the international market. The project aimed at developing participants’ entrepreneurial, digital and linguistic skills. Thanks to the project, students gained an insight into the workings of foreign companies, they established personal and business contacts with students from abroad and got to know other cultures, customs and traditions. The project also instilled values such as tolerance, openness and responsibility. There were three schools involved in the project. Zespół Szkół Ekonomicznych Nr 1 in Krakow, Poland, is a four-year vocational upper-secondary school providing education to students aged 16-20 in economics, hospitality and tourism. St. Ciarán’s Community School located in Kells, Ireland is a co-educational community school with 600 pupils aged 12-19. IIS Fermi-Galilei is a secondary school based in Ciriè, Italy with 1,100 students. It offers education in Administration, Finance and Marketing, Surveying and scientific subjects. The fourth school mentioned in the application form- Colegio Rafaela Ybarra from Spain resigned in October 2015 therefore it didn’t participate in the project. The project involved regular classes in each school and short student exchanges in Italy, Ireland and Poland. All partners went through a standard procedure and used English as a means of communication each step of the way. Students dealt with differences and peculiarities of Irish, Italian, Spanish (the Spanish school pulled out of the project at the start of the project) and Polish markets such as legal system and regulations regarding setting up companies, economic climate and tax conditions, customer needs, marketing activities, ethics in business and negotiations. During student exchanges they became familiar with the basics of other participants’ mother tongue and acceptable/ unacceptable behaviour. They visited local places of interest in the area, learnt about its history and geography and met local residents. They visited local enterprises and got an insight into the workings of each department in these companies. When running fictitious companies, students acted in a professional manner as if they were employees of the company. They registered the company in the national base of fictitious companies in Poland and in Italy and later on the Polish company worked in EUROPEN-PEN International base. Students used textbooks, magazines, the Internet and set up a website, blog, social network sites (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook,) and apps to advertise their enterprises. In this way they unwittingly learnt about Electronic Conferencing, web design and many other communication skills, including English. Peer-learning, decision-making, workshops, pair work, group work and preparing e-learning courses were invaluable means of acquiring new skills. Establishing international trade contacts helped improve students’ linguistic skills: business English and the basics of Gaelic, Italian and Polish. By the end of the project students gained some knowledge of the legal, economic and tax systems in the four countries. Teachers were trained in digital skills and they also improved teaching techniques and language skills. They promoted student-based and problem-solving approach to learning and used ICT to a greater extent. Each student acted as an advertisement for their schools to add to their popularity among potential students and their parents. They promoted their region and their home country. Students gained new skills and qualifications to improve their chances of finding employment and their ability to become self-employed. Teachers provided the students with references to further enhance their employability, highlight the skills gained in the process of their participation in the project. This project has an impact on the local economy through the students interaction with their tutor companies, this project benefited the country’s development by motivating these students to become part of the skillful international workforce, local enterprises will be aware of highly-motivated students able to work on the international market and willing to hone their skills. After the end of the EU funding all IT Lessons created for this project are currently being used by students to continue the running of fictitious companies. Moreover, students not involved in the project could use the e-learning courses, AppShed and web design and gain certificates. All of the participants developed the skills to communicate with foreigners and also gained valuable experience in European travel and exposure to other cultures. The project strengthened the entrepreneurship and resourcefulness among students.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 131324,03 Eur

Project Coordinator

Zespol Szkol Ekonomicznych nr 1 & Country: PL

Project Partners

• St. Ciarans’s Community School
• Colegio Rafaela Ybarra
• IIS FERMI-GALILEI