F.I.E.L.D. – Fostering Innovative Entrepreneurial Learning into Didactics Erasmus Project

Project Title

F.I.E.L.D. – Fostering Innovative Entrepreneurial Learning into Didactics

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 : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Early School Leaving / combating failure in education; Entrepreneurial learning – entrepreneurship education; Access for disadvantaged

Project Summary

The European Union has identified 8 key competences that all education systems must develop in students, through the use of innovative methodologies and alternative and creative learning paths, to “ensure resilience and ability to adapt to change”.
Among these 8 key competences, there are the entrepreneurship ones, defined as the ability to make decisions based on the opportunities and constraints of the social environment and transform ideas into actions, through critical thinking, the ability to solve problems and cooperate.
With the work’s transformation (more digital and automated and more competitive), it becomes strategic to equip students with aptitude tools with which they can independently achieve their goals, becoming entrepreneurs of themselves.
In recent years, the simulated enterprise is spreading in Europe as a learning method that allows students to experiment roles and strategies of a real business context, through the creation of a company-laboratory in which students simulate to run a business.
In line with the European process of educational innovation and on the basis of their professionalizing mission, Vocational Institute for enogasgtronomic services and Tourism Hospitality. “Amerigo Vespucci”, in partnership with Zespół Szkół Gospodar Kiywnościowej i Agrobiznesu, Prizma Campus IDP and Agrupamento de Escolas de Ribeira de Pena, has decided to apply to implement the project “On the F.I.E.L.D. – Fostering Innovative Entrepreneurial Learning into Didactics “, with a dual objective:
1.to deepen the methodology of the simulated enterprise from a national and European perspective, relying on the exchange between educational institutions;
2.to trigger a process of learning on the field that, based on the multicultural interaction, that can foster the acquisition of linguistic and citizenship skills by students as well.
“On the FIELD” is an exchange project between schools that will involve 240 students in total (60 for each school), enrolled in 3rd and 4th Classes of the partner schools and from the “Enogastronomic” and “Hotel Ospitality” study fields, in a process of entrepreneurial learning, carried out through the methodology of the simulated company.
After the selection of beneficiary students, 4 virtual companies will be created, equally composed by the students of each School that will simulate 4 main phases of a business:
1.start up and productive specialization;
2.organizational structure and production chain;
3.menu, internal design and marketing;
4.opening and inauguration of the service.
Each phase of the process will last for 30 days, during which students will collaborate via e-Twinning, using the “Young Entrepreneurs” Kit. Each phase will end with international mobilities (5 days of training plus 2 travel days), scheduled in Portugal (April 2020), Poland (October 2020), Belgium (March 2021) and Italy (June 2021), where a food and wine contest is expected among the created 4 virtual companies.
Out of the 240 beneficiary students, 112 (28 for each school) will take part, on a rota system, in the mobility, where they will present the results of their collaboration and through the use of cooperative learning methods, peer to peer tutoring, role playing and game-based learning, will start a dialogical path of learning of several entrepreneurial skills:
-autonomy and initiative;
-problem solving;
-creativity and critical thinking;
-risk taking;
-cooperation and leadership.
The project will foster, in the preliminary phase, a structured comparison between project supervisors on the methodology of the simulated company, aimed at deepening the methods of execution from country to country and deciding on their characteristics in “On the F.I.E.L.D.”
The project will have an inclusive purpose, allocating about 33% of training opportunities to 20 students (5 for each partner).
The following project’s outputs will be produced:
-4 simulated catering companies;
-4 business strategies that will include the group work of the beneficiary students and which can be introduced as a teaching tool;
-a compendium of the simulated enterprise, produced by the project representativdes, which will act as a guide and educational tool for other teachers.
The impacts of “on the F.I.E.L.D.” will be the following ones :
-increase of the international dimension of the involved partners;
-deepening and comparison, within each involved School, of the methodology of the simulated enterprise;
-development with the project staff, of the management and design skills within e-Twinning and Erasmus+ proposals’ editing and management;
-development by chaperon teachers, of competences related to cooperative learning, role playing, peer to peer tutoring, game-based learning;
-development by the beneficiaries of entrepreneurial, citizenship, linguistic and digital skills;
-increase of the awareness of Schools and companies about Erasmus+ and its opportunities for educative innovation and improvement.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 113142 Eur

Project Coordinator

I.P.S.S.E.O.A. Amerigo Vespucci & Country: IT

Project Partners

• Agrupamento de Escolas de Ribeira de Pena
• PRIZMA
• Zespol Szkol Gospodarki Zywnosciowej i Agrobiznesu