EURO TRADING, YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS ON THE MOVE Erasmus Project

Project Title

EURO TRADING, YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS ON THE MOVE

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 2016

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation; Enterprise, industry and SMEs (incl. entrepreneurship); ICT – new technologies – digital competences

Project Summary

”Entrepreneurship can be taught, and must be learned.” Doug Richards, School for startups. The title of our project was “Euro trading, young entrepreneurs on the move.” The aim of our project was to develop our pupils into young entrepreneurs. The well-planned program adopted a skills-based approach and provided real-life business opportunities which applied Literacy, Numeracy, Thinking and IT skills. The Entrepreneurship learning was integrated into our Curriculum, and was effectively coordinated by members of staff at each school. The pupils were encouraged to use their previous knowledge and skills, and to use their own initiative to develop their own business. The activities included problem-solving and team working opportunities. In order to engage our pupils, we invited visitors from the local community to give an insight into the range of different successful methods of running a business, and to provide the learners with some ideas for a product. We established a positive IT link by embracing social media, such as ‘You Tube’ and ‘Facebook’. Our project outcomes were for our pupils to develop a positive attitude towards entrepreneurship, to be creative in their thinking, to develop their social skills by negotiating, listening and persuading, and to be organised when running their business. All pupils were supported by dedicated staff that also developed their own entrepreneurial skills further. There were six European countries participating in the project. Pupils, Teachers and Support Staff from each institution were part of the project. We also included our local authorities, our local businesses, and local schools within our areas, local media, School Governors and the local communities. During the first year we focused on establishing the travel agency (one per school), which provided opportunities for the children to apply for various jobs. Several activities stemmed from the creation of the business, such as role play activities, experiences to improve confidence, team building workshops, and learning about different countries. It was used to create brochures, logos, presentations, websites, graphs and booklets. The Internet was also used for research purposes, such as finding and locating information on the European countries within the project, and for ideas on choosing a product for marketing. Once the travel agency was established, the focus then began on starting a business. We invited guest speakers with a business background into the schools to work closely with the pupils and teachers.
Once ideas for products had been chosen, there was a voting system within each school. During the second year, the children began on their venture, which was to create and market their products. The process began with support from local businesses, guest speakers and local educational authorities teaching the children about the importance of advertising. We invited relevant guests into the school in order to introduce the power of successful publicity. In order to advertise on an international level, we used QR codes and Social Media such as ‘You Tube’. The impact of successful advertising demonstrated the power of persuasion. The children created their products in preparation for the three fairs that took place during the second year of the project. Children then needed to price their product, taking into account that they needed to cover costs and make a profit. The children were responsible for counting their finances, banking their profit, paying bills and learning the importance of saving. The impact of this task demonstrated the pupil’s capability and developed their self-confidence within Numeracy. They were also made aware of the different currencies. With the business up and running, the attention of the pupils returned to the travel agency, creating a travel magazine which was one of the final products. The project had a positive impact on our pupils, teachers and on the local community, opening doors for new ideas and exciting ventures for the future. Questionnaires for pupils, staff and parents were used to discover the success of the program. All results were published on our website, Twinspace and on the schools’ websites, in order to hopefully benefit other ventures in the long term. All activities and products were displayed in our Erasmus corner for parents, pupils and visitors to view. Our project changed our pupils’ thinking, embedded a positive attitude and developed their entrepreneurial capability for possibly starting their own businesses in the economic environment they live in. The Entrepreneurship Guide for Primary schools (Final Product) sums up with detail all the required steps in order to implement this Program in any European school.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 125165 Eur

Project Coordinator

Col·legi Igualada, SL & Country: ES

Project Partners

• Szkola Podstawowa nr 1 im. II Armii Wojska Polskiego
• Berg-Grundschule Doberlug-Kirchhain
• St. John’s Natinal School
• dimotiko scholio kato kastritsiou
• Coomb Briggs Primary School