FAMily BusinEss Sustainability and Growth Erasmus Project

Project Title

FAMily BusinEss Sustainability and Growth

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 higher education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2016

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Intercultural/intergenerational education and (lifelong)learning; Entrepreneurial learning – entrepreneurship education

Project Summary

Having conducted a series of international projects aimed at SME service development the initiator of this FAME proposal launched projects to follow the perception of the economic importance of SME Family Businesses (FBs). Pure research activities of the academic staff of BBS preceded research informed curriculum development projects for FBs and simultaneously for students in entrepreneurship studies. (INSIST, etc.)
These projects have been implemented with varied partnerships forming by now a considerable European partner network for BBS. This made BBS one of the protagonists of SME related trainings in Hungary. For a certain period of time BBS operated its SME projects in the field of vocational trainings (VET) and offered the results in the frame of adult education for SME owners/managers and proposing some modules as specialisation for regular HE students. Thereafter, research and project experiences pointed out the need to employ stronger measures and mobilise the HE mastery of the school and the partners in order to meet the growing need of the FBs in long term theoretical and practical support. The inception of this demand came up simultaneously at several partner institutions and they immediately expressed their intention to develop a second year of a Master in entrepreneurship focusing on SME FB sustainability issues. They also recognised that this development must be preceded by a more in-depth research and they already started this research off-project, on their own expenses. The main vector of these research works has been identified as pointing from theories worked out for large companies to possible adaptations to SME FBs.

The major objective of FAME project was a high level curriculum development underpinned by the results of the mentioned research collated with the available international results in the field. The research informed course development was foreseen to be implemented with refined b-learning technology partially developed in previous BBS projects. In addition, an in-depth analysis of possible embedding work-based-learning (WBL) periods in the courses was planned as a long-term objective. Moreover, domestic accreditations and the initiation of the possibilities of international recognition was among the objectives.

Two university partners from Leeds and Cracow were selected by BBS on the basis of their track records in FB issues on one side and according to their proven experience in EU project management on the other. Their complementary strongest profiles are manifested in the work distribution of the content development. An international organisation specialised in FB issues (TRANSEO) delegated one of its regional (Croatian) centres to the project while a Hungarian SME federation (MGYOSZ – BUSINESSHUNGARY) ensured the presence of the non-academic sector in the partnership. A Belgian company specialised in quality and monitoring of projects was also asked to join the consortium. Finally, associated non-academic partners were invited to help find out the WBL possibilities of the curricula.

The main activities were arranged around the six Intellectual Outcomes (IOs):
– Grouping and collating research results of the partners and of international professional organisations in FB themes in order to provide the curriculum developers with rough material (IO1).
– Developing master level training modules with refined b-learning technology (IO2, 3, 4 and 5).
– Analysing, with the help of interested associated partners, the WBL possibilities of the teaching modules (IO6)
The finalisation of these results was done by a testing exercise; piloting was carried out at the three university partners with both target groups, FB owners/managers and students.
The development of these results was followed by rich dissemination activities helping proliferate knowledge about the project in the professional milieu.

The major impact of the project was effected on the university partners by the enrichment of their curriculum systems, on their staff gaining new knowledge on FBs and on the trainees of the pilots deepening their knowledge on FB sustainability and growth. The embedment of the results in the course system of the partners and the transferability of the results to other universities and training providers is the guarantee of massive long-term benefits.

The long-term impact is ensured also by a duly signed Memorandum of Understanding depicting the frames of future cooperation of the partners in FB connected themes.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 206809 Eur

Project Coordinator

BUDAPESTI GAZDASAGI EGYETEM & Country: HU

Project Partners

• CEPOR Centar za politiku razvoja malih i srednjih poduzeca i podzetnistva
• UNIWERSYTET EKONOMICZNY W KRAKOWIE
• MAC-Team aisbl
• BUSINESSHUNGARY
• LEEDS BECKETT UNIVERSITY