Feel the Spirit of a Modern Europe-Bringing Entrepreneurship into Schools Erasmus Project

Project Title

Feel the Spirit of a Modern Europe-Bringing Entrepreneurship into Schools

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; International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation

Project Summary

As schools in a unified Europe, we have an education mandate to prepare our students for the life of learning and working in Europe. Our project intended to create in teachers and students a fundamentally positive attitude towards Europe by developing, defining and practicing cross-cultural, European attitudes.
“Feel the Spirit of a Modern Europe-Bringing Entrepreneurship into Schools (MEBEIS)” aimed at developing, supporting and assessing basic skills and crosscutting competencies of each individual student – as mandated under the EU strategy “General and Vocational Education”. Students developed an entrepreneurial competence combined with social responsibility. They established a student company “Europa for the World: Children help Children (S.P.I.C.E.S.)” thereby accepting a real entrepreneurial responsibility. The profits the company made payed for teachers in Sri Lanka. Therefore, students set yet another sign of worldwide solidarity. The entrepreneurial routine and the collaboration at an international level enabled the students to participate in shaping Europe actively. They are able now to act with confidence and on their own initiative. Ideally, they developed a future interest in business or responsibility for the future of Europe by establishing companies on their own. All involved students optimized their job skills through an intensive job training entitled “Fit for job in Europe”, which was offered during the entire duration of the project. This prepared students specifically for the European job market. Our Erasmus+Project helped in forming new friendships and in developing thoughts without borders determined by lifelong mobility and the readiness to assume responsibility in the European family.
In addition, our project focused on systematic, interdisciplinary and sustainable professionalism of the teaching profession in Europe by defining a European standard in the acquisition of competency in teacher education and continuing education. At the schools, we are additionally involved in innovative personnel and management concepts in form of an extended school management. Teachers experienced a modern, European school management concept with the possibility to assume management responsibility themselves. With our project as a whole, we tried to show possibilities to bring the European systems closer together and align them. The idea was the potential achievement of a joint European curriculum. Therefore, we integrated the results of the projects in the educational framework and in the teacher training and continuing education of the corresponding schools and we published all results (guide, brochures, e-books, interactive material, definition of the digital competence matrix for teachers) as free downloads on eTwinning, EST-database, the projectwebside, the homepages of the schools and the companies.
Four partner schools from the Czech Republic, Italy, Poland and Germany came together for reciprocal visits for cross-national work meetings in light of our project goals and results. Ten students with varied background accompanied by two teachers participated for each country in every educational, teaching and learning activity. The plan called for six workshops over the course of 24 months. Each workshop lasted 5 days. In light of our project priorities, each school contributed its specific strengths and very own experiences so that we could all learn from and with one another. The project was characterized by the methodological diversity such as learning to learn, CLIL, learning through teaching, peer group learning and interactive educational games (hot potatoes, Be Boss). Overall, we expect a lasting effect and long-term benefit for all participants. The school family benefits if all participants expand their cross-cultural competency by transnational relationships, partnerships and friendships, which now last beyond the duration of the project and which solidify the thought of a large European family. Companies fulfilled their social responsibility whilst in tandem provided valuable business management experience. Companies gained and will gain highly qualified young talents ready to act in a mobile and flexible manner in a Europe without borders. In between the transnational meetings, the participants primarily communicated and cooperate through eTwinning, blogs, Skype and online chats. This approach promoted and reinforced the sensible use and benefit of virtual international communication options even beyond the project’s duration. The development and enhancement of basic competencies and crosscutting competences of all who participated in the project will be expanded and reinforced. In addition, it promoted and promptes cross-cultural openness and collaboration. It developed a better understanding of mentalities, tolerance and solidarity and finally an intuitive consciousness of a European identity in a peaceful, strong and in future orientated united Europe.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 76300 Eur

Project Coordinator

Dr.-Max-Josef-Metzger-Schule Staatl. Realschule Meitingen & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Istituto di istruzione superiore carlo levi
• Collège Gaston Chaissac
• Zespol Szkol Licealnych im.B.Chrobrego w Lezajsku
• Zakladni umelecka skola, Rymarov, Capkova 6, prispevkova organizace