Fostering Entrepreneurship through Multicultural Exchange Erasmus Project

Project Title

Fostering Entrepreneurship through Multicultural Exchange

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 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Entrepreneurial learning – entrepreneurship education; Social entrepreneurship / social innovation; Cooperation between educational institutions and business

Project Summary

“Fostering Entrepreneurship through Multicultural Exchange” is a proposed Erasmus+ project under the leadership of the ECG – School of Business and Management in Luxembourg city, in collaboration with 3 other secondary schools, the Ekonomska i upravna skola in Split, Croatia, the Colegiul Economic Transilvania in Targu Mures, Romania, and the Kohlia Gümnaasium in Kohlia, Estonia. The project will run from 15th September 2020 until 15th September 2022 and it will encompass 4 separate mobilities, involving a total of 72 pupils and 24 teachers between the ages of 15 and 19.

The project grounds in the realisation that in recent years, member states have become increasingly aware of the crucial importance of entrepreneurship education in endowing young European citizens with the necessary skills to compete in an ever more challenging globalised world. Yet, despite the abundance of excellent and highly diverse national initiatives in this field and the existence of pan-European parent organisations actively coordinating entrepreneurship initiatives across different member states, practice-based collaboration schemes and direct curricular exchange between individual schools remain relatively scarce.

The proposed Erasmus+ project thus aims to present the 4 participant schools’ respective approaches in the field of entrepreneurship education, in an effort to generate a greater understanding of national specificities, as well as to hone and develop individual approaches through curricular exchange.

More specifically, entrepreneurship education will be explored from different national perspectives, with 4 separate though related foci for each mobility:
– Find an entrepreneurial idea – Kohlia;
– Networking and marketing in Entrepreneurship – Luxembourg;
– Social entrepreneurship – Split;
– Endurance in entrepreneurship – Targu Mures.

Yet, apart from stimulating exchange and generating long-term ties between institutions, the project also aims to foster a broader spirit of openness among teachers and pupils for entrepreneurship. Beyond such immediate goals, by favouring intercultural exchange, it also aims to impart a greater understanding of core EU values such as multiculturalism, tolerance and cooperation.

Although each participant country will make an effort to focus on national specificities whilst organising their country visit, a series of core activities and shared methodological approaches to be followed in each case have been defined, in an effort guarantee the overall coherence of the project. Hence, some planned activities for each mobility may include:
– visits of partner companies and institutions (communes, organisations promoting Entrepreneurship; national and European institutions);
– meetings with young entrepreneurs; presentation and/or joint assessment of participant schools’ training companies, school companies or mini companies, presentation of best practice examples, creating links with participant countries’ real-life economies;
– visits of cultural and natural heritage sites;
– international workshops on the chosen focal points for each mobility;
– workshops to develop specific entrepreneurial skills or soft skills (social media, personal finance, ICT, etc.)
From a methodological perspective, student-centred and practice-based approaches such as group-based work in international workshops, field trips and face-to-face meetings and discussions with professionals, as well as games and other creative activities will be implemented in each case.

As far as the expected results and long-term impact are concerned, the project aims to endow both pupils and teachers with a stronger entrepreneurial spirit and help them develop practical and transferrable skills with particular reference to the four chosen target areas identified for each mobility. The written productions derived from each mobility will be exchanged via eTwinSpace, and will also be published on a blog to be created specifically for the project, as well as on the participant schools’ websites.

Moreover, the project also aims to impart an enhanced understanding of the different countries’ respective approaches to entrepreneurship education and how they are informed by real-life economic context. Beyond more immediate topic-related benefits, the project will broaden participants’ minds and create lasting ties between participant schools. Moreover, it will endow pupils with a broad range of soft skills such as critical thinking, decision making, taking responsibility, self-organising and self-assessment. Last but not least, on a more practical note, it will encourage all participants who are non-native speakers of English to improve their English writing and speaking skills, and further intercultural understanding within the EU.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 90000 Eur

Project Coordinator

École de Commerce et de Gestion & Country: LU

Project Partners

• Colegiul Economic Transilvania
• Kohila Gümnaasium
• Ekonomska i upravna skola