Kick off to entrepreneurship with pop up company Erasmus Project

Project Title

Kick off to entrepreneurship with pop up company

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 vocational education and training

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2014

Project Topics

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

Project Summary

Background of the Project
Appreciation of entrepreneurship in education does not only mean that vocational schools should educate future entrepreneurs. It is very important to educate entrepreneurial skills and attitude to vocational students in order to succeed also in general working life. Young vocational students fulfill many of entrepreneurial characteristics, but still there are lot to do to encourage young professionals to start new companies and succeed with them.

Objectives of the project
The main objectives of the project were following:
1) To create a new international, inspiring, practical and encouraging pedagogical model to learn entrepreneurship in vocational education
2) Get students to learn entrepreneurship by establishing international pop up restaurant
3) Increase the knowhow of culinary and food culture between different European cultures

While achieving the main objectives we permanently aimed to:
a. increase the cooperation of schools and students who have different main subject of studies in order to enable their future cooperation in business opportunities
b. to increase the international cooperation of business and schools in order to let students to learn entrepreneurial skills and behavior from business professionals in business environment and enable business professional to get future employees from different countries
c. to enable restaurant entrepreneurs from different countries to start new cooperation with each other in order to develop their skills and knowledge.

Profile of participants
In this project participating vocational schools represented fields of business studies (Helmi, Mercuria (Finland), Badalona (Spain) and restaurant services (Perho (Finland), Bardolino (Italy), Riga (Latvia). Also restaurant entrepreneurs from Finland, Spain and Latvia participated the project.

Activities and methodology
During this project we established pop up restaurant (open 2 days) in Helsinki Finland (01/2015), Badalona Spain (05/2015), Riga Latvia (01/2016) and Bardolino Italy (05/2016). In addition to three restaurant services schools Perho, Bardolino, Riga, also three business schools Helmi, Mercuria, Badalona and restaurant entrepreneurs from all participating cities participated in this project.

Workshops started from Helsinki, Finland where students established a pop up restaurant named “Mare Nostrum” during the project week (Workshop 1). Cuisine was Spanish specialities made by cook students and restaurant entrepreneurs from all participating countries and served by waiter students. Pop up restaurant “Mare Nostrum” was marketed by business students of participating countries.
This same concept was done in Spain (Workshop 2), Latvia (Workshop 3) and Italy (Workshop 4).
Students with guidance of restaurant entrepreneurs and teachers did a) planning b) establishing c) marketing d) selling e) evaluating of four pop up restaurants in four countries during the project. During the project we created a new international, inspiring, practical and encouraging pedagogical model to learn entrepreneurship in vocational education. In each workshop participated: 5 students and 2 teachers from each school and 1 restaurant entrepreneur/from Finland, Spain and Latvia (in total in each workshop: 30 students, 12 teachers and 3 restaurant entrepreneurs).

Results, envisaged impacts and potential longer term benefits
Tangible results
1. New international pop up curriculum model to study entrepreneurship
2. Pop up companies were established – students will be/were entrepreneurs
Direct impacts on students, teachers, company representatives, administrators, restaurant customers, partner schools.

Intangible results of the project were:
3. Increased knowhow of culinary and food culture between different European cultures (direct impact on all participants)
4. Increased national and international co-operation of schools and students who have different main subject of studies (Direct impact on students)
5. Increased the international cooperation of business and schools (direct impact on students, teachers, schools, company representatives)
6. Enabled restaurant entrepreneurs from different countries to start new cooperation with each other (direct impact on company representatives)
7. VET teachers learned new skills (direct impact on teachers)
8. (As a broader objective this project will impact the unemployment rate) (direct impact on students). This were not able to measure and verify.
During this project young people were inspired and encouraged to show their entrepreneurial skills and test what was it like to be an entrepreneur. As longer term benefit students who participated this project became more willing to be entrepreneurs as they got positive experience on it.

A PowerPoint presentation was made of the project results. The presentation can be viewed on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOyELMnz4ss

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 183470 Eur

Project Coordinator

Helmi Liiketalousopisto Oy & Country: FI

Project Partners

• Haaga Instituutti -säätiö
• SIA “ADEMONA”, Restaurant “Kalku Varti”
• Kauppiaitten Kauppaoppilaitos Oy
• Col·legi Badalonès, S.L.
• Nartreb, S.L.
• Riga Technical School of Tourism and Creative Industry
• Zipuli Oy