Mini-companies at Secondary Schools Erasmus Project

Project Title

Mini-companies at Secondary 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 vocational education and training

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Entrepreneurial learning – entrepreneurship education; Economic and financial affairs (incl. funding issues)

Project Summary

The project focused on planning, developing and running fictitious mini-companies by upper secondary technical school students in the Czech Republic, Poland and Lithuania. The fictitious firms focused on business in tourism.
Each partner school chose 8 students and 2 teachers who participated in the project. Some of the students came from a socially disadvantaged environment.
The main objective was to simulate the operations of real firms in the tourism industry which allowed students to acquire basic business skills and to get acquainted with some aspects of the business world. Such activities should have raised their awareness of the entrepreneurship, their practical skills in the field of study, as well as provided knowledge applicable to real-life (e. g. to establish a business company, fill appropriate documents, to be knowledgeable in tourism, to set up a marketing strategy, to carry out PR activities, etc.).
The aim of this project was also to embed gained experience, outcomes and examples of good practice into the particular school curricula and to create a long-term sustainable business system.

All participating parties had to cooperate and effectuate several project activities. All schools had to contribute to these following activities.

A printed and a virtual methodology manual was created during the preparation phase, which was available to the teachers and students. It was used as a guideline for all the activities in which the fictitious firms were set up and run. Each participating school created its own methodology for setting up mini-companies in a particular country (with all the dissimilarities. A multilanguage dictionary was created and updated concurrently.

Each party simulated setting up and running a business (a fictitious mini-company). The simulation reproduced all the activities, processes and tasks of a real firm. Students were provided with a physical space (office/place for conducting business) where they carried out their duties. It was teamwork. Each student filled a specific position and function (a director, a secretary, an economist, a PR specialist, etc.).

The following activity focused on a real local firm/company. All participating students visited existing local firms in each country so they could compare their fictitious companies with the real ones. Through this activity, the students and teachers could learn more about tourist attractions, culture and traditions of that particular country or region.

Finally, there was the overall evaluation of implemented activities and comparison of a simulated and a real company.

The same activities and tasks were carried out in each country. The performance of fictitious mini-companies was compared and assessed at the final meeting (in the land of the project coordinator).
The assessment concentrated on some similarities and differences between these mini-companies which were seated in different countries and also the cultural differences were addressed.

The feedback was continuously gathered from the students, teachers and mentors or tourism business experts, who participated in the activities in the form of visits.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 57300 Eur

Project Coordinator

Vyssi odborna skola, Stredni prumyslova skola a Stredni odborna skola sluzeb a cestovniho ruchu, Varnsdorf, Bratislavska 2166, prispevkova organizace & Country: CZ

Project Partners

• ZESPOL SZKOL ZAWODOWYCH IM. SANDORA PETOFI W OSTRODZIE
• Vilniaus technologiju, verslo ir zemes ukio mokykla