Promoting innovation and social entrepreneurship in VET through Service Learning Erasmus Project

Project Title

Promoting innovation and social entrepreneurship in VET through Service Learning

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 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Entrepreneurial learning – entrepreneurship education; Pedagogy and didactics

Project Summary

Stimulating innovation and entrepreneurship is at the core of the Europe 2020 Strategy. To bring Europe back to growth and higher levels of employment, Europe needs more entrepreneurs. There are 2 million social economy enterprises in Europe, representing 10% of all businesses in the EU. Social Entrepreneurs are agents of change within non-profit organizations, creating innovative solutions to the big challenges that face us today.

Service Learning (SL) has proved to be a successful pedagogy for social entrepreneurship education. SL is a method of teaching and learning which engages students in solving problems by addressing issues in their educational settings or greater community as part of their academic education. This innovative experiential learning is effective because it facilities cognitive development for students with different learning styles.

Despite all the possibilities that Service Learning offer to boost social entrepreneurship education, this successful pedagogy is not being sufficiently and adequately exploited in Europe. The promoters of PIONEERS project have identified that providing teachers with adequate competences is the key factor to unleash this potential.

According to the European Commission, there is a need for more teacher training to disseminate understanding of different ways and methods to support the entrepreneurial mindset. It is important that they are trained in right teaching methods, that they can improve their knowledge and skills, and that they share best practices with colleagues across all EU countries.

PIONEERS project aims to support VET teachers and trainers with innovative tools and methods to stimulate the innovation and the acquisition of creativity and entrepreneurial competencies of VET students through Work-based learning programmes in Service Learning.

To this purpose, six partner organizations (VET providers, companies and social partners) from five countries (Austria, France, Ireland, Norway and Spain) shall work together to:

– Identify, process, gather and disseminate useful resources, training materials, tools, products and other relevant contents related with the fields of Innovation and creativity, Social Entrepreneurship and Service Learning (Output 1- Online Digital Database)

– Define, and support the recognition of, the skills, knowledge and competences that Social Innovative Entrepreneurs requires to effectively improve their creativity and their social entrepreneurial skills (Output 2 – ECVET Training Curriculum)

– Elaborate useful resources to disseminate better understanding of different ways and methods to support the entrepreneurial mindset (Output 3- PIONEERS pedagogical Handbook)

– Design practical activities, based on the PIONEERS innovative pedagogical approach, to support VET teachers and trainers to foster the innovation, the creativity and the social entrepreneurial skills of their students and learners in formal, non-formal and informal
Service Learning frameworks (Output 4 – PIONEERS professional Toolbox)

The main target users of the project products are VET teachers, trainers and educators working in the field of entrepreneurship education. Final beneficiaries are I-VET and C-VET students, learners and apprentices in general, and those willing to participate in Work-based experiences in Service Learning in particular.

During the life time of PIONEERS project, the partnership will directly involve 79 VET teachers, trainers and educators (24 partners staff / 30 experts involved / 25 target users in pilots), 125 I-VET and C-VET students, learners and apprentices (in pilots) and 485 stakeholders. A wider audience, of a minimum of 1.000 recipients, will be reached at local, regional, national and European level through the planned dissemination activities.

PIONEERS shall improve the entrepreneurship education in VET system by offering innovative approaches and contents. The project will have a direct impact in the improvement of the skills that teachers and trainers require to effectively support social entrepreneurship, providing them with innovative tools and resources to stimulate the innovation and the acquisition of creativity and entrepreneurial competencies of I-VET and C-VET students, learners and apprentices.

The long term impact envisaged is a strengthening of the VET system and programmes to fully exploit the potential benefits of Service Learning to boost social entrepreneurship in Europe.

Project Website

http://pioneerseu.no

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 269494 Eur

Project Coordinator

Stiftelsen Mangfold i arbeidslivet (MiA) & Country: NO

Project Partners

• INSTITUTO PARA EL FOMENTO DEL DESARROLLO Y LA FORMACION SL
• KIST Consult e.U.
• Asociación La Bien Pagá Espacio Escénico
• Fédération régionale Familles Rurales des Pays de la Loire
• INNOQUALITY SYSTEMS LIMITED