Student Hanseatic League Erasmus Project

Project Title

Student Hanseatic League

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; Key Competences (incl. mathematics and literacy) – basic skills

Project Summary

Our project was carried out by six schools from Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Poland and Sweden. In the past, all of our countries were linked by international markets over several centuries in the historic Hanseatic League. The merchants in this League sailed around the Baltic Sea to buy and sell products and services. They were very skilled entrepreneurs who analysed the markets and came up with innovative concepts. Nowadays our countries can still gain large benefits from coordinated entrepreneurial activities within the Baltic Sea area. Therefore our basic idea was that students learn about and experience the Baltic Sea area as a market for and supplier of products. By working within international student companies they learned about socio-economic differences and similarities in the partner countries. They also practised international cooperation and gained entrepreneurial skills and confidence. As entrepreneurship and economy is a part of the national curriculum in most of our countries, project activities were also partly carried out in regular lessons at our schools.
The project activities focussed on international student companies which met for one week with the aim of developing three different tangible products in 2015 (inspired by or made of ingredients found in the different partner states) or three different service products in 2016. In the first year of the cooperation, the companies „Interlamponal – lamps made of recycled materials“, „Buddies – wooden earphone holders“ and „Monkey Cards – a card game displaying European motives“ were created. In the second year the students developed the services „LightUp Swap – finding help with homework“, „TravLex – finding exchange partners in the Baltic countries“ and „Job-os – finding small jobs in the area“. Within their company they were to think of and agree on ideas for their product. Then each company split into three departments. The production department made a prototype of the product or developed a service website, the finance department calculated production costs and the marketing department developed a marketing campaign. In all three companies the students worked in internationally mixed groups and the different departments had to coordinate their work regularly. At the end of the week the companies were presented in front of an audience at the school hosting the meeting. Back at home the results of the project week were also presented on open days at our schools, in local media and in cooperating institutions (local bank, etc.)
Within the entrepreneurial approach used throughout the project week, the students worked independently, cross-curricular, problem-solving and integrated. This helped them to become assessment-capable individuals and encouraged them to launch their own business in an international environment if they happen to have a business idea. At the same time the teachers gained valuable knowledge on entrepeneurship and organising teamwork which they can integrate in their lessons and pass on to their colleagues at home.
In order to implement entrepreneurial thinking also in different subject lessons at our schools, we asked students to do research on manufacturing companies and markets (2015: shipyard, dairy products, Christmas markets, weekly market, flea market, etc.) and service companies (2016: fitness studio, travel agency, library, etc.) in the local area. The students carried our interviews, analysed shopping behaviour and learned about how such markets or companies are run. They presented and exchanged their results on the project’s eTwinning site.
Through various displays and articles on the project results the students, teachers and parents of our schools and the local communities learned about the possibilities of international entrepreneurship and the potential of teamwork among the younger generation.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 106150 Eur

Project Coordinator

Auguste-Viktoria-Schule & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Billeshave Efterskole
• Dundagas vidusskola
• Tallinna 21. Kool
• Zespol Szkol Ogolnoksztalcacych
• Västra Stenhagenskolan