1. Unit “Entrepreneurship”
Fostering Entrepreneurship among young people through education: a EU perspective
Simone Baldassarri
Unit “Entrepreneurship”

2. Policy Background
Recommendation of the European Parliament and the Council (2006): entrepreneurship a key competence for all.
Commission Communication on “Fostering entrepreneurial mindsets” (2006)
Oslo Agenda on Entrepreneurship Education in Europe (2007): a detailed menu of actions
Small Business Act for Europe (2008)
EU 2020 strategy: focus school curricula on creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship (2010)

3. Eurobarometer: Entrepreneurial attitudes in Europe

4. Open method of co-ordination
Lisbon: assessment of national progress reports
Specific tools: expert groups, studies, dialogue with governments and stakeholders, benchmarking, monitoring of progress, organisation of events.
Objectives:
To promote the exchange and dissemination of good practice;
To steer policy action in the EU Member States

5. Definition of Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship refers to an individual’s ability to turn ideas into action.
It includes
creativity,
innovation and
risk taking,
as well as the ability to plan and manage projects
in order to achieve objectives.
This
supports everyone in day-to-day life at home and in society,
makes employees more aware of the context of their work and better able to seize opportunities,
and provides a foundation for entrepreneurs establishing a social or commercial activity
(2006 Recommendation on Key Competences for Lifelong Learning)

6. Current State
Mainly individual initiatives, with no coherent framework and little impact
Most students do not have access to entrepreneurship courses and programmes.
Entrepreneurship is included in the national curriculum only in a minority of EU countries (i.e. ES, FI, IE, CY, PL, UK)
Typically, less than 15 % of secondary schools offer student mini-company activities
Around 16% of students participating to mini-companies at school will later go on to create their own company

8. Objectives of student companies
A) Develop on a small scale a real economic activity
Students raise capital and prepare a business plan
They produce or order the product made to their design
Students sell real products or services,
B) Simulate in a realistic way the operations of firms
Students work in a fictitious company
They run all business and administrative activities that are typical of a real company.

9. Skills acquired Personal skills: Business skills: Team working
Basic economics
Communication
Financial literacy
Self-confidence
Developing market research
Taking initiative
Drafting a business plan
Problem-solving
Raising finance
Taking calculated risk
Sales techniques
Leadership
Running a business meeting

10. Share of secondary schools participating in mini-company programmes

11. Entrepreneurship in HE
Entrepreneurship is not sufficiently integrated in the curriculum of HEIs
More than half of the student population in Europe do not have access to Entrepreneurship Education
The majority of entrepreneurship courses are offered in business and economic studies
Chances of being exposed to EE are higher when the student is enrolled in a business school or a multidisciplinary institution with a business school.

12. Problems/Obstacles (1)
Shortage of funding
Too few professors of entrepreneurship
Little incentive and reward for teachers
Faculties and departments tend to work separately
Mobility between HEIs and business is low

13. Problems/Obstacles (2)
Most teachers have little or no practical experience of being entrepreneurs
At universities it is difficult to include business people in the permanent staff
Few entrepreneurs are engaged in the full curricula experience
HEIs are not sufficiently involved in working with alumni

14. Some good practice examples
Technical University of Munich (DE): the Entrepreneurial University (in all disciplines);
University of Strathclyde (UK): entrepreneurship for students of music;
Dublin Institute of Technology (IRL): traditional exam replaced by the organization of a charity event;
Lahti University of Applied Science (FI): linking students with business owners looking for a successor.

15. Vocational Education
Entrepreneurship is included in the national curricula for vocational education in a majority of EU countries
10 countries report that 90% to 100% of vocational education students participate to entrepreneurship programmes at some point in their studies.
However…
Even where entrepreneurship is included in national curricula, there a perception of a gap still to be filled.
Despite some encouraging data, the uptake and effectiveness of entrepreneurship education in vocational schools are still far from being fully satisfactory.

16. Vocational Education Reasons for the identified gap are:
ineffective teaching methods;
entrepreneurship is not included in all parts of the VET system;
limited participation of students;
inadequate teachers’ competence;
lack of involvement of business people;
the practical element is missing;
entrepreneurship is not linked to specific training subjects on professions.

17. Vocational Education Most commonly used teaching methods reported:
Lectures
Computer simulations and business games
Student companies
Project work and group work
Company visits
Work placements
(Less frequently: coaching and mentoring; role plays; discussions and brainstorming; case studies)

18. Vocational Education
Perception of a gap between teaching methods used and those considered as the most effective
Most teachers have not been trained in entrepreneurship
Cooperation between vocational schools and enterprises is in general well developed (particularly in « dual systems »)
But it is difficult to involve small and micro enterprises

19. Factors of Success in Delivery
Well-defined objectives and appropriate evaluations
Good balance between theory and practice: programme is action-oriented, based on experience and project work
Teaching adapted to the specific field of vocational studies
The institution has external links with enterprises
Students take part in extra-curricular activities and events
Teachers have a qualification in entrepreneurship
Students and teachers are stimulated to look beyond the borders of school environment
Support mechanisms in place for students to start up

20. Recommendations (1) Public authorities:
Set up a national steering committee
Introduce entrepreneurship in the curriculum
Career guidance mandatory, including entrepreneurship
Provide counselling for schools and teachers in designing VET curricula
Improve teachers’ qualifications
Support non-profit organizations / NGOs
Grant micro-scholarships to innovative and brilliant students

21. Recommendations (2) Schools:
An “enterprise champion” or a teacher may take the lead
Extend entrepreneurship to all fields of study: link entrepreneurship to training in specific fields
Practical aspect: use methods based on real experience
Involve businesses in the process
Organize talks and seminars by entrepreneurs (motivation)
Teachers: ensure access to training and guidance, internships in enterprises.

22. High Level Reflection Panels on Entrepreneurship Education
Two key needs:
1) Increase co-operation between government administrations – especially those responsible for education and enterprise - and with stakeholders on entrepreneurship education;
2) Develop more systematic strategies for entrepreneurship education.

23. High Level Reflection Panels
1° Panel (London, March 09): Belgium, France, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Ireland, UK, Iceland.
2° Panel (Stockholm, April 09): Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden.
3° Panel (Prague, June 09): Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland.
4° Panel (Rome, October 09): Bulgaria, Spain, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Romania and Slovenia.
5° Panel (Zagreb, March 2010): countries of pre- accession and Southern Neighborhood region.

24. Outcomes
Current state of play: especially the development of strategies and their implementation
A framework for strategy building, using a progression model.
A 'cook book' of good practices which show how to address key areas within the progression model
Recommendations for action at EU level to support developments within Member States.

25. Elements of a strategy (1)
Agreed definition of entrepreneurship
Cross-ministry cooperation
Stakeholder consultation
Embed core competences into the national curriculum
Develop strategic aims and objectives

26. Elements of a strategy (2)
Integrate identified good practices (what works) into the strategy
Train the teachers
Develop a logic chain of indicators, outputs, outcomes and expected impact
Design and embed coherent progression from primary to higher education
Make resources available for the strategy

27. Some good examples
Finland and Norway: the entrepreneurship strategy was jointly developed by different ministries
Netherlands and UK: government funded pilot projects in schools, then disseminated resulting good practice
Luxembourg: the programme for all primary schools has a section on starting up a business based on a cartoon
Spain: in Asturias, secondary school students run import-export mini-companies as part of the regional curriculum

28. Key Issues (1)
High importance of involving teachers (maintain a broad definition of Entrepreneurship)
Shift from 'how to run a business' to how to develop a general set of competences applicable in all walks of life
Key elements for supporting the role of teachers:
Develop research on how teachers approach E.E.
Offer initial and continuous teacher training
Create and disseminate teaching contents, tools, methods and materials
Make space in the curriculum for testing new methods
Establish support networks

29. Key Issues (2)
Make entrepreneurship an integral part of the Curriculum:
Key role for ministries of education
Changes in teaching methods: experiential learning, teacher as a facilitator, coach, moderator
Changes in education context: take students out of the classroom (into local community and real businesses)
Combine a mandatory cross-curricular approach with a selectable training as a specific subject

30. Key Issues (3) Engage businesses:
Visits, experiences, case studies and role models
Student mini-companies with business mentors
Engage intermediary organizations:
Many NGOs play already a key role
External organizations devoted to promoting E.E. can be effectively associated with national strategies
Link E.E. into local and regional strategies
Develop partnerships
Build local and regional support centres

31. Role for the EU Push and accelerate policy development in the MS
Act as a catalyst: observatory and hub for research
Build a platform for the exchange of information, teaching methods and good practices
Support training of teachers, and the development and dissemination of didactic material
Provide funding for specific projects (through LLP, ESF, etc.)

32. CIP funded projects
Call for proposals: Entrepreneurial culture of young people, and entrepreneurship education
Aim: to support the implementation of the Small Business Act (Principle 1) and of the Oslo Agenda for Entrepreneurship Education in Europe .
Objective: to promote winning ideas in the field of education for entrepreneurship and in improving the entrepreneurial mindsets of the European youth.
Number of selected projects : 9
Starting date: December 2009

33. Thematic areas
Establish a European summer academy for entrepreneurship professors in higher education
Develop practice-based teaching material on entrepreneurship, in particular by using real cases.
Foster entrepreneurship among female university graduates
Foster the entrepreneurial mindsets of young people outside the educational environment (e.g. competitions, awards, promotional campaigns, etc.)

34. CIP projects (1) Objective:
Establishing a cross-European workshop programme for entrepreneurship professors in higher education to share knowledge and learn from practitioners (Entrepreneurship Summer Academy).
Number of projects: 2
Duration: 3 years
University partners:
1) Cambridge (UK), SGH Warsaw (PL), IESE (ES)
2) Osijek (HR), Turku (FI), Aarhus (DK)

35. CIP projects (2) Objective:
Developing innovative and practice-based teaching material on entrepreneurship for higher education, in particular by using real cases.
Number of projects: 2
Duration: 16 months
University partners:
1) Dublin IT (IE), EM LYON (FR), Napoli (IT), UA Barcelona (ES), H. Liechtenstein.
2) Eindhoven, Maastricht (NL), Leuven, Liege (BE), Bergen (NO), Aachen (DE), UP Catalunya (ES).

36. EU pilot project: mobility scheme for young entrepreneurs
1 – 6 months stay abroad
Young entrepreneurs
Young nascent entrepreneurs
Existing SMEs in another EU Member State
European Commission in cooperation with authorities and services at national / regional level
Coordination
support
matching
Training sessions
Exchange of experiences, market access, networking, intercultural learning
This is a scheme which summarises some of the ideas we have at this stage. It is not final.
This scheme tells us three things:
There should be a support for mobility of young and young nascent entrepreneurs to existing SMEs in another Member State
The coordination and support as well as the matching between young (nascent) entrepreneurs and existing entrepreneurs should be done by the Commission in close cooperation with actors at the national, regional and local level.
The should be a mutual learning and exchange process between the young (nascent) entrepreneur and the existing entrepreneurs. Both should benefit from the activity
young nascent entrepreneur benefits in terms of knowledge, training and exchange of experience
existing entrepreneurs/SME benefits in terms of innovation transfer, partnership/networking and access to new market.

37. Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs
Stimulating entrepreneurship and encouraging cross-border business co-operation in Europe

38. Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs Objectives
Fostering of
Entrepreneurship
Internationalisation: SMEs’ full usage of the internal market
Competitiveness of start-up entrepreneurs and newly established SMEs in the EU

39. Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs How does it work?
A new entrepreneur travels and stays with an
experienced host entrepreneur in another EU country
1-6 months business to business exchange
On-the-job-training of new entrepreneurs to facilitate a successful start and business development

40. Benefits for new entrepreneurs:
Get experience & advice from seasoned entrepreneur
Develop international contacts
Get knowledge about foreign markets
Possible co-venturing opportunities
Understand the regulatory framework
in another EU country

41. Benefits for host entrepreneurs:
Access new skills and innovative knowledge
Work with a young fresh mind contributing new ideas
Gain knowledge and intelligence about the foreign markets
Act as mentors for new entrepreneurs

42. Who can participate?
New entrepreneurs = entrepreneurs active for less than 3 years; they get a monthly financial assistance
Host entrepreneurs = successful and experienced entrepreneurs

43. Who implements?
Almost 100 business support organisations all over Europe are implementing the programme:
Promotion
Recruitment
Matchmaking
Logistical support

44. So far… 2200 applications from all over EU 190 relationships completed
160 more agreed and in various stages of realisation
More information available at:

47. Contacts
Web site: