Fostering entrepreneurial mindsets through education and learning

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Enterprise and Industry Directorate General
Fostering entrepreneurial mindsets through
education and learning
Kirsi Ekroth-ManssilaDeputy Head of
Unit European CommissionEnterprise and Industry
Directorate-General
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Political framework

• Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs Member
  States should reinforce entrepreneurship
  education
• Commissions Annual Progress Report 2006
  proposal to add entrepreneurship to all national
  school curricula
• Recommendation of the European Parliament and the
  Council entrepreneurship is a key competence for
  all

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What is Entrepreneurship Education ?

• To develop personal attributes and horizontal
  skills creativity, initiative, risk-taking,
  autonomy, self-confidence, leadership,
  team-working
• Awareness of self-employment and entrepreneurship
  as possible career options
• Learning by doing work on concrete projects
  (e.g. students running mini-companies)
• Specific business skills how to start and run
  successfully a company.

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Entrepreneurship related skills
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
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Policy instruments
Open method of co-ordination ToolsExpert
groups, studies, dialogue with governments and
stakeholders, benchmarking, monitoring of
progress, organisation of events. ObjectivesTo
promote the exchange and dissemination of good
practice. To steer policy action in the EU
Member States.
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Some activities of the EC

• Education for Entrepreneurship, especially in
  primary and secondary schools. Expert Reports and
  Guide on Good Practice
• Student Mini-companies in Secondary Education.
  Expert Report and audiovisual material
• Commissions Communication Fostering
  entrepreneurial mindsets through education and
  learning
• Ongoing project
• Entrepreneurship in Higher Education, especially
  in non-business studies

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Share of secondary schools participating in
mini-company programmes
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Commission Communication

• Commission Communication - COM (2006) 33
• Fostering entrepreneurial mindsets through
  education and learning
• Objectives
• Set the scene, and showcase good practice
• Identify key issues to be addressed
• Suggest measures for a more systematic strategy
• Trigger action in the Member States

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Some good examples

• Finland entrepreneurship strategy was jointly
  developed by different ministries and
  organisations
• Luxembourg programme for all primary schools has
  a section on starting up a business based on a
  cartoon
• Poland entrepreneurship is a compulsory subject
  in all secondary schools
• Spain, Asturias students run import-export
  mini-companies as part of the regional curriculum
  for secondary schools
• UK pilots in schools and now dissemination
  Science Enterprise Challenge introducing
  entrepreneurship in science and technological
  universities

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Proposed action

• Develop a coherent framework
• Support to schools and teachers
• Participation by external actors and teachers
• Fostering entrepreneurship in higher education
• Share and disseminate good practice

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Oslo Conference October 2006
Entrepreneurship Education in Europe Fostering
Entrepreneurial Mindsets through Education and
Learning http//ec.europa.eu/enterprise/entrepren
eurship/support_measures/training_education/index
.htm How to turn the action lines of the
Commission Communication into concrete activities
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The Oslo Agenda for Entrepreneurship Education in
Europe

• A rich catalogue of initiatives, based on
  successful experiences in Europe
• Stakeholders can pick actions at the appropriate
  level
• Possible actors are indicated for each one of the
  proposed actions

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Actions proposed

• Framework for policy development
• Ensure political support at high level
• Better integrate entrepreneurship education into
  the Lisbon monitoring process
• Set up a European-wide framework of objectives
• Launch national strategies
• Create Steering Groups European and national
• Ensure coordination at EU level in the evaluation

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Actions proposed

• Support to educational establishments
• Integrate entrepreneurship in curriculum
• Commission to support curricular reforms
• Support the use of practice-based tools
• Ensure sustained funding/support
• Build European and national platforms for
  exchange
• Develop research to assess the impact

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Actions proposed

• Support to teachers and educators
• Attach training to teachers to curriculum
  reforms
• Adopt innovative methods to train teachers
• Set-up incentives at school level to enable
  teachers
• Support the mobility of educators across Europe

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Actions proposed

• Entrepreneurship activities in schools and in
  higher education
• Raise awareness of the role of entrepreneurs
• Introduce innovative pedagogies into all courses
• Test entrepreneurial competences of students
• Link students to companies and business people
• Allow and support the spontaneous initiative of
  student associations
• Engage alumni in the activities

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Actions proposed

• Entrepreneurship activities in schools (contd)
• Offer training to disadvantaged groups
• Integrate entrepreneurship across different
  subjects
• Bring entrepreneurs into the classroom, and
  involve students in enterprise projects
• Increase the production of European case studies
• Give entrepreneurship more academic esteem
• Embed evaluation into all programmes

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Actions proposed

• Building links and opening education to the
  outside world
• Encourage the creation of learning communities
• Businesses to donate a part of the working time
  of staff to activities in school / university
• Create label for entrepreneurial schools and
  entrepreneurial universities
• Establish entrepreneurship centres at a local
  level

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Actions proposed

• Communication activities
• Launch awareness campaigns EU and national
• Celebrate entrepreneurship programmes that work
  well
• Establish awards to acknowledge enterprises that
  donate funds and time

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Next steps

• Dissemination to policy makers in public
  administrations and to other stakeholders
• A source of inspiration for any strategy or
  specific measures to be implemented at national
  and regional level
• The Commission will use the Agenda to establish
  its priorities, and to draw ideas for future
  actions