Young Entrepeneurs in Action

Project summary

The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium realized that entrepreneurial education in Slovenia is rather undeveloped. In 2013, our school joined the international program Junior Achievement Young Enterprises (JA-YE). As a grammar school, our teachers are not qualified for teaching entrepreneurship. Therefore, we decided to improve our competencies and knowledge in this field. From our cooperation with JA-YE, we knew that entrepreneurial education is well developed in Norway; therefore, we wanted to find a partner there. YA-YE Slovenia help us establish a contact with Kongshavn videregående skole in Oslo. Entrepreneurial education rarely finds a place in a grammar school. However, some parents and students (above all those who are more ambitious) are aware of the importance of entrepreneurial skills for their future life. The first aim of the project was to improve entrepreneurial education and introduce good practice, whereas the second aim was to raise awareness about the importance of such skills along with improving the work of small companies (in cooperation with JA-YE Slovenia). Institute for Education Research and Development that works within St. Stanislav’s Institution evaluated the state of affairs in Slovenia with an emphasis on the Diocesan Classical Gymnasium and established that there is a very small number of grammar schools that have entrepreneurial education as part of their curricula, however, some schools have been working on introducing new entrepreneurial programs. At our first transnational meeting, the state of affairs, aims and challenges that stand in the way were thoroughly discussed. Our Norwegian partners suggested organizing an innovation camp – a method that is problem-oriented and very efficient. In addition, our partners also participated in a meeting for headmasters organized by JA-YE Slovenia. Exchanges were a very important part of the project. The first exchange was organized in November 2014, with 2 teachers and 11 students visiting our partner school in Norway and participating in their inovation camp. We realized that innovation camp is a problem-oriented method that helps students improve their problem-solving skills. Mastering these skills is something they will need in their future. The participating students searched for a solution to a real problem that was given by a company (which was at the same time the sponsor of the camp). The sponsor and the participating teachers provided support to students. In addition, the students also listened to various motivational lecturers that might have helped them solve their problems. The main objective of the camp was to improve entrepreneurial skills including understanding of the problem, searching for ideas and choosing the best one along with writing a business plan and giving a presentation in English in front of a jury and a group of fellow students, which was another positive benefit of the camp. In March 2015, 15 Norwegian students visited Slovenia to participate in the camp at St. Stanislav’s Institution. Another two exchanges were held in November 2015 and May 2016 respectively. In the last two exchanges, the students of both schools lived with guest families, whereas in the first year, they stayed in youth hostels. This is understood as a big step forward and a nice success, because the second group of students did not find it difficult to live with a foreign family. In Slovenia, the project was presented to the teachers who cooperate with JA-YE Slovenia and their students were invited to participate in our activities. Five schools decided to take part in our camp. This is another success in introducing entrepreneurial education to Slovenian schools. We planned to prepare both manuals in the first year of the project. However, at the time, we did not feel competent enough to fulfil this task successfully. Our partners equipped us with knowledge and news ideas, but there was still much to be learnt from them at this stage. The content of the manuals slightly changed and adapted to the needs of the project. We prepared a teachers’ manual on how to organize an innovation camp and a students’ manual to be used during the camp. Since we organized the camp by ourselves, we realized how useful such a manual would have been. We prepared both of them after the last camp in Slovenia and, thus, the time was too short to organize a presentation of both of them (E2). In May 2016, the Diocesan Classical Gymnasium hosted a meeting of headmasters from Ljubljana. The Norwegian teachers attended the meeting and explained the method of innovation camp and stressed the importance of entrepreneurial education in Norway. Three transnational meetings (two in Norway and one in Slovenia) were held and another visit (C1) was planned, but not organized. We would like to emphasis that both schools plan further cooperation. We are discussing a cooperation in form of a science camp; therefore, a physics teacher from the Diocesan Classical Gymnasium attended the last meeting in Oslo. The communication between the schools was good. We were in contact via email and phone calls. In addition, we also prepared a short video for (head)teachers who are interested in such a project and our Norwegian partners recorded a video with a renowned Norwegian businessman who stressed the importance of entrepreneurial skills. The Diocesan Classical Gymnasium introduced innovation camp to its curriculum, since the method has proven to be very efficient. Our Norwegian partners were very helpful and willing to answer our questions. They helped us with their ideas, knowledge and offered new materials that we can use for our future camps. We also included some information obtained from them in the manuals.