ROGER! BEVERAGES is a marketing project developed by the German Walter-Eucken-Berufskolleg located in Düsseldorf and the Romanian Liceul Teoretic Henri Coanda, based in Craoiova. The two-year project revolves around the development of a non-alcoholic beverage and its introduction onto a foreign market. At the beginning of the project the students take on the roles of young entrepreneurs in the beverage sector. They will develop an idea for a new non-alcoholic beverage for the youth which they want to introduce onto a foreign market. In a first step they need relevant information on the target market (e.g. the Romanian market). The partner students in Romania will act as a consultancy firm which will provide the necessary information. At the same time the Romanian students will receive a similar request from their German partners. After receiving the results of the commissioned market research, the students will analyze the information and take a decision as to what specific beverage they want to introduce onto the foreign, i.e. the Romanian / German market. The students will then start planning their product in more detail (e.g. with the help of the 4 P’s) staying in close contact with their foreign counterparts, who will continue to act as advisors. If necessary, they will conduct further research, e.g. surveys, in order to provide more detailed information. During the planning process the students will also be supported by German apprentices who are attending a dual VET programme in the field of marketing / communication. At the end of the project there will be a reality check: the students will present their product concept before a panel consisting of real entrepreneurs and the partner students who have been taking the role of consultants. Coursework will be complemented by two learning and teaching activities during which the students will hold face to face business meetings between principals and agents and attend workshops in which they acquire important intercultural and business related knowledge, skills and competences. As the working language will be English, the students will also improve their foreign language competence with a specific focus on professional contexts. The main objectives of this project are twofold: 1. to develop the students' basic and transversal skills with a special focus on those skills that enhance their sense of entrepreneurship; qualities that are necessary not only to get a job on the job market but also in daily life and interaction. 2. to create openly available course materials using innovative, student-centred methods. The participating students on the German side are between 16 and 18 years of age attending the first year of a 2-years vocational school based programme. The German students are rather weak graduates from secondary education with considerable deficiencies in basic skills such as maths and English. There is a high dropout risk / risk of not achieving the entrance qualifications for higher education (Fachabitur). The Romanian students are also between 16 and 18 years old attending an upper-secondary high school. The students in both countries lack experience in structuring and organising their own learning processes. Thus, they need a motivating environment which allows for problem / project based learning in order to stimulate self-initiative, creativity and self-confidence. So far, they have had little opportunity to practice their English communicative skills in real life / real business situations, i.e. situations which actually necessitate the use of English to explain economic aspects. Also, for many of the students, the European idea is still abstract. All in all, about 80 students will take part in this project. The project puts high emphasis on the use of learner centered approaches such as problem based learning, reciprocal teaching, peer tutoring and cooperative learning methods in combination with modern communication technology in order to increase active student involvement and initiative. Consequently, we also strive to develop adequate (self-) assessment tools. With this project we not only hope to extend the students’ transversal / entrepreneurial skills, language competences and digital skills and thus their future employability but also to provide teachers with the opportunity to gain more experience and confidence in the development and assessment of competence based projects within a European dimension. At the institutional level this project will speed up the schools’ modernization towards competence / output oriented teaching and learning and reinforce education system’s response to the main challenges of today’s world. By publishing the developed teaching and learning materials on European platforms such as eTwinning, E.N.T.E.R (European Network for Transfer and Exploitation of EU Project Results) we aim to ensure the long term benefit of our project.
ROGER! BEVERAGES is a marketing project developed by the German Walter-Eucken-Berufskolleg located in Düsseldorf and the Romanian Liceul Teoretic Henri Coanda, based in Craiova. The initial idea behind this project was to provide our students with the opportunity to employ and expand their business knowledge and skills in a more realistic environment and at the same time to improve their professional English thereby preparing them for an increasingly international labour market. The project focuses on skills such as critical thinking, problem solving competencies, self-initiative as well as communication and cooperation skills to foster entrepreneurial skills. The involved students also expand their IT skills by collecting, interpreting, analyzing and visualizing data with the help of digital tools. Due to the transnational context the students are encouraged to actively employ their English skills and to develop their intercultural competence. The German partner, the Walter-Eucken-Berufskolleg, is a vocational school located in Düsseldorf with round about 3000 students visiting the school on a full or part time basis. The 650 full-time students are either preparing for the “Fachhochschulreife” qualifying for admission to certain universities and polytechnics (GNVQ-level) or for the “Abitur”, the German university entrance qualifications (A levels). The students participating in the project attend the same class with the “Höhere Handelsschule” (GNVQ-level), are between 16 and 18 years of age and have had little opportunity so far to employ their English skills outside the classroom. The Romanian partner, Liceul Teoretic Henri Coanda in Craiova, is a school specializing in the field of humanities. It is attended by about 1000 pupils from primary to high school level. The participating students, aged between 16 and 17, take part in a voluntary course on entrepreneurship. During two bi-national meetings in Romania and Germany the students – stepping into the roles of young entrepreneurs - prepared for the introduction of a non-alcoholic beverage onto the market of their partner country. Supported by their partner students they collected and analysed relevant information on the foreign target market and planned their product, e.g. with the help of the 4 P’s. In a last step they presented their product and communication concept to an external jury of experts. The necessary preparatory work was carried out either within the framework of a voluntary extra-curricular course (Henri Coanda) or as an integral part of the “standard” curriculum in the form of mandatory lessons or project days for the whole class (Walter-Eucken). The lessons/project days focused on e.g. marketing basics, on how to conduct market research, on presentation skills and business manners. The main impact of the project can be described as follows: the participating students have developed an increased awareness for entrepreneurial thinking, are much more confident and motivated to speak English, have thereby improved their language skills and have learned to both deal with and to appreciate cultural differences. From the schools’ perspective the developed materials can be used and further developed in other learning and teaching contexts. Overall, the project has contributed to the schools’ profiles as modern, student-oriented, European schools and has the potential to motivate other members of the staff to initiate and take part in European projects.