The proposed action intends to spread the entrepreneurship around the EU, with a VET training course based on needs of the EU young people, characterized by innovation, creativity and certified contents. Today, the economic crisis around Europe have created a widespread sense of disappointment, especially in the new generations that are increasingly resigned to accept works without carrier expectations. The proposed training course, supported by a very qualified partnership, composed by 3 high schools, 1 language school and 2 technological parks, intends to overcome this situation by teaching a new entrepreneurship idea based on actions and creative thinking. The partners have carried out a survey in their countries about entrepreneurship training courses, checking all potential critical areas. The analysis results can be summarized as following : • The “self-made-man” thinking is not included in the professional courses around the EU; • Some traditional teaching methods are ineffective; • In many courses the “entrepreneurship on field” is not valorized sufficiently; • In many cases, the corporate world is not sufficiently involved in the training courses; The proposed action intends to address and resolve all these problems by creating an high level training course for the creation of three professionals : start-upper, innovation manager and network manager. The main goal of this course is the creation of a new generation of managers for the new generation of enterprises (unstructured, multicultural, innovative and oriented to problem solving). The course, lasting 18 months, will be structured so that one-third of the teaching activity is carried out at the same time in each of the three partner countries and the remaining two thirds are made of common with a dedicated e-learning platform. The project’s target groups are the young people who have obtained a high school diploma and young people attending the last year of high school. The course will be made in CLIL mode. The proposed project’s actions will be detailed as the following: • the preparation of a feasibility study to analyze and detail the EU situation in this context; • the planning of the course with a pilot course (test)with 45 students; • the organization of workshops in high schools in the partner countries; • the creation of an advanced e-learning training platform; The training course will generate innovative training materials used as a course manual: video and audio (mp3 and mp4 files), Apps, interactive online games, tutorials, live streaming, etc. These materials will be available in English, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian and Polish and will be accessible to anyone on the training platform. The proposed action’s impact for students will be the acquired skills and the new potential career paths, whereas the long-term benefits of the project will be the reduction of the “thinking” gap between high schools and enterprises.
The realization of the educational path confirmed the validity and contents of SETUP: it has valued the personality of teachers and entrepreneurs in meeting young people, essential for the transmission of competences. The implemented actions served students' inclinations in the respect of the project objectives. A further confirmation was the international openness that increased the capability to utilize links with European enterprises. In 2015 DEDALO started the project SETUP "Start-up manager, Innovation Manager, Network Manager: a vocational training path on entrepreneurship to fill the gap between educational systems and labor market" funded by the European Union through the Erasmus+ Program. The Coordinating educational institution DEDALO involved 2 technology parks - Technopark Gliwice and ComoNeXT - and education institutions in Portugal, UK and Romania. SETUP aim was to address the difficulty encountered by educational systems in increasing entrepreneurship and reduce the gap between education and labor market. An initial survey highlighted separation between theoretic knowledge and practical competences: to anticipate trends/technologies, to create collaboration networks, to manage project budgets or open innovation and has identified professions needed by international markets: Start-up Manager, Innovation Manager and Network Manager. The objectives of the proposed vocational path are: to increase participants' competitiveness in international labor market, develop entrepreneurial capabilities and business experiences and to deepen their linguistic and IT skills. These objectives were achieved through innovative methods and tools: practical and theoretical courses, immersion into enterprises, travels and stage experiences abroad, workshops. The consortium has created a model allowing participants to meet professionals from innovative enterprises corresponding to the profiles emerged from our survey. The course layout was realized by the Coordinator in collaboration with the participating schools and technology parks. The course contents, proposed in the three Countries in a flexible way maintained coherence and unity grace to shared educational field: the formal aspects of business management, marketing, human resources, creativity, self-presentation, management of partnerships, business models and innovation, budgeting, funding and certifications, business plans and feasibility studies, laws and patents, internationalization and market analysis. SETUP offered participants a real international experience through mobility and placements in enterprises abroad. Some examples: collaboration for software development in a law firm; participation to knowledge management in an automotive company; know-how acquisition on innovative geo-informatics techniques; collaboration in enterprises producing innovative mechanical technologies compliant to international regulations. Grace to these mobility experiences abroad participants developed their linguistic and communication skills, reinforced self esteem and worked in a multicultural environment. Significant was the involvement of participants into an international team, during the collaborative business game simulating an enterprise. An online platform allowed the sharing of educational materials. Participants were allocated to different project phases leading to the realization of a product and its introduction in the market. The final event in Rome was extremely positive for participants. SETUP allowed partners to value and increase international relationships; schools and universities met innovative European enterprises, better understood labor market needs and opened to changes. The positive results led DEDALO to activate e new post-degree course for mechatronic technicians in collaboration with another institution in Lombardy Region. The Italian institution promotes a vocational training course for young people aged 15-16 years. APECEF started in September 2017 the first edition of 4UP, a course derived from SETUP experience, with 14 students and in 2018 the second edition with 16 students. A fundamental aspect derived from SETUP is the strict link with labor market. based on these premises and this work method, 4UP allows participants access to a continuously updated education, leading to high possibilities of employment. Without SETUP project this offer would not exist. Finally ComoNeXT has developed a new initiative adopting SETUP methods and approach.