The project “GENIUS", has been agreed upon as a common theme with all the participating schools. Each of these schools offers a general education. None of them offers the subject of entrepreneurship within their curriculum. This topic is innovative for all those involved. With youth unemployment approaching almost 50% in some countries, this theme touches on issues that are relevant to all EU countries. This ambitious project aims to contribute to the solution of a current problem. Although the project has yet to gain approval, it has had a great start. The foundation of the project stands on excellent interpersonal relations between the participating schools. These schools are a hundred percent dedicated to successful cooperation. Most of the teachers leading this project know each other from previous activities and study visits. The project team is off to a great start. The team drew up general terms during the first planning meeting, which took place in February 2015 at our school. This project involves five secondary schools from five countries: Gymnázium Myjava (Slovakia), Gymnazium Loviisa (Finland), Gladsaxe Gymnasium (Denmark), Lyceum of Elephterios (Greece), and Enrico Medi IISS (Italy). These schools all have similar entities in terms of size, number of students and educational programs. The schools geographically represent almost all of Europe. Countries from Scandinavia, central Europe and southern Europe are involved. This gives the project a global perspective. The main objectives and outputs of the project can be divided into two parts. The first Part will be a presentation of each of the schools. The schools will introduce their educational and training material that they include in their training programs. This material will form a thematic unit, dealing with various issues of entrepreneurship and youth activism. It will also include an overview of the labor market and the successful placement of young people in it. The goal, as a whole, is to teach general humanities as a crossover theme in other subjects. The second part of the project involves actual student mobility. The outcome of this part of the project will be business plans and activities developed in detail (including possible resulting products or service). Students will not only present their findings during the mobility part of the project. They will also present them to their home schools and local communities, upon returning home. Subsequently, these plans will be included as supporting material in the above-mentioned teaching material within the educational program of the schools. Five mobilities have been planned during the duration of the project - each school will host all the other partners. Upon agreement, the number of participants has been set to six students and two teachers from each school. During each mobility week, students will be staying with host families, and then they will later host foreign partners themselves. That means that during the 3-year project, 24 students and eight teachers from each school will take part in the mobilities. Since our intention is to link teaching with practical use and innovative teaching methods (learning by doing), we have addressed and are planning to reach out to various experts. These people will take part in the project by means of presentations, lecturing, demonstrations or guaranteeing individual activities. In addition, we have planned special excursions and workshops for the mobility weeks. Work on the project will not only take place during these mobility weeks, but also during the entire three-year term. Preparations in connection with a given topic and in cooperation with the experts will take place at schools. It will culminate during mobility week by working in international teams. The outcome of these activities will be a comprehensive and detailed business plan drawn up together with any products or services. The plan will elaborate on all aspects (idea, market research, budget, marketing, advertising, etc.) and will be analyzed in the light of positive and potential risks. In this way, students can inspire each other. We are planning to present the best plans at the annual exhibition of student societies, held in the spring in Bratislava. For the first time this year we had our own stand within the European program, Junior Achievement, at this exhibition. Our stand was awarded a prize. Of course, the project also brings the added value of many benefits for our students and schools. The project results can later be implemented into our everyday teaching in the future. This, in turn, can be a long-term and sustainable contribution to the schools. This ensures a positive impact on all present and future students of the schools. We have proven to be good at previous projects and we do them well. It is indicated in the evaluating words of the final report of our last project. This is also a guarantee that this project will be at the highest level of quality.
The project "GENIUS - Young Entrepreneurs in European Countries" has emerged as a common idea of all participating schools. This project was innovative for all of these schools, since, except of one school, these are general education schools which do not include this subject in their programmes. It has touched upon the issue, which is currently fundamentally akin to all EU countries, because youth unemployment is reaching menacing numbers in some countries, approaching 50 percent. The basis for the whole project was the excellent interpersonal relationships among the participating schools, which were the guarantee of future successful cooperation. Almost all of us have got to know each other from previous activities. The entire project was well started up at the planning meeting held in February 2015 at our school and the first transnational meeting of project coordinators in Copenhagen. Five secondary schools were involved in the project: Gymnasium Myjava (SK), Loviisa Gymnasium (FI), Gladsaxe Gymnasium (DK), Lyceum of Eleftherios (GR) and IISS Enrico Medi (IT). They were, apart from the Italian school, related entities in size, number of students and educational programmes. In addition, they covered almost the whole of Europe - represented by the Nordic countries, central Europe and its southern part, so we really could look at the issue globally. The main objectives and outputs of this project can be divided into two parts: Part 1 was the output for all schools - didactic and study material that schools included in their curricula. This material creates a thematic unit dealing with issues of entrepreneurship, youth activism, labor market overview and the successful placement of young people in it. It will be taught as a whole for general-purpose humanities and as a cross-cutting theme for other subjects. Part 2 was the output of each student mobility made and these outputs were comprehensive and detailed business objectives (with a possible resultant product or service) that were presented not only during mobility but also after it, in their own schools and in local communities. Subsequently, as subsidiary material, they were included in the above-mentioned teaching materials within the curriculum of individual schools. During the duration of the project 5 mobilities were planned - each school sequentially hosted all other partners. The number of mobility participants,with the agreement of all the partners, was agreed on 6 students and 2 teachers from each school. During the week of mobility, students were accommodated in the host families and then they hosted foreign partners. Thus, twenty-four students and eight teachers from each school took part in the mobilities during the duration of the project. As we wanted to connect learning with practice as much as possible and use innovative “learning by doing”, we contacted some experts and businessman who participated in the project through professional lectures, demonstrations, guaranty of each activity and in two cases through the final assessment of student business plans. In addition, excursions and workshops took place in private companies, especially during mobilities. Work on the project, however, has not only been going during them, but in fact during all three years. At the schools, preparations were made in accordance with the topic and in cooperation with experts and authorities which culminated during the week of mobility through joint work in international teams, which output was complex proposal from foreign partners for an improved and detailed business plan, together with any product or service, developed in all aspects (idea, market research, budget, marketing, advertising, SWOT analysis, etc.) and analyzed in terms of all the positives and possible risks. In this way, students could inspire each other. The best intentions were subsequently presented at their own schools to other students and employees. Additionally, of course, the project also brought added value in the form of many benefits for schools and students. The long-term and sustainable benefits for schools are the follow-on drawings from the project results in the daily future teaching of the subject, this ensuring a positive impact for all current and future school students. The project was estimated by participating students and teachers with superlatives. Many of them, who have already had rich experience from previous projects, have evaluated this project as the best that their school has so far been involved in. Markus Gango, Lovisa Gymnasium (Finland): "I think this GENIUS project was the best one I have experienced in my position as a Project Coordinator within 12 years, we had a great team of teachers and great students! We have certainly achieved something useful for school and future practical life." The GENIUS project has clearly fulfilled all the goals set. At all schools, the sustainability of project outcomes for future students and educators is ensured.