BACKGROUND & RATIONALE At present, there are no formalized systems and mechanisms for firm creation and start-up promotion in IVET systems across EU. IVET merely includes “entrepreneurship education” that remains theoretical and generic. This generates a considerable unbalance in the promotion of entrepreneurship across the various domains of education and training: most HEIs have business facilitation (incubators, accelerators, business centres, etc) while IVET is neglected, as if IVET students could not have entrepreneurial ideas, relegated to being “workers” and not “entrepreneurs”. There is an immediate need to “equip” IVET with tools and mechanisms to turn entrepreneurial ideas into action and empower IVET students with start-up promotion and support systems. OBJECTIVE TESEUS aims at promoting the creation of start-ups and enterprises in IVET environments by creating tools for teachers/mentors to nurture the entrepreneurial talent of IVET students, and a set of practical training for IVET students to create companies. The overall objective is to contribute to the smart and inclusive growth of EU2020 by igniting the entrepreneurial spirit in IVET with operational tools and training for firm creation and not limit IVET to entrepreneurial education. PARTICIPANTS TESEUS includes 8 partners from 7 countries representing formal and non-formal IVET, Academia, SMEs and NGOs for the promotion of start-up and firm creation. The partners have the technical capacity and operational experience to promote start-up in IVET. TESEUS will involve 340 target groups among IVET teachers/mentors and students for firm creation and start-up promotion during the implementation of the project. ACTIVITIES Partners will carry out the following activities: 1. map the needs of IVET for the definition of start-up promotion and creation of enterprises, also taking stock of relevant tools 2.Develop innovative TESEUS tools and training for start-up creation in IVET, defining content and material in multilingual versions to be delivered through the TESEUS OER platform 3.Test and validate the TESEUS start-up promotion tools and training with about 40 IVET teachers/mentors and 200 students METHODOLOGY TESEUS adopts a methodology based on A) scientific and pedagogical accuracy guaranteed by the presence of academic and VET partners with long-standing experience in start-up promotion B) operational relevance guaranteed by the presence of private sector and SMEs with expertise in business development and advisory services to start-ups Partners will rely on the methodology structured in the following approach of Mapping (IO1) ==> Developing (IO2) ==> Piloiting (IO3) ==> Deployment & Mainstreaming (IO4) RESULTS TESEUS will produce tangible and durable results, as follows: 1) TESEUS OER Platform for the free and open access to the TESEUS Tools and Training for firm creation in IVET environment 2) Mapping of start-up promotion in IVET at European level 3) TESEUS tools and training for start-up promotion and practical entrepreneurship implementation IMPACT The project will produce immediate and tangible impact on the participating organisations that will be better equipped and empowered to promote the creation of start-ups in IVET. In addition, TESEUS will have immediate impact on 40 teachers/mentors equipping them with tools to nurture the talent of students and accompany them towards from creation. TESEUS will also produce immediate impact on at least 2100 IVET students providing them with operational training to concretely turn ideas into business ventures LONG TERM BENEFIT TESEUS will produce long-term impact and benefit to the IVET and entrepreneurship promotion eco-system at large: the TESEUS Tools and Training will be made freely and openly available to the IVET European community for firm creation and establishment of start-ups beyond the Erasmus+ co-financing. Partners will embed TESEUS in their operations and promote the uptake of TESEUS from other IVET organisations, with the ambition of creating a pan-European network for the creation of companies in IVET.
The aim of TESEUS was to promote real entrepreneurship and creation of companies to nurture the entrepreneurial talent on IVET students by creating innovative tools and training content for both IVET teachers/mentors and students on how to identify business potential and turn it into real companies and start-ups. The activities and outputs were design to support reaching the following objectives: -Improving cooperation between IVET institutions and business world by providing them with innovative and accessible tools to develop their student's real-life entrepreneurship skills -Equipping IVET students and IVET teaching staff with competences and knowhow necessary to create real start-ups during professional training -Increasing the effectiveness and applicability of entrepreneurial education in formal IVET The rationale behind the choice of topic and above mentioned objectives was the fact that, at the moment of application, there were no formalized systems and mechanisms for firm creation and start-up promotion in IVET systems across EU. IVET merely included “entrepreneurship education, mainly theoretical and general, and only addressed to certain sectors of the education system. This generatesd a considerable unbalance in the promotion of entrepreneurship across the various domains of education and training: most HEIs have business facilitation (incubators, accelerators, business centres, etc) while IVET is neglected, as if IVET students could not have entrepreneurial ideas, relegated to being “workers” and not “entrepreneurs”. IVET needed tools and mechanisms to turn entrepreneurial ideas into action and empower IVET students with start-up promotion and support systems. TESEUS has been implemented by 8 partners from 7 countries (RO, BE, IT, ES, MK, GR, SK) representing formal and non-formal IVET, Academia, SMEs and NGOs for the promotion of start-up and firm creation. ACTIVITIES Partners carried out the following main activities: 1. mapped the needs of IVET for the definition of start-up promotion and creation of enterprises, also taking stock of relevant tools 2.Developped innovative TESEUS tools and training for start-up creation in IVET, defining content and material in multilingual versions, delivered through the TESEUS OER platform 3.Tested and validated the TESEUS start-up promotion tools and training with about 125 teachers and more than 2000 students. 4. Created methodological recommendations and advice for using and integrating TESEUS resources into the curriculum METHODOLOGY TESEUS adopted a methodology based on A) scientific and pedagogical accuracy guaranteed by the presence of academic and VET partners with long-standing experience in start-up promotion B) operational relevance guaranteed by the presence of private sector and SMEs with expertise in business development and advisory services to start-ups The following steps were taken to ensure high quality results and significant impact. Mapping (IO1) ==> Developing (IO2) ==> Piloiting (IO3) ==> Deployment & Mainstreaming (IO4) RESULTS TESEUS produced tangible and durable results, as follows: 1) TESEUS OER Platform for the free and open access to the TESEUS Tools and Training for firm creation in IVET environment 2) Mapping of start-up promotion in IVET at European level 3) TESEUS tools and training for start-up promotion and practical entrepreneurship implementation 4) Guidelines and methodological recommendations resulting from the pilot testing and feedback of the usrs IMPACT Teseus produced and tangible impact on the participating organisations which are now better equipped and empowered to promote the creation of start-ups in IVET. Moreover, almost 3000 students and more than 160 teachers have already benefitted from the TESEUS resources and improved their competences. LONG TERM BENEFIT TESEUS is expected to continue producing long-term impact and benefit to the IVET and entrepreneurship promotion eco-system at large: the TESEUS Tools and Training are freely and openly available to the IVET European community for firm creation and establishment of start-ups beyond the Erasmus+ co-financing. Partners embedded TESEUS in their operations and promote the uptake of TESEUS from other IVET organisations, with the ambition of creating a pan-European network for the creation of companies in IVET.