ICT Entrepreneurship plays a central role in all national socioeconomic development agenda in the past decade. Also, ICT entrepreneurs' efforts significantly contribute in development of many local successful small business start-ups, more and more important for local economy. Using modern multidisciplinary approaches, this project support the link between ICT entrepreneurship and small business innovation. Schools today have to be more and more concerned with making their students “future-ready.” Career Advisory processes in project partners VET schools are on very low level /or not existing at all/ as well as skills and competences of the VET teachers to perform the basic steps of this process. Main Project aim is to develop a Conceptual Model that can be adaptable for use in every VET orientated secondary school in all three countries: Macedonia, Croatia and Greece. The main project objectives are: - To create strategic partnership for transnational cooperation among different socio-economic organizations (education institutions, civil sector and ICT SMEs); - To increase skills and competences of the VET secondary schools' teachers to perform a complete mentoring process in determination and support of the potential of VET secondary schools' students; - Development of the students’ entrepreneurship skills in starting up of own ICT based business. The specific objectives of the activities in the project are: 1. To create multidisciplinary Career Counseling Conceptual Model consisted of: -Career Guidance and Counseling module with included Career Test software; -Process of development of a Business ideas and Basic Business Models including the best "pitching Investors" approach. - Career Exploration program with Real Work -Based experience for students in ICT company dealing with Augmented reality as well as Virtual reality as “state of the art” software solutions. 2. To create Strategic action plan for transnational cooperation in the field of educational development with new career counseling conceptual model; 3. To improve students’ team work skills; 4. To share the best practice by eTwinning module. In this project will be involved: - 32 participants from project partners’ organizations; - 30 teachers and 87 students from Secondary schools in internal dissemination and long therm teaching assignments; - 120 local stakeholders on 3 national multiplier events. Project activities: - 3 (three) Transnational PPs meetings are planned. - Development of intellectual outputs: IO1- Manual for establishing of Conceptual Model for development of ICT entrepreneurship skills of VET secondary schools students, IO2- Document for establishing of long-term transnational strategic partnership in supporting of ICT entrepreneurship potential in the VET secondary schools in regions of the three countries; - 3 (three) short-term join staff training events and third short-term joint staff training connected with short term exchange of group of pupils. - 1 (one) long-term teaching assignment as a main implementation period of Carrier Advisory modules; - 1 (one) Short-term exchanges of groups of pupils will be practical Carrier Expedition event for students members of the best students teams from transnational competitive event from each country. - Three multiplier events: National dissemination events in Greece and Croatia and Final Project Conference (National Dissemination event in North Macedonia) in Kocani, N. Macedonia, with 120 local stakeholders (40 per event) and 12 foreign on final conference. Expected project results are: 1. Established strategic partnerships for transnational cooperation between three countries which will lead to future cooperation; 2. Manual for establishing of Career Counseling Conceptual Model for development of ICT entrepreneurship skills of VET secondary schools students 3. Document for establishing of long-term transnational strategic partnership in supporting of ICT entrepreneurship potential in the VET secondary schools in regions of Kochani-N. Macedonia, Daruvar-Croatia and Thira Santorini-Greece. 4. 9 secondary school teachers with increased competences and skills for career advising to students in VET schools; 5. Increased awareness and knowledge about choosing career and development of own business ideas for establishing of ITC based business start-up; 6. Increased awareness on local, national and international level about the importance of career counseling in schools. Potential long term impact and benefit from the project: - VET secondary schools will establish a modern approach in supporting of young entrepreneurship potential of their students, based on a new developed Conceptual Model. - The innovative training for teachers will enable to provide high-quality and wider range services at national level for students to support them developing new business ideas, in particular in STEM and IT sectors and by this to ensure the European labor market with skilled labor force.
With this project the PPs wanted to: - Increase the skills and competences of VET teachers and students in better understanding of interconnections between non-formal education, vocational training and labor market respectively; - Develop new Conceptual module for career counseling which will be implemented in the VET schools with high level of transferability in other schools. - Promote creative thinking by developing innovative ideas for future ICT based businesses' start-ups among present and future generations of students in project partners VET secondary schools; - Boost ICT team-entrepreneurship potential among youngsters in municipalities of Kochani, Daruvar and Thira Santorini; - Integration of “Entrepreneurship & Innovation” as part of the non-formal educational programs at VET schools in Kochani, Daruvar and Thira Santorini; - Support local e-societies of Kochani, Daruvar and Thira Santorini with qualified ICT SMEs - Establishing a synergy among VET schools and organizations active in different fields in other socio-economic sectors; - Further professional development for VET schools' staff in support and promotion of potential of youth entrepreneurship;
The partnership between the PPs involved in this project was created months before starting to create the project idea. During the discussions and analysis prior writing the application for this project, the PPs concluded that VET teachers are usually "bombarded" with requests for opinion about choosing of the faculty /or other future careers/ from the senior students in VET schools in the three countries participating in this project. Unfortunately most of VET teachers lack skills and competences to implement some of the Career Development Activities and assist in students choices with providing a proper advice that will at least reduce their dilemmas. Schools today have to be more and more concerned with making their students “future-ready.” That is the main reason why PPs decided to apply for a project for Complete career counseling process, creating business plan and practical inside in ICT entrepreneurship. With this project we offered and meet the needs for: - Teachers to get acknowledged with complete carrier guidance process in order to be skilled and help to students in the direction for selecting the future career by newly developed Conceptual Model of career guidance and Counseling process; - A specially created Career Explorations' program for VET schools' students; - A work-based competitive activities of students' teams in development of Sustainable Business Model, with included "pitching Investors" approach; - further professional development for VET schools' staff in support and promotion of potential of youth entrepreneurship