BIG InternPrize (InternPrize: Business Ideas Generation) is a Strategic Partnership for VET between 16 organisations including providers of HE, VET, Adult Education and other players in entrepreneurship education, experimentation, research and innovation in education. Under the leadership of Akdeniz University of Antalya they will: - engage at least 80 VET trainers, 120 VET students and 32 entrepreneurs in a structured Community of Practice therefore building on the successful experience and exploiting the platform and tools generated in two previous E+ KA2 Strategic Partnerships for VET, - introduce research into VET and publish at least 16 mini papers on the potential of mobile video bite size learning as a supplement to or a new form of VET and as part of a strategy to keep students at risk of ESL in education, bring ESLs, NEETs, resistant, reluctant and unlikely learners back into education through mobile, flexible and creative learning content, - publish a Joint Position Paper on the potential of bite size learning called "VET for the Always Connected, the Disconnected and the Discontented.", - create a new trend (in style and content) in professional education of present and future VET trainers on mentoring, cultivating and supporting the generation of creative and innovative individual or joint business ideas by VET students from various disciplines, - create at least 30 bite size video lessons on the generation and presentation of creative and innovative business ideas for VET trainers and students (and professionals / entrepreneurs) from any sector and use them in a partnership wide monitored experiment to help understand the benefit and potential of the bite size learning methodology, - create a gallery of at least 80 individual or joint creative and innovative business ideas produced by students with the mentorship and support of VET trainers and after peer review by entrepreneurs and - stage a public training event in which students from all the partner education and training providers present their business ideas to entrepreneurs in a face-to-face peer review activity as part of a larger well renown start-ups bootcamp. The proposal was built after partnership wide consultation and research within the consortium that showed the need of VET becoming an education sector that is an active player in the local, regional, national and European economy. The partners built BIG InternPrize upon the premise that VET should not be a fallback form of education for students who are not keen on an academic career. On the contrary it is that sector of education that can best up the knowledge capital by opening up to closer, more creative and constructive relationships with industry. It can be the education sector able to lure people not in education and professionals into VET either as a way of getting back into education or as a form of lifelong professional development. In this way BIG InternPrize will: - bring research and innovation into VET making it more relevant in the lives of young people, the economy and the community around it, - start new trends in VET both in the professional development of trainers and in the provision of professional and personal education of students and - provoke positive change and innovation, more and higher quality knowledge capital and more social cohesion. During the project lifetime the partners will: - meet for four coordination meetings, - have a training activity for VET trainers and a training event involving VET trainers, VET students and entrepreneurs and - organise two multiplier events to share the results and outputs of the project giving BIG InternPrize visibility. There will be a strong dissemination and community building around the project throughout the project lifetime that will be a partnership wide effort to bring the results and benefits of the project to as many potential beneficiaries as possible. This will, in the second half of the project, develop into a structured exploitation strategy to take the partnership and the innovation started in this project beyond the partnership and beyond the project lifetime.
BIG InternPrize was established to: - establish a new structured and permanent form of relationship and cooperation between VET and enterprise in a Community of Practice environment, - introduce the use of bite size learning as a supplement to formal education, a new form of non-formal education that is totally mobile, flexible and easy to take up by a very wide variety of learners including those who are already starting or thinking of changing their studies or careers, who might be at risk of ESL due to disgruntlement with formal education and those who could possibly see the value to go back into education, - train VET trainers in mentoring and energising young minds to generate business ideas, - experiment (and create a concrete example for future emulation and further development) of the use of peer review of the business ideas of students by entrepreneurs who then, in their turn, also serve as role models and - inspire start ups with thought and due consideration of all economic, ethical, environmental, social responsibility and technical aspects necessary for a successful business rather than with improvisation and trial-and-error. It was also intended to bring in leadership skills into formal education.
BIG InternPrize was conceived to: - establish a new structured and permanent form of relationship and cooperation between VET and enterprise in a Community of Practice, - introduce the use of bite size learning as a non-formal education that is totally mobile, flexible and easy to take up by a very wide variety of learners and - energise young minds to generate business ideas, possibly inspiring startups with sustainability mindsets. It met the needs of: young people who - show promising talent, business orientation and acumen, - need confidence and help with career orientation, - may be kept in education with learning environments that are less formal. - have already started their working life but who can do better given the opportunity to grow and - could get back into education. VET trainers needing: - exposure to the new forms of working with industry and - new skills and tools for the generation and creative presentation of business ideas, mentoring and leadership of young people. + the VET sector always in need of modernisation to maintain relevance in future careers. + Industry and the community benefiting from less mismatch between the outcomes of formal education and what employers are looking for in new employees.