The project aims to create, test, disseminate and systematize an original learning format, based on e-learning platforms, for courses on international sales and digital selling at European level, in order to develop the skills for university (undergraduate) students, enrolled in business, marketing and sales university programs. The main idea of this project is to analyse a series of e-learning platforms that host lessons on sales and create new content suitable for an increasingly internationalized and digital-oriented scenario. These new contents will be created in the form of OERs (in the form of interactive video training pills and narrative branched scenarios) and an adaptability/adaptation manual will be released to adapt the existing platforms to the new content that will be developed. In this way, the sustainability of existing e-learning platforms is guaranteed, and the creation of already developed repetitive content is avoided. In order to implement a blended teaching methodology, training moments will be organized both in presence and online, at the same time in the partner countries, i.e. online sales competitions, in which students will be called to solve real working situations. These competitions will be organized simultaneously in a physical and virtual location in the different countries of the partnership, in order to allow the interconnection of teams of international students, while breaking down the obstacles of physical mobility. In addition, the sales competitions will be structured to host a "career moment" during which a certain number of companies involved in the project, after having attended the competition and having assessed the work of the groups, will conduct job interviews. The project responds to the following critical issues: 1. scarcity of degree courses on international sales and digital selling, even if the figures operating in the sales area have been classified second for scarcity (globally) for several years, behind only expert manual workers (Manpower 2008, 2009, 2018); 2. training is still oriented towards traditional methodologies, especially in sales education; 3. poor integration of university-oriented and digital selling courses in university programs; 4. lack of synergies between universities and businesses to encourage student employability, as relationships with companies are often occasional and left to the initiative of individual professors; 5. scarcity of moments of international confrontation between students; 6. scarcity of sales competition in the European context. The expected results concern: 1. the design and systemisation of a new interdisciplinary teaching for university education, centred on international sales and digital selling, based on blended methodologies, including e-learning platforms and also training moments based on social learning theory, i.e. moments of confrontation in presence, such as sales competitions. The new course will serve as a pilot format, adaptable and implementable for use in different degree courses; 2. the creation of Open Educational Resources in the form of interactive video training pills and narrative branched scenarios; 3. the involvement of a panel of 65 (20 IT, 15 AT, 15 FI, 15 DK) students in the experimentation of the new educational program and in the online sales competition; 4. the creation of an adaptability manual of the new training contents (OERs) for existing e-learning platforms; 5. the creation of moments of international confrontation between students, in an accessible and remote form, through the creation and setting up of an online sales competition; 6. the promotion of meetings and recruiting occasions with the business world, through simulations of real work situations and careers moments; 7. the creation of stable links between education institutions, businesses and territories, creating relationships systems in which the sharing of knowledge, experiences and reflections favours the co-creation of value and relational capital on European basis; 8. increase in post-graduate employability in the international sales and digital selling sector; 9. sensitizing small and medium-sized enterprises to the use of digital tools as part of their sales process.
The main objective of the project was to develop and implement an interdisciplinary approach to teaching international sales and digital selling for university students. The SPLASH project aimed to update university curricula and integrate traditional sales skills with digital ones, preparing students to play a role as facilitators in B2B sales era, and have a profile that matches the needs of the labor market. In detail, the main objectives of the project were: to develop interdisciplinary and innovate university curricula on international sales and digital selling for students, based on research, and analysis of existing educational pathways, and focus groups representers of world of work, and training; create interactive open educational resources (OERs) such as video training pills and branching narrative scenarios; analyze and integrate existing e-learning platforms, and create an innovative e-learning pathway; conduct international Sales Competition (piloting); promote collaboration between universities and businesses; and enhance students' employability in sales.
The idea for the SPLASH project arose from critical needs in the field of international sales and digital sales in higher education. These needs formed the basis of the project goals. Needs addressed: - Scarcity of degree programs: The lack of degree programs specializing in international sales and digital sales necessitated action. - Traditional teaching: Outdated teaching methods prevail in digital sales education, requiring innovative and updated approaches. - Curricular integration: There was a need to integrate international and digital sales courses in line with market needs into university curricula. - University-industry collaboration: Gaps between university and industry needed to be bridged to increase student employability. - Global student interaction: Opportunities for international interaction among students are limited, or little known to students. - European Sales Competitions: The scarcity/absence of European Sales Competitions hinders the development of students' skills, and the internationalization of educational pathways.