Entrepreneurship is a powerful driver of economic growth and job creation as it creates new companies and jobs, opens up new markets, and nurtures new skills and capabilities. The level of entrepreneurship and its nature varies widely between the Member States, and the reasons for low enthusiasm for an entrepreneurial career are therefore diverse. Some Member States with higher levels of entrepreneurship are less successful than others at helping new and small enterprises to grow. A report by the European Commission (Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan) highlights that generally, would-be entrepreneurs in Europe find themselves in a tough environment as current education might not offer the right foundation for an entrepreneurial career. Recognition of Prior Learning and Accredited Prior Experiential Learning (VPL) is the process where credit is sought for learning which has not previously been assessed and awarded credit by an academic institution or professional organisation. It is learning which has taken place through a range of personal experiences often including unstructured informal and formal learning experiences. In many fields, the skills, knowledge and abilities that are acquired through this type of learning can be just as relevant as those gained by students following formal accredited educational programmes. VPL is a way to provide evidence and gain credit for relevant experiential learning. This is particularly relevant in the field of entrepreneurship. An applicant with years of entrepreneurial experience could probably follow a Masters programme in Entrepreneurship more easily that an applicant who is in possession of a first degree but without any exposure to business-related subjects. The scope of the project is to leverage the infrastructure and competencies of the partners in e-learning and the collective expertise and resources of the partners in creating a programme which would encourage entrepreneurs to pursue studies at Level 7. The programme would provide a structured manner in which VPL and RPL frameworks can be integrated with innovative online coursework including game-based learning to enable participants to earn the required 180 ECTS credits at Level 6. This project will include the recruitment of suitable candidates to the proposed RPL&VPL4Entrep Pilot Programme which will be run over a twelve-month period. Their progress on this programme will be carefully analysed to check for any system modifications which may be required to ensure the effectiveness of the RPL&VPL4Entrep Programme. A three month period for post programme evaluations and reporting is included as an integral part of the implementation process. In view of the current Covid-19 crisis, the project is timely since it focuses on the online provision of the complete review, evaluation and delivery of related course content. The legacy of Covid-19 will certainly be a greater appreciation of the value of online services and this project will provide an online solution to experienced entrepreneurs to get recognition for their academic and experiential entrepreneurial accomplishments. The Covid-19 crisis has put unprecedented stresses and strains on the European Union and global trade in general. Already, unemployment estimates by EU entities show higher numbers than experienced in the 2008 financial crisis. There is going to be a need for entrepreneurs to re-build a decimated SME sector and this project will help prepare these entrepreneurs for this challenge by aligning their competences and qualifications.
1) Design, develop and implement a research study within each partner country on the independent use of recognition of prior learning and accreditation of experiential learning. 2) Development of a stand-alone international web-based infrastructure that would be accredited to recognise and validate prior learning and experiential learning in the field of entrepreneurship. 3) Design, development and accreditation of a 180 EQF/MQF Level 6 Bachelors programme in entrepreneurship including the RPL&VPL framework accredited in Malta through the MFHEA authorising Advenio eAcademy to award the degree in collaboration with the Partner HEIs. 4) Collaboration with SME associations within each partner country to promote the programme and recruit suitable entrepreneurs for the pilot programme. 5) Implementation of a pilot intake of entrepreneur students – Target of 60 to be offered full scholarship. Target completion rate was 25% i.e.: 15 students. 6) Provide focus to applied research that would result in concrete initiatives within existing SMEs or as part of a start-up process – target 15 projects being implemented 7) Publication and dissemination of project results to promote the viability of the programme to European HEIs.
We formed the consortium on the basis of previous collaboration experience of various partners in Erasmus+ higher education projects. We applied for this project due to our shared interest in giving more importance to work-based learning and recognition of prior learning, particularly in the context of entrepreneurship. The experience of many of the partners in online learning was essential to the project. The pro-activeness of the Maltese educational regulator, the Malta Further & Higher Education Authority (MFHEA) was another main factor that led to the development of the programme. The regulator was already engaged in a series of national initiatives to promote work-based learning and recognition of prior learning within in higher education in Malta. The inclusion of specialist partners in the consortium also added resources and competences that played an important part in the development and implementation of the Erasmus+ project. The focus throughout the programme, particularly in the final project research stage, was the applicability of the learning. The applied research projects resulted in tangible initiatives that added value to existing SMEs or were part of a start-up process.