We wanted to develop and strengthen entrepreneurial our students` competencies together with gaining and growth of their communication competencies in foreign languages, digital competencies, mathematical and basic technological competencies. This objective included starting up virtual company in Ireland. Students had to develop virtual companies based on real market analyses, they had to make SWOT analyses, create a business plan (marketing and financial), choose business organizational form, organize work of company in its departments. They also had to understand the flow of business processes taken between company`s departments and between the company and its environment. They had to use business English in correspondence, make presentations and present their business ideas i.e. virtual companies. We also wanted our students to increase their learning motivation, achieve better educational results, increase their awareness of EU values, enable them to live and work according to market economy and modern communications` technologies and to train them how to live in multicultural world, to respect diversity and tolerance. We wanted them to encourage and develop their independence, self-confidence, responsibility and creativity.
Virtual company is a good way of introducing students with real companie`s functions. Each virtual company should be connected with a partner firm from the real economy in order to provide better context and more accurate work processes which are our students trained for. Also, virtual companies` role in school is education for entrepreneurship because, apart of being employees, students also have the role of entrepreneurs who decide which activities virtual company will deal with. Only students who are educated for the professions of economists and commercialists work in our school`s virtual companies in the 3rd and 4th grade and we think it is not enough. The possibilities of students` education for entrepreneurship in the programs for the professions of clerk, business secretary and shop assistent are worse because of lack of the subject where they could simulate starting up business and real business processes. Our project "Start up business" enabled all students, regardless of educational programs, to acquire additional knowledge and skills for starting up their own business. Project also encouraged students to think of business they could start as future entrepreneurs in order to slove social problems and needs.