EEE Project Presented at DAAD Transnational Erasmus+ Meeting in Bonn
Entrepreneurship Education Entrepreneurship Teaching Toolkit Erasmus+ Promotion Activities Regional Alliances Univations

From the 16th to 17th of May, the NA-DAAD hosted a Transnational Cooperation Activity (TCA) on dissemination, sustainability and impact in Erasmus+ Strategic Partnerships at Wissenschaftszentrum in Bonn. The EEE project has been selected as a good practice example and was given a chance to be introduced to a high-level group of European HEI and Erasmus+ NA representatives.

In his presentation Florian Bratzke – responsible project officer at EEE Project Lead partner Univations GmbH – introduced the participants to the EEE fundamentals and intellectual outputs of the project. Those include EEE Teaching Toolkit and the Roadmap for establishing regional alliances for promoting entrepreneurship education in the region. Furthermore, he emphasized main EEE dissemination achievements such as winning La Trobe University as associated project partner, being selected for the EntreComp Into Action and involved present stakeholders into a vivid discussion on efficient impact and sustainability measures based on the successful experiences made within the EEE project.

The presentation was an integral part of a transversal workshop on entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial learning and labour market issues and was moderated by Mrs. Dijana Stilinovic of AMPEU (NA-Erasmus+ Croatia). Another highlight of the 2-day event on Bonn was the presence of Mrs. Elena Tegovska of the European Commission (DG Education, Youth, Sport and Culture) who presented valuable insights on dissemination, sustainability and impact from a European policy perspective. Mrs Tunguska’s contribution as well as all other inputs of the TCA can be downloaded at the NA-DAAD: https://bit.ly/2keJtbX.

 

©all rights to images used in this article belong to DAAD 

 

 

 

The EEE Teaching Toolkit has been Selected as Good Practice Example in the EntreComp Into Action User Guide
Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship Education Entrepreneurship Teaching Modules

“Entrepreneurship is when you act upon opportunities and ideas and transform them into value for others. The value that is created can be financial, cultural, or social”- with this opening definition EntreComp Into Action User Guide invites its readers on a journey to explore outstanding case studies, tools and ideas that have successfully employed the Entrepreneurship Competence Framework (EntreComp) of the European Commission inside the European Union. We are honoured that the EEE Teaching Toolkit has been selected by the responsible committee as one of the good practice examples in the tools section of the user guide.

What is EntreComp and EntreComp Into Action User Guide?

In brief, EntreComp has been developed to provide a coherent conceptual understanding for entrepreneurship education inside the EU. As such, the framework sets the ground for identifying relevant knowledge, skills and attitudes that comprise “entrepreneurial mindset”, and observes it through three major competence areas, which are subdivided  into 15 competences each:

1) Ideas & Opportunities,

2) Resources, and

3) Into Action.

EntreComp Into Action User Guide has been devised to navigate individuals and organizations that aspire to develop entrepreneurial competences through lifelong learning, formal/non-formal teaching and training activities, as well as in working environment. The Guide provides a comprehensive introduction to EntreComp and highlights 70 outstanding examples that have successfully implemented the framework. These case studies, tools and ideas reflect on the ways entrepreneurial learning can be integrated across various sectors and for different audiences.

How is the EEE Teaching Toolkit connected to EntreComp?

Successfully serving its purpose, EntreComp provided a clear structural guidance for the development of 23 combinable teaching modules that compose the EEE Teaching Toolkit. As a matter of fact, the EEE Teaching Toolkit is a powerful entrepreneurship education instrument to:

  • Embed and facilitate entrepreneurial teaching and learning in HEIs,
  • Provide guidance for HEI lecturers and curriculum planners,
  • Sensitise HEI staff with non-business backgrounds for the added-value of entrepreneurship education,
  • Catalyse the inclusion of entrepreneurship education into HEI curricula,
  • Involve stakeholders of the entrepreneurial eco-system in practically driven entrepreneurship courses.

Incorporating the EntreComp competences framework, EEE Teaching Toolkit reflects on the main dimensions needed for educating successful entrepreneurs.  It translates the core ideas behind the EntreComp framework into practical exercises, that aims at “nurturing a new generation of entrepreneurs” in line with the goals of Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan. With its outputs and specifically EEE Teaching Toolkit, EEE project makes a significant contribution to EU policy to “stimulate the development of entrepreneurial, creative and innovation skills in all disciplines in all three circles”(2011 Agenda for the Modernization of Europe’s HE Systems).

 

 

©all rights on images used in this article belong to European Commission 

The 6th EEE Regional Alliance Meeting in Germany Successfully Introduces Entrepreneurship Teaching Toolkit
Entrepreneurship Education Events Regional Alliances Univations

On November 30, 2017 Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences opened its doors for the 6th stakeholder meeting of the EEE regional alliance in Halle/Saale, Germany. In addition to discussing further strategies for strengthening the co-operation within the alliance, the regional EEE project’s stakeholders were introduced to the latest version of the Entrepreneurship Teaching Toolkit – a compilation of effective methodological and functional approaches to embed entrepreneurship in the academic curriculum design. 

The Entrepreneurship Teaching Toolkit offers a variety of possibilities to improve students’ entrepreneurial skills and allows for academics’ creativity in curriculum design through its modular structure. The developed modules – hence tools – focus on fostering students’ individual entrepreneurial competences to support innovative thinking and start-up creation both in theory and practice. Moreover, the toolkit includes course materials and case studies that can be customized for student-business and social entrepreneurship courses. The Entrepreneurship Teaching Toolkit also promotes external engagement and involvement of the business sector in educational programs at higher education institutions.  The online version of the toolkit can be accessed here.

The toolkit has received positive feedback from EEE project regional stakeholders. In fact, Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences currently aims to revisit curricular content to incorporate entrepreneurship education course modules and related learning outcomes into selected programmes. In this respect, EEE project has noticeably promoted the awareness and motivation to incorporate entrepreneurial education in academic curricula for this specific institution. The next step will be an establishment of the constructive dialogue among the internal university stakeholders on potential integration of EEE project resources into the teaching activities of the university. The EEE team of Univations GmbH has agreed to support this dialogue by further promoting the toolkit and explaining its underlying methodology to relevant stakeholders.

Successful EEE National Launch in Germany
Events National Launch Univations

The EEE consortium has concluded its first national launch Weinberg Campus Bio-Zentrum Halle/Saale, Germany on Tuesday 21.11.2017. The high-level event was attended by 40+ participants coming from HEIs, VET provider, state ministries, intermediaries, as well communal bodies and showcased the educational resources developed within the EEE partnership.

In his introductory note, Mr. Bert Arnicke of Bio-Zentrum Halle took chance to highlight the importance of European cooperation projects as EEE for the international recognition and visibility of Weinberg Campus Halle. Furthermore, Mrs. Claudia Zott (Head of EU-Service Agency Saxony-Anhalt and co-host of the event) stretched the point that the European Project is undergoing hard times but is more important than ever for nurturing prosperity and peace in Europe. As such, successful European partnerships like EEE are important not only because of the valuable resources that are developed in such projects but also for establishing strong ties between Europeans on a personal level.

In the plenary session of the national launch Florian Bratzke and Daniel Worch explained EEE targets and educational intentions to the participants as well as how an inter-European project as EEE fits in with the long-term strategy and mission pursued by Univations GmbH. Their presentation was followed by an insight view on current developments of EU policies provided by Dr. David Fenner of the Representation of the State of Saxony-Anhalt to the EU. After the plenary session, the participants were asked to split up into separate work shop groups to detail the discussion about EEE outputs and potential involvements in Erasmus+ funded strategic partnerships. Overall, the EEE representatives received very positive and valuable feedback on each EEE intellectual output. As a matter of fact, participants feedback will be exploited to further ameliorate EEE intellectual outputs which are made available in beta version on the official EEE Learning Platform (http://www.eee-platform.eu/). After participants were given chance to attend both workshops, this part of the national launch was concluded with a qualified workshop summary provided Dr. Susanne Hübner, Head of the Start-Up Service at Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg.

At the end of the EEE National Launch Germany, Mrs. Kathrin Hamel of EU Service Agency Saxony-Anhalt took chance to quickly inform all present guests about upcoming funding possibilities in the year 2018 as well to point to the valuable assistance her agency provides for stakeholders interested in getting involved in Erasmus+ as well as other European funded projects and partnerships.

The EEE National Launch in Halle/Saale, Germany has been the first of a series of EEE national multiplier events in Innsbruck (Austria) and Szeged (Hungary). The launch events on national level are a prelude to the international presentation of all EEE resources that will take place alongside the high-level UIIN University Industry Interaction Conference in London from 20-22 June 2018 (https://www.university-industry.com/).

 

 

Photo credits: © Jakob Adolphi

EEE represented at Investforum 2017
Events Univations

The Univations Investforum Pitch-Day 2017 took place recently in Halle at the ERDGAS Sportpark, with the attendance of 26 start-ups who successfully pitched their business models to 70 investors.

In the past, start-ups were able to convince venture capital funds and business angels to invest sums ranging from 100.000 to 5 Million Euro into their business ideas. Now, however, for entrepreneurs who look for start-up capital the market can be rather competitive, for there are a lot more creative ideas and and investors have to spend a lot more time to assess success factors before they put money into new opportunities. Investforum Pitch-Day 2017 was marked as one of the platforms where competitive minds and investors with questions are brought together for an exiting marathon.

The event mainly focuses on companies that are still in the seed or early start-up phase – a typical period where innovative companies in Germany have problems to raise capital. As such, Investforum has become one of the main matching events for innovative start-ups in the new German States during the past years.

Daniel Worch, CEO of Univations, and as such responsible for the event, took the chance to present the Erasmus+ project Embedding Entrepreneurship Education to the participating guests. Due to the presence of high-quality start-ups, the event naturally has not only attracted investors, but also start-up coaches as well as trainers involved in entrepreneurial education from all over Germany – target group of the intellectual resources developed within EEE.

Univations pilot tests EEE teaching module at Geist 21
Entrepreneurship Teaching Modules Events

Univations successfully pilot-tested one of the EEE Entrepreneurship Teaching Toolkit course modules, the business model canvas during the Entrepreneurship Summer School “Geist 21”. Organised by the ThermHex Waben GmbH, one of the leading lightweight composition material producers in Halle, the event Geist 21 hosted a large number of participants from diverse backgrounds, e.g. engineering, business studies, design, and IT who has interest in new materials and the desire to found an enterprise. The international nature of the program has attracted an enthusiastic audience from across the world, including India, Iran, and Egypt.

Concerning further exploitation of the Entrepreneurship Teaching Toolkit, the collaboration continues with Martin-Luther-University (MLU) for the piloting off the EEE teaching modules. In fact, the EEE regional alliance Halle now focuses on the start of the winter term in Saxony-Anhalt in which EEE resources might be integrated into regular teaching activities as well as into the program of the upcoming Entrepreneurship week from 13.11.-17.11.2017. The University staff have already signalled their will to use resources of the EEE Teaching Toolkit, and by this support to further support the entrepreneurship promotion campaign of EEE that will be launched at the beginning of the next year.

Furthermore, the EEE team Halle upholds its efforts to enlarge the regional alliance for entrepreneurship education in Saxony-Anhalt. Florian Bratzke, European Project Officer at Univations GmbH, met with officials from the University of Applied Sciences Merseburg in September to introduce EEE objectives as well as to discuss possible ways of involvement in the regional alliance. Furthermore, Mr. Bratzke took chance to discuss the content and structure of the EEE Teaching Toolkit with the present HEI teaching staff as well as the idea of a state-wide entrepreneurship summer camp. In fact, Dr. Henn – Head of start-up service – explicitly pronounced her interest to further deepen the cooperation with EEE team of Univations to foster entrepreneurial aspiration of students and to better equip HEI staff with high-quality resources to facilitate their efforts in entrepreneurial teaching.

Officials from University of Applied Sciences Merseburg have agreed to check possible ways to support the piloting of EEE resources by integrating them into the entrepreneurial teaching activities of the start-up service in the upcoming winter term.

Halle pilot teaches EEE Courses
Entrepreneurship Teaching Modules Regional Alliances

Univations strengthens ties with their major alliance partner Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) on the pilot teaching of the EEE entrepreneurship course modules. On behalf of their 2nd regional alliance meeting on 30.03.2017 at MLU, Univations discussed EEE goals and strategies with Prof. Dr. Claudia Becker – Dean of the Economics and Law Faculty.

At the meeting held with Prof. Dr. Claudia Becker, Dean of the Economics and Law Faculty, the project team was assured to receive the faculties support in helping the EEE consortium to pilot test the learning resources that will be developed throughout the course of the project. Furthermore, Prof. Becker agreed to become an active member in the EEE Halle Alliance, emphasizing her will to assist Univations to carry EEE initiatives into MLU. During the meeting it was further agreed to work closely together with the Start-Up Service of MLU and to intensify efforts to extend the EEE stakeholder network of the regional alliance in the next months. Due to her expertise, experience and position as Dean, Prof. Becker will be a key figure for identifying and recruiting high potential MLU staff and students, who are able to positively contribute to the EEE mission.