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Description
The project Learning Entrepreneurship 5.0 aims at creating a model for competence development of teachers from Vukovar-Srijem and Osijek-Baranja counties for managing school cooperatives and introducing the cross-curricular theme of entrepreneurship into their practice. In line with teachers’ needs, teacher professional development programme will be designed through cross-sectoral and bilateral cooperation, focusing on teaching students with special educational needs. Programme will be piloted through training of school cooperatives’ managers. Teachers'' competencies related to the promotion and greater visibility of student cooperatives in local community will be strengthened through the organization of student cooperatives’ product fair.
Summary of project results
The project "Learning Entrepreneurship 5.0" aimed to develop a model for enhancing the competencies of teachers from the underdeveloped regions of Vukovar-Srijem and Osijek-Baranja counties to lead student cooperatives and integrate content from the cross-curricular topic Entrepreneurship into teaching practices. The program focused on teacher professional development and creating teaching materials tailored to the needs of children with special educational requirements.
The project was carried out through cross-sectoral and bilateral collaboration. Based on the developed programme and the current educational needs of teachers, a pilot implementation of professional training for the leaders of student cooperatives was conducted. Teachers'' competencies related to the promotion and increased visibility of student cooperative products in the local community were strengthened through the organization of student product fairs.
The project consisted of four activities. The educational needs of teachers from Vukovar-Srijem and Osijek-Baranja counties were assessed. A project team was established, and a survey was conducted among teachers to identify their needs related to entrepreneurship. Based on the survey results, the content for the "Training of Trainers for Entrepreneurship" programme and the accompanying handbook was defined. An international inter-institutional collaboration was established for the development of the entrepreneurship training programme.
International inter-institutional collaboration for the development of a trainer training programme in the field of entrepreneurship was established. During a visit to Norway, as part of job shadowing activities, the intersectoral project team explored best practices in education related to entrepreneurship. The capacities of teachers and student cooperative leaders were strengthened through professional development in entrepreneurship. A modular "Training of Trainers for Entrepreneurship" programme was conducted with selected teachers from the two target counties. Twenty teachers completed the training, which included introductory theoretical lectures, presentations of cooperative business plans, and participation in the National Review of Student Cooperatives. Additionally, a national event was held, attended by over one hundred teachers. Experts, members of the project team, lecturers from the Faculty of Economics in Osijek, and representatives from the private sector contributed to the development and delivery of the training programme. In March 2024, a student cooperative fair was organized in Vukovar in collaboration with successful local entrepreneurs, aligning with the project’s objectives. At the Osijek fair, project participants and student cooperatives showcased their products, receiving feedback from local entrepreneurs. A final project conference followed the fair.
An international inter-institutional collaboration was established to develop an entrepreneurship professional development programme. Strengthening the capacities of project partners through a participatory approach and collaboration formed the foundation of the project’s first outcome.The first output involved gaining insight into the specific educational needs of teachers, integrating entrepreneurship into teaching, and understanding requirements for managing student cooperatives in the two target counties. It also addressed approaches to incorporating entrepreneurship as a cross-curricular theme into regular teaching. Through capacity building, facilitated by an expert working group, an innovative professional development programme was created in two stages:
1. Job shadowing in Norway, where team members explored best practices in education and entrepreneurship;
2. Expert group activities, combining specialized lectures with the development of the training programme and a corresponding handbook, including tools and techniques for use in the classroom. The expert working group selected trainers from within its members to pilot the proposed entrepreneurship training programme. A public call invited student cooperative leaders to participate in the training. This ensured a standardized approach to implementing the programme.The main output of this stage was the development of a teacher professional development programme for student cooperatives, supported by a handbook emphasizing working with students with special educational needs. Participating teachers provided feedback on the programme, refining its implementation. Teacher competencies for promoting and increasing the visibility of student entrepreneurship within their communities were enhanced through practical, community-focused activities. A targeted campaign culminated in the Student Cooperative Product Fair, a key output of the project. The fair served as a public-facing manifestation of the project’s goals, featuring a variety of engaging events for students and the public. Student cooperative leaders, together with teachers, developed creative concepts for showcasing their products, utilizing new technologies to captivate the audience. With the guidance of PR experts, teachers designed all activities, including unconventional lectures aimed at drawing public interest. Students engaged in informal discussions with successful young entrepreneurs who participated in the fair.
Summary of bilateral results
The bilateral experience was extremely important for the successful implementation of the project, as members of the expert group had the opportunity to learn about best practices from the Norwegian partner. The project achieves a direct bilateral outcome, with the participation of Vinco Innovation, a company specializing in innovations and entrepreneurial support.Their expertise is currently being transferred to entrepreneurs involved in the implementation of the EEA and Norway Grants entrepreneurship programme, within which they are developing an efficient technology forecasting model, establishing a pilot center for the development of electric vessels, creating a virtual innovation hub, jointly developing products, creating new enterprises, increasing expert exchanges, and launching market-entry initiatives.The bilateral partner has up-to-date knowledge of the most relevant trends in entrepreneurship development and the situation in Croatia. In the development of the professional development programme for teacher innovation, the bilateral partner provided inputs from the perspective of the private sector and entrepreneurship and innovation development through working group meetings. This experience and knowledge were transferred to project participants during the trainer training sessions, included in the handbook, and all project participants had the opportunity to receive concrete feedback.The core of the entire project is institutional and intersectoral collaboration between Croatian and Norwegian partners. All project outputs were generated through cooperation and partnership work.The development of collaboration includes a proposal for ensuring quality standards for the implementation of teacher professional development through trained teachers/trainers in schools in cooperation with the Education and Teacher Training Agency (AZOO), as well as the development of criteria for the participation of new teachers interested in becoming trainers and conducting professional development for their colleagues. This also applies to approving the professional development conducted by non-governmental organizations for teachers.The project lead is the national Agency for Education and Teacher Training, which coordinates all project activities and plans to expand the results to other less developed counties.