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Description
Over the years, partners with many years of experience in promoting entrepreneurship have learned the importance of promoting entrepreneurship competences (EC) in young people during their early education (primary, secondary school) and the importance of teachers/mentors who accompany young people on a daily basis. The main goal of the project is to establish a comprehensive and sustainable support environment that encourages young people, especially those from less dynamic environments, to seek business ideas, create business models, and provides them with the necessary EC by connecting existing support institutions and programs with the newly established PoMP Academy for Teachers/Mentors to raise the quality of support services so it improves the skills of teachers/mentors working with young people from less dynamic environments. This contributes to higher support for young people or increases their (self-)employment potential in areas where the support environment is less developed. This leads to specific goals, which are: establishing PoMP Academy for teachers/mentors, establishing a permanent network of support institutions and implementation of pilot start-up activities for the youth run by teachers/mentors - testing practical field work with the youth. Qualified teachers/mentors, improved access to and improved support environment for the youth in smaller towns and rural areas are the results that will be achieved through activities such as: Think Tank workshop, PoMP Academy for teachers/mentors, pilot start-up activities for young people, building a support environment network, and exchanging best practices with Norway. The project aims to contribute to two challenges: boosting teacher/mentor EC and through them, improving young people’s EC in order to boost employment potential. All project partners have many years of experience and knowledge in entrepreneurship and in the implementation of various entrepreneurial events and incentives for young people.
Summary of project results
The project seeked to address two key challenges: enhancing the entrepreneurial competencies of teachers and mentors, and, through this improvement, elevating the entrepreneurial competencies of young people to increase their employability.
Although Slovenia is recognized as a country of startups, the educational system does not keep pace with this dynamic landscape. Entrepreneurial thinking is still slow to penetrate Slovenian schools, particularly in less dynamic environments. Therefore, the project aimed to introduce upper primary and secondary school students to the opportunities offered by a safe and stimulating support environment where they can develop their entrepreneurial skills and mindset. Their personal growth, knowledge, and skills form the best foundation for a successful transition into the job market after finishing school. Moreover, teachers acting as mentors in entrepreneurial activities for students also require support. Many of them lack training in identifying and developing entrepreneurial ideas, necessitating systemic support, educational resources and knowledge of specific pedagogical approaches. At a minimum, they need creative strategies to make entrepreneurship lessons engaging and appealing.
The project was grounded in various European and national documents advocating for the development of entrepreneurial competencies among young people, for ex. The European Commission’s Key Competences for Lifelong Learning framework of 30/2/2006, which identifies entrepreneurial competencies as essential skills, as well as Slovenia''s Development Strategy 2030. The European Commission has classified entrepreneurship as one of the general competencies necessary for lifelong learning, making it crucial to facilitate the transfer of such competencies to young people, particularly those from less dynamic environments. This initiative aimed to enhance their employability or self-employability, promote the establishment of new businesses and nurture a more entrepreneurial generation of individuals who will integrate competencies such as creativity, teamwork, negotiation skills, public speaking, and problemsolving into both, newly established companies and workplace processes across the private and public sectors.
Within the project, a comprehensive and sustainable support environment was created, which encourages young people to explore entrepreneurial ideas, develop business models, and equips them with essential entrepreneurial knowledge and skills. This was achieved by connecting existing support institutions and programmes with the newly established service, the PoMP Academy - a sustainable online platform in Slovenian language for teachers and mentors. This online portal offers a collection of practical tools, methodologies, modules, meetings and workshops for teaching entrepreneurship to young people. It is freely and publicly accessible, and includes 20 hours of specialised training for teachers.
As part of the project, group workshops were also organised, attended by 75 teachers from 37 Slovenian schools. Together with the teachers, 20 entrepreneurial workshops for students were conducted. 38 teachers and mentors who participated in the PoMP Academy led pilot startup activities with their students. The workshops were attended by 379 students across Slovenia. The goal of this training was to enhance the employability and self-employability of young people, while also increasing the competitiveness and flexibility of the workforce. By having teachers and mentors conduct these pilot startup activities, the sustainability of the project’s impact was insured, as they will be able to continue these activities beyond the project''s completion using the materials developed. New interested students and teachers will also have the opportunity to join the startup activities even after the project ends.
To ensure the continuation of activities beyond the project''s conclusion, the PoMP supporting network was established, complete with governing bodies and a handbook for its operation. A strategic agreement was signed for continued collaboration and action in promoting entrepreneurship among young people. The PoMP support network currently includes a total of 44 organisations from across Slovenia.
The main achievements were the PoMP Academy online platform, workshops for teachers/mentors and pilot activities for students.
The main target groups benefitting from the project were young people (primary and secondary school students) and their teachers/mentors. Other target groups were also project partner staff who enhanced their competencies throughout the project, support and educational institutions, as well as interested individuals (entrepreneurs, advisors, teachers, etc.) who have joined the support network PoMP, aimed at providing ongoing support to young people.
Summary of bilateral results
Throughout the project''s duration, the Norwegian project partner was actively involved, assisting in the development of the PoMP Academy with the aim of integrating successful Norwegian practices into the programme. The involvement of the Norwegian project partner was crucial, as it not only enriched the project through knowledge transfer and capacity building but also fostered a network of ongoing collaboration that will benefit future endeavors in entrepreneurship education.The Norwegian project partner played a crucial role in the development of the PoMP Academy and its involvement extended to conducting workshops in Slovenia. During these workshops, the Norwegian representatives exchanged experiences and shared their perspectives on teaching entrepreneurship with Slovenian teachers. This collaborative effort led to the direct transfer of knowledge and experiences, which were integrated into the new services developed within the project. Overall, the bilateral cooperation fostered a culture of mutual learning, resulting in several shared outcomes, such as the development of the educational materials and teaching methodologies that reflect best practices from Norway and Slovenia. This integration not only enhanced the quality of the PoMP Academy but also ensured that the training provided to teachers and students was aligned with international standards.The collaboration with the Norwegian project partner also had wider effects beyond the immediate scope of the project. It strengthened the network of educational institutions focused on entrepreneurship education in both countries, fostering ongoing communication and cooperation. Overall, the bilateral cooperation created a foundation for sustainable cooperation that is planned to continue, enabling the exchange of ideas, resources, and expertise in the field of entrepreneurship education.