Lessons learnt & recommendations Lisbon, 16 December 2008 Wouter Van den Berghe Tilkon Research & Consulting -

 Entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial competences  Entrepreneurship education  Entrepreneurship education in Flanders  Desirable learning outcomes  Recommendations

Business entrepreneurship Creation of economic added value by starting up enterprises Social entrepreneurship Creation of added value for society through innovation in the non-profit sector Personal entrepreneurship Take control of one’s own life and achieve change within the organisation

 For the individual Employment and (higher) earning Self-realisation Usefulness in daily live  For the economy More flexibility and innovation thanks to competitive start ups Better prepared for international competition More local activity  For society as a whole More prosperity thanks to increased efficiency in economy More trust and confidence in the future Constructive attitudes towards society

Entre- preneurs within the family Availability of capital Appreciation for entrepreneurs Networks & expertise Degree of regulation Education system

 Definition: Education & training activities within the education system of any form aimed at the acquisition of entrepreneurial competences (attitudes, skills and/or knowledge)  Important side effects Development of young people’s personality Reduction of negative school attitudes and unqualified school- leavers Development of self-confidence Introduction of active teaching and learning methods Understanding of added value of entrepreneurship for society Dynamic education institutions Cooperation between schools and local organisations

Achieving a goalTeam work Emotional commitment Use of contests Working from ideas Informal and flexible learning Focus on “how” and “who” Strong interaction Teacher as a coach and facilitator Learn to act under pressure Learning by doing Learning from several persons Problem- based and multidisciplinary Students generate knowledge

Increase of team work skills Better relationships between teachers and pupils More friendship amongst pupils Higher motivation to learn More self-confidence Etc. Last but not least: more, and more successfull start-ups of companies

 Several “structural” elements and some widespread practice Some compulsory learning goals are related to entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship education within business education at secondary and higher education level Hundreds of education institutions carry out non-compulsory initiatives to promote enterprising attitudes pupils in secondary schools (out of ) obtain a certificate allowing them to start a business  Policy makers pay more attention: Declaration and policy papers of Flemish Government & Ministers Continued support for existing initiatives and support (through different sources) for new initiatives and coordination (e.g. “Competento” knowledge centre, “Ondernemersklasseweek”, …)

 All typical “formats” and types of entrepreneurship education Attractive teaching material Contacts with entrepreneurs Simulation games Pupil and student companies Contests between students and teams of students Organisation of events  All kind of “promoters” Public services Non-profit organisations Associations of companies Education institutions Individual companies

 There are less “structural barriers” for introducing entrepreneurship education than in secondary schools  Some general attitudes and skills required for entrepreneurs (creativity, communication,…) are part of the compulsory learning outcomes  The number of specific initiatives about entrepreneurship is limited, but increasing  “Enterprises” are hardly mentioned in the learning outcomes and course programmes  Most teachers have no affinity with enterprises and entrepreneurship

 Annually over pupils are engaged in “intensive forms” of entrepreneurship education (in particular in technical/vocational education)  pupils use simulation programmes  Over pupils visit firms and/or are confronted with entrepreneurs  Schools do not like to deviate from the weekly course schedule  Some teachers and headmasters do not have an open mind towards enterprises and enterprising behaviour  It is often difficult to introduce entrepreneurship education in course programmes without an economic component

 More “own” initiatives than in secondary schools  Accreditation criteria include the development of some relevant general competences (creativity, problem-solving, communication, …)  The number of student companies is increasing (over 500 per year)  Over students use simulation programmes  “Hogescholen” (non-university higher education institutions) are much more active than universities  Increasing attention for valorisation of research  Within the academic thinking entrepreneurship is often exclusively linked to scientific innovations

 consider problems as opportunities  use and exploit opportunities  develop a product or a service from an idea  dare to deal with problems and solve them  create networks with other young people and adults  accept the implications of one’s own choices  consider starting a business as a possible and valuable career option  deal with money in a responsible manner  understand how different types of organisations contribute to society  know the elementary principles of marketing  enthuse others for an idea, product, service, activity, …

 understand what “doing business” really means  understand how the creation of enterprises contributes to prosperity  be able to estimate and assess the potential of new developments  use creativity in order to achieve useful results  be able to lead a team of people with different backgrounds  understand technology and how it is generated  be able to assess the valorisation potential of a proposal  have been in touch with different entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurship education as a means to reach several policy goals at once More entrepre- neurship education More learning by doing Enterpris- ing young people Enthous- iastics learners Enterpris- ing schools More start-ups

 Proactive government policy Create broad public support for entrepreneurship Develop a coherent and integrated long term policy A consistent learning path for entrepreneurship education Appropriate training and support for enterprising adults  Dynamic actors Schools that promote entrepreneurial spirit Higher education institutions educating enterprising students Entrepreneurship built-in within teacher education A strong commitment from the business community  A clear framework Support for education institutions Coordination of initiatives Structural and transparent ways for supporting entrepreneurship education Understanding the effects and impact of entrepreneurship education