Next Generation Entrepreneurship-NeXT

The purpose of the project is to develop a new methodology and teaching and learning model based on gamification for entrepreneurship compiled of both Entrepreneurship and Intrapreneurship. We aim to develop experiential learning model with a game and external business partners who will act as mentors to pupils and guide them in the process. Pupils work in teams to create virtual companies. At the end of the course pupils make expeditions to real companies and investors to present their businesses.The two target groups of NeXT are: - primary target are high school pupils in 10th,11th and 12th grades. Pupils are from general education and specialization in Management and Entrepreneurship.- secondary group - teachers in Geography and Economics; teachers in Entrepreneurship. Small-scale pilots of the model that we are proposing in NeXT have already been undertaken in the participating organisations and they show this model leads to reduction of early school leavers and higher pupils ‘engagement and thus better grades. By developing the project we have the following key objectives:- to take pupils out of their comfort zone via gamification to focus on user empathy, whole-brain thinking, collaboration, and experimentation;- to encourage pupils to start their own innovative businesses - whether or not they proceed and really found enterprises, they will develop entrepreneurial mindset and key business knowledge and skills; - to create better collaboration between schools and real businesses – in the process we foresee the active participation of managers and experts who will provide guidance and mentorship; - to develop necessary digital skills for both target groups - one, we aim for digital (virtual) business creation by student teams and second, lecturers use open educational resources to deliver the course and make it available widely. The project is set to produce four intellectual outputs as follow:-Teaching methodology and course syllabus; -Game, manual and training materials; -Teacher’s manual and study documentation; -Open education space platform. The ultimate outcome is development of a game and digital tools for starting and developing innovative business. The project will start with a detailed description and outline of the game content with the respective templates, tools and other elements that will be developed. We are focusing to equip the young people with the skills and mindset to start their own businesses Thus we develop our methodology in compliance with it as well taking into consideration the concepts we are using as well:- Innovation management with its elements – innovation culture, innovation process and capacity, innovation leadership. - Entrepreneurship – key elements of how to start a business- Intrapreneurship – how to develop the business- Design thinking – as a process to generate innovative products and services following the Stanford’s d.school framework: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test.The project aims to adapt the development of competences to the changing world. The students will not work to learn new things but to think of new things from scratch and interact with the real business. NeXT project is designed for strengthening the links between school education and business and enhancing the entrepreneurial training by building effective methodology and course framework to be implemented across different schools and applicable to various competence levels.