1st International Conference on Quality and Innovation in Engineering and Management
17th – 19th of March, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
EDU-ANTREPRENOR – AN ENTREPRENEURIAL INNOVATIVE TRAINING PROGRAM Mircea, Neagoe1, Ion, Vișa1, Bogdan, Logofătu2 and Catrina, Chivu1 1
Transilvania University of Brașov, Romania,
[email protected] 2 University of Bucharest, Romania
ABSTRACT: Edu-Antreprenor is a FSE project no RO POSDRU/9/3.1/S/9 (http://www.edu-antreprenor.net/) aiming to develop the entrepreneurial and managerial competencies into a new educational pattern approach, integrating entrepreneurial distance learning, using an eLearning platform, and outdoor education. This training program is running on the project partnership having useful and interesting achievements. This paper is focused on an innovative approach of teaching, learning and practicing entrepreneurship according to the project’s objectives.
1. INTRODUCTION Along the European history, the individuals and groups took the risk to cross the securing borders to adventure through unknown physical, social and intellectual territories. They succeeded to do it but also they made a great service to the whole community. Thus, they increased the human capacities and identified new visions and techniques for new progress. However, today, the principle of precaution can inhibit the discovery and the entrepreneurial spirit, at the young as at the adults, and to stop us from taking advantage of internationalization that supposes to know how to engage into the uncertain. It is possible that this tendency of our society to avoid the risk degenerates in culture of the fear that would be prejudicial for Europe where only 45% of people prefer an independent work against 67% to the United States. The universities don’t really integrate the entrepreneurial dimension when they pretend to train some leaders. The students who want “to make the business” don't really understand the meaning and importance of an education focused on reality. Even the European Committee (EC) considered that entrepreneurship should be included in the personal development of young people: „….The Commission has proposed 8 key competences that all citizens should have in a modern, knowledge-based society including– entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship as a competence refers to an individual’s ability to turn ideas into action. It includes taking initiatives, being responsible, accepting risk and achieving one’s own objectives. We need to ensure that all young people are given the means to develop their competence and skills during their education and training... ... Education in entrepreneurship increases the chances of start-ups and self-employment. Around 20% of participants in mini-company activities in secondary school, for example, go on to create their own company after their studies.” (IP/06/148 EC recommendation, Brussels, 13th February, 2006). The extra skills needed in modern society can be classified in four categories: personal (self-confidence, courage), professional (problem solving, decision taking), social (teamwork, network), entrepreneurship (creativity, sense of risk, leadership). The last category (entrepreneurship) has its own skills but requires also the skills of the first three. This
explains why entrepreneurship is not so widely spread (Lecture of Alain Liegeois during Risk&Entrepreneurship Conference). The "classical" way was to acquire them from everyday's life in familial, social and work environment. But this has shown to be most of the time quite inefficient for the skills needed for modern world. Formal education (school, university or professional training) is not very well adapted. Will a theoretical course on entrepreneurship create efficient entrepreneurs? This is quite unlikely. Non-formal education is a very powerful training method. This non-formal education is mainly based on personal experiences (intellectual, psychological or physical) associated to reflexion on lived experience. This is typically Experiential Learning spread (Lecture of Alain Liegeois during Risk&Entrepreneurship Project’s Conference). The present paper is focused on the unique combination of formal and non-formal education in entrepreneurial field, an innovative method applied in the project Edu-Antreprenor.
2. AIMS OF EDU-ANTREPRENOR PROJECT Edu-Antreprenor is a 36 months project started at 1st of November 2008 and proposes an innovative entrepreneurial training approach into a partnership of three Universities from Romania (Bucharest University – coordinator, Transilvania University of Brasov and Craiova University - parteners) and Association Apprendre par l’Experience from France, which is the coordinator of Outdoor Education component of the project. The general aim of the project, according to the Founding Request, is raising awareness and promoting positive attitudes towards entrepreneurship, improving the adaptability of both business, especially micro-enterprise and SME’s, and employees to changing economic environment and to the challenges of globalization. Thus, the project is focused on developing human capital and increase competitiveness by linking education and lifelong learning and labor market and providing greater opportunities for future participation in a modern, flexible and inclusive labor market. Edu-Antreprenor project has some specific objectives among which may be mentioned:
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implementation and professionalizing a network of three regional centers focused on promoting entrepreneurial culture;
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development of entrepreneurial and managerial skills of the target group to improve current performance and training of people to develop entrepreneurship spirit and generate an increased number of firms;
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defining a system of credits for entrepreneurial competences, acquired in the project, and their recognition as "advance credit" for undergraduate specialization "Business Administration".
3. TARGET GROUP Target group of the project, consists of: employees, management staff of enterprises, especially micro-enterprises and SMEs, entrepreneurs, people who want to start an independent business (future entrepreneurs). Despite the fact that the main purpose of the project is opening new businesses, the target group comprises both pupils and students - regardless the study cycle (bachelor, masters or doctoral) and employees or people who already have a business, but they want to develop it. As partner of the project, Transilvania University of Brasov, until now, has implied in the project students, from all study cycles (Figure 1), which are employees, unemployed or even already entrepreneurs (Figure 2).
Thus, there are activities specific to management team and activities appropriate to implementation team. A team of experts performed a detailed analysis of training needs of the target group, defining the new curriculum EduAntreprenor and performing the necessary learning resources. This curriculum is focused on entrepreneurial skills, with three components: practical knowledge + skills + attitude/ mentality. To change the "attitude/ mentality" it will be used the Outdoor Education provided by EU project partner. For the components of "knowledge" and "practical skills" it is used the distance learning method. Both will is supported by most modern technologies: virtual campus, eLearning platforms.
5. INNOVATIVE APPROACH Ian Lewis, (coordinator of Campaign for Adventure in United Kingdom) said, in his lecture during Risk&Entrepreneurship Project’s Conference, that “Humanity’s spirit of entrepreneurship is great, dangerous and complex.” Entrepreneurship is a meaningful concept that implies particular ethics, actions and tendencies, is defined by the undertaken opportunities and lifelong personal development. Standard education, training and learning allow to achieve knowledge and to understand what a successful entrepreneur means, but it not cover all the aspects regarding personal development as particular skills and attitudes needed to success in business. These aspects and drawbacks are “corrected” by the training methods used in Edu-Antreprenor Project. The innovative approach of this project is the combination between Distance Education and Outdoor Education. To understand how is conceptual constructed this project, the simplest way is to associate the learning process with a “sphere”, the perfect geometric form. Why a “sphere”? Because this is the best form that defines a whole, a complex process of “learning by doing”. Thus, the learning of economical and technical knowledge needed to start and develop a business are done using the technologies appropriate to distance learning and the personal skills and attitudes, needed as successful entrepreneur, are “discovered”, understood and developed using the Outdoor Education.
Figure 1. Target group involved in project at Transilvania University of Brasov.
To be able to know what are the most appropriate knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to be learned and developed through this innovative method, it should be defined the curricula that defines and helps an entrepreneur. In fact, the project development had a few well defined steps: the curricula development, distance learning implementation, Outdoor Education implementation and dissemination of entrepreneurial education.
5.1. Entrepreneurial Curricula One of the first goals of the project is to define de curricula needed in entrepreneurship. Transilvania University of Brasov solved the problem of curricula by two steps.
5.1.1. Step 1: defining the courses Figure 2. Students involved in project at Transilvania University of Brasov.
4. ACTIVITIES OF THE PROJECT The activities of the project may be grouped in two categories, depending on the type of experts enrolled in solving them.
First step was done by the short-term experts, unrolled in the project for curricula development. In Transilvania University of Brasov the short-term experts proposed the courses presented in figure 3.
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Initiate a business competences:
To be able to organise the courses in order to satisfy the needs and desires of over 200 student beneficiaries, those were asked to classify the courses based on their preferences. Thus, the project experts were able to do different classifications, as those presented in Figure 4 and Figure 5. Abbreviation in the figures have the following meaning: BC Business Communication; BM - Business management; BP Business plan; CC - Commercial contract; CL - Commercial law; ENTR - Entrepreneurship; ESD - Environment and sustainable development; FDE - Firm diagnostic and evaluation; FEA - Financial-economical Analysis; IM Informatics for managers; IP - Intellectual property; LEAD Leadership; LM - Logistics management; MIS - Management informatics systems; MK - Marketing; MM - Maintenance management; NT - Negotiation techniques; PM - Project management; QM - Quality management; SM - Sales management.
Total options 111 99
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Figure 4. Target group global choices
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Module 1
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• FEA • BC • ESD • LM • QM
• FEA • BC • BM • BP • NT • SM
• BM • BP • ENTR • FDE • MIS • NT • PM
• NP • CC • ENTR • ESD • LEAD • NT • PM
• BP • CL • ENTR • IP • LEAD • NT • PM • SM
Figure 6. Modules organised by Transilvania University of Brașov
5.2. Distance learning approach There are two available groups of technologies used in distance education [1]: synchronous and asynchronous. Thus, by definition, synchronous technology is a mode of delivery where all participants are "present" at the same time. It resembles traditional classroom teaching methods despite the participants being located remotely. It requires a timetable to be organized [1]. The asynchronous mode of delivery is where participants access course materials on their own schedule and so is more flexible. Students are not required to be together at the same time. Mail correspondence, which is the oldest form of distance education, is an asynchronous delivery technology and others include message board forums, e-mail, video and audio recordings, print materials, voicemail and fax [1]. Both of these technologies are used in Edu-Antreprenor project because each organised course has 12 hours of face-to-face teaching, discussion and project activities and 44 hours for selfstudy and homework. Besides this structure Edu-Antreprenor communication is done, in Transilvania University of Brasov, using a Moodle platform that allows the participants to dynamically interact.
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Thus, the 5 module were defined as shown in Figure 6.
5.1.2. Step 2: each student from the target group chose a set of 6 courses
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Based on these choices, the project experts of Transilvania University of Brasov classified the courses and decided to distribute the target group in 5 different modules, each student being able to participate only to one course during a module.
Figure 3. Curricula developed by Transilvania University of Brasov.
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Figure 5. Target group first choice
• 1. Businees plan • 2. Marketing • 3. Sales management • 4. Business management • 5. Commercial law • 6. Commercial contracts • 7. Financial-economical analysis • 8. Business communication
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competences:
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• 1. Entrepreneurship • 2. Project management • 3. Intellectual property Entrepreneurial • 4. Negotiation techniques
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Management competences:
First option
• 1. Leadership • 2. Quality management • 3. Firm diagnostic and evaluation • 4. Logistics management • 5. Maintenance management • 6. Environment and sustainable development • 7. Informatics for managers • 8. Management informatics systems
One of the first steps in implementing distance learning concept is to design distance learning materials, both on hard copy and on electronic version, implemented on the Moodle platform designed for the project. In Transilvania University of Brasov, this course is structured on learning units or modules that contain learning units, each
unit having elements that are very useful in the learning process as: “To do”, “Remember!”, “Knowledge assessment test” or “Knowledge auto-assessment test”. An example of such a course implemented on the project Moodle platform of is presented in Figures 7, 8 and 9.
5.3. Outdoor Education in entrepreneurial education Outdoor education draws upon the philosophy, theory and practice of experiential education and environmental education [2]. This component of the entrepreneurial education process determines the uniqueness of the project. At the beginning of the project, most of the persons involved, asked the French partner of the project which is the connection between entrepreneurial education and Outdoor Education. The Apprendre par l’experience Association, through its representative, Mr. Alain Kerjean, had a very simple answer: to be able to open, maintain and develop a business a person must take risks, know himself very well, be able to communicate and be a team-worker. All these are personal skills that can be develop and even find during outdoor activities. The pedagogic model of Outdoor Education was defined in 1984, at Harvard University, by David Kolb and the best synthesis of his definition is presented in Figure 10. Concrete
Figure 7. General area of one course implemented on the project’s Moodle platform of Transilvania University
experience Grasping by apprehending
Testing in new situations
Transformation by extension
Transformation by intention
Observation & reflection
Grasping by comprehension
Forming abstract concepts
Figure 10. The Pedagogic model of Outdoor Education done by David Kolb (USA Harvard 1984) The main characteristics of this method are shown in Figure 11. Based on these principles it can be concluded that the Outdoor Education method is a very important part in development of a very good entrepreneur. Figure 8. Structure of one course implemented on the project’s Moodle platform of Transilvania University
Inductive
• « Find yourself your solution » • From concrete to abstract
Holistic
• Global person • Physic, emotion, social, mental
Metaphoric
• Situations close to real life
Reflexive
• Reflection mixed with action, not separate
Figure 11. Outdoor Education characteristics (presented by Alain Kerjean to Risk&Entrepreneurship Project’s Conference)
Figure 9. “Knowledge auto-assessment test” of one course implemented on the project’s Moodle platform of Transilvania University
As part of the project, these activities, in terms of Transilvania University of Brasov, took place between Module 1 and 2 of distance course. There were held over 4 days of activities in Outdoor Education Centre of the project from Paraul Rece. The students were free to choose if they want do go and, during the activities they were never forced to do something that they didn’t want to.
Thus, during this training stage the students done some exercises as Aladin’s carpet (Figure 12), Jacob’s ladder (Figure 13) or Trust based transport (Figure 14), that helped them to: develop the solidarity and team work skills, synchronise and trust in your team-mates, and not at last to become a better leader. The feedback of the students before and after this Outdoor Education training stage there was an impressive result: more than 50% of them have changed their belief that they are “not entrepreneurs or do not have the skills and abilities to open a business”. They returned more confident, more opened mind to teamwork and most of them have become, despite the very short time, very good friends that even willing to open their business together.
Figure 14. Trust based transport Outdoor Education exercise Risk&Entrepreneurship Conference was organized in collaboration with the University of Bucharest, as main partner, Apprendre par l'Experience Association as a trans-national partners and the University of Craiova, as the national partner. The main purpose of the conference was to promote the entrepreneurship spirit and the concept of Outdoor Education both in Romanian universities and in large firms from Romania. As the whole Edu-Antreprenor project is an innovative concept, the conference was atypically designed, as a combination of lectures and Outdoor activities performed by the students from Physical Education and Mountain Sports Faculty. Figure 12. Aladin’s carpet Outdoor Education exercise
Sergiu T. Chiriacescu Conference Hall of Transilvania University of Brasov hosted, during the first day of the Conference 139 participants both from Romanian and foreign countries as: United Kingdom, France, Poland, Bulgaria, Moldova Republic, being represented 23 universities and firms from Romania and 9 universities and firms from abroad. Risk&Entrepreneurship Conference was a success and positive reactions after the conference gave organizers hope to have a well done work and a real hope that entrepreneurial education is considered important in Romania.
6. CONCLUSIONS The present paper shown the innovative method of education implemented by the project Edu-Antreprenor, with direct results from Transilvania University of Brasov.
Figure 13. Jacob’s ladder Outdoor Education exercise
5.4. Entrepreneurship and Transilvania University of Brasov as global concept of the project Edu-Antreprenor project had the opportunity to disseminate the project and the entrepreneurial training program concept to the interested parties by organising a special event in Brasov. Risk&Entrepreneurship Conference was the first conference on Entrepreneurship Education, organized by Transilvania University of Braşov, as national partner in the project EduAntreprenor and was held between 26th and 27th of March 2010.
The combination of formal education, given by distance education, and non-formal education, defined by Outdoor Education may represents the next form of teaching not only about entrepreneurship but any field of knowledge. Is this combination better than just a single approach? The students implied in this project may tell us, especially those enrolled in formal education system. An idea about the reaction and effect of this combination can be obtained by analysing, from Transilvania University of Brasov point of view, of the students’ reaction. Thus, in Figures 15 and 16 are presented the abandon rate and, respectively the satisfaction resulted after courses and Outdoor Education. For the satisfaction rate, Transilvania University of Brasov has implemented, on eLearning platform of the project, a specific questioner with minimum of 0 and maximum of 5.
Figure 15. Abandon rate from Edu-Antreprenor project in Transilvania University of Brasov
Figure 16. Satisfaction rate of students enrolled in EduAntreprenor project at Transilvania University of Brasov
7. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The work presented in the paper was developed in the frame of and supported by the European Social Fund through Sectorial Operational Programme Human Resources Development 2007-2013, project number RO POSDRU/9/3.1/S/9 “Design, implementation and unrolling of an inter-regional and trans-national continuous vocational training system, to obtain the entrepreneurial competences. Acronym EduAntreprenor”.
8. REFERENCES [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distance_education [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outdoor_education
