Stimulating an Entrepreneurial Mindset and Promoting Entrepreneurship Education

Compared with the United States, Europeans are, on average, less inclined to become entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurial skills and attitudes are not sufficiently encouraged amongst young people. This Laboratory, led by BUSINESSEUROPE, explores concrete pathways to foster entrepreneurship education and a more entrepreneurial mindset by stimulating business involvement in existing enterprise education programmes.

Leader
Business Europe

Project Description

The laboratory addresses the CSR Alliance priority areas of "fostering innovation and entrepreneurship" and "cultivating a more favourable attitude towards entrepreneurship". It will also contribute to the aims set out in the Growth and Jobs strategy, the Commission's 2006 Communication on fostering entrepreneurial mindsets through education and learning, and its Oslo recommendations.

Some organisations successfully offer enterprise education programmes to close the gap. Entrepreneurial education works particularly well when all stakeholders work together and the business world is actively involved. One approach to such involvement is the participation of entrepreneurs and business people in activities in schools and universities as mentors, coaches or simply to share their business experience.

Therefore, the laboratory partners decided to explore concrete pathways to foster entrepreneurship education and a more entrepreneurial mindset by stimulating business involvement in existing programmes.

Read the Good Practice Across Europe compilation here (will open a PDF in a new window).

Objectives and Deliverables

  • Collection of good practice in the field of entrepreneurship education focusing on innovative initiatives that actively involve businesses and/or business organisations

  • Dissemination of compilation of good practice and awareness-raising about the usefulness and value of entrepreneurship education and other initiatives that help stimulate a more entrepreneurial mindset as well as about the important contribution the business community can make

  • Identification of business volunteers ready to engage in existing enterprise education programmes and related initiatives

  • Facilitation of contacts/matching between business volunteers and educational programme providers through cooperation with umbrella organisations such as JA-YE Europe and JADE

Facilitator

BUSINESSEUROPE

Partners/participants (non-exhaustive)

Citigroup, DaimlerChrysler, European Commission, ExxonMobil, Hewlett-Packard, Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft, JADE, JA-YE Europe, Kuratorium der deutschen Wirtschaft für Berufsbildung, Microsoft, SEV, Stiftung der Deutschen Wirtschaft, Swedish Job & Society, VDMA, YES for Europe, ZDS.

Contact

Natascha Waltke, Senior Adviser
Entrepreneurship & SMEs, Corporate Social Responsibility, Health & Safety
BUSINESSEUROPE
n.waltke@businesseurope.eu
www.businesseurope.eu

Milestones - 2008

  • Dec-Jan 2008: Involvement by education programme providers of identified business volunteers in existing programmes and initiatives
  • 19 June: CSR Europe General Assembly - presentation of Lab Progress
  • November: European Alliance Assembly - dissemination of finalised deliverables

Milestones - 2007

  • 27 February: Decision on Laboratory theme
  • 31 May: 1st exploratory meeting - definition of objectives and deliverables
  • 24 September: 2nd meeting - first exchange on compilation of good practice (work in progress) and decision on method for identification and matching of business volunteers
  • Nov-Dec: 3rd LAB Meeting - finalisation of the compilation of good practices and assessment of progress regarding identification of business volunteers