Through innovative, entrepreneurial education at Master and Doctoral levels, the EIT plays an important bridging role between the EU research and innovation framework and education policies and programmes.
This is hoped to be transferred to education programmes at lower education levels by the Skills for Future Initiative. The hallmark of EIT educational programmes is to not only educate students to know, but also to know what to do and how to solve real life problems and challenges of society, all framed within an entrepreneurial mind-set.
Rethinking Education
Investing in skills for better socio-economic outcomes calls Member States to 'foster entrepreneurial skills through new and creative ways of teaching and learning from primary school onwards, alongside a focus from secondary to higher education on the opportunity of business creation as a career destination. Real world experience, through problem-based learning and enterprise links, should be embedded across all disciplines and tailored to all levels of education. All young people should benefit from at least one practical entrepreneurial experience before leaving compulsory education.'
Objectives
Through this initiative we want to boost the development of future multi-disciplinary skills needed in Europe. We want to equip young people with a blend of entrepreneurial competences and STEM skills that will open doors to employment, continuous development, personal fulfilment, social inclusion and active citizenship.
Actions will take place on several levels
A cross-Innovation Community project (led by EIT RawMaterials) will, in its pilot year (2019), run several activities in three EIT RIS regions: Slovenia, Hungary and South Italy, reaching over 700 pupils. This will include: idea camps and school entrepreneurship education programmes, societal challenge communication training sessions run by science journalists, and secondary school entrepreneurship programmes, in which pupils set up mini-companies in response to the industrial challenges set by Innovation Community industry partners who act as mentors to the teenagers over a period of six months.
Individual Innovation Communities are already running and planning for future independent actions within their line of activities, contributing to the overall goals and objectives of the Initiative as defined below, e.g. Lumen (see below).
EIT Community activities
The EIT welcomes the adoption of the Digital Education Action Plan and plans to contribute to the implementation of Action 8: Training in digital and entrepreneurial skills for girls. This Action foresees a series of workshops on digital and entrepreneurial skills to be organised throughout Europe for girls in primary and secondary education. Promoting positive role models and enhancing digital and entrepreneurship skills among girls will help to tackle the gender gap and boost female participation in science, technology and business.
Related procurement information is available here.
RM@Schools
EIT RawMaterials created a network of RM Ambassadors at Schools (19 partners in 12 EU countries) to improve the image of science & technology in schools for students aged 10 to 19 years, explaining the value of raw materials while promoting new professional careers in this sector.
GreenInnovation@schools
EIT Climate-KIC aimed to equip secondary school teachers and non-formal educators with new tools, methods and activities based on the “Visual Toolbox for system Innovation” developed to foster innovative thinking and an entrepreneurial mind-set in the classroom.
Lumen
EIT InnoEnergy developed a module for Minecraft that offers a fun and exciting way to teach 9-15 year olds some of the fundamental concepts of energy with a focus on electricity.