Project:  STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP FOR INNOVATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Description: The overall objective of the project is to enhance the utilization of innovative approaches and practical cross-sectional methods; Enhanced collaborative cross-country efforts of students thus increasing the quality of the educational programmes at HEIs, by improving thematic international collaboration of HEIs in the fields of entrepreneurship and management.The specific objectives of the project are:- To increase practical learning and skills of the target group members, by supporting and integrating the Career Centers, that will merge efforts of skills build-up for increased understanding of entrepreneurship, market principles, competencies in business management and knowledge that will enable them to implement potential business ideas on the market;- To empower the target group members in the area of entrepreneurship and management by providing them with a simulated virtual environment, establishing a connection between practical and theoretical learning;- To improve the quality and efficiency of educational best-practices at the partnering HEIs.Adding value to current efforts, the proposed project addresses the following needs: strengthening the link between HEIs particularly in experience and knowledge-sharing, establishing joint innovative educational practices aiming to raise practical knowledge of target group members, providing cross-section thematic workshops enhancing the practical knowledge of target group members, creating functional innovative solutions to optimize the efficiency of the already implemented educational practices at each partnering HEI.The Partnership is composed of four institutions: the Integrated Business Institute (IBI) - Macedonia (Applicant Organization), The University College of Economics and Culture (EKA) – Latvia (Partner Organization), University of Applied Sciences - Kehl (Partner Organization) and Faculty of Administration (University of Ljubljana) – Slovenia (Partner Organization). EKA is one of the European leaders in educational excellence, while the experience and quality of Faculty of Administration (Uni. Ljubljana) in the field of entrepreneurship is vast and adds additional value to the project activities. University of Applied Sciences - Kehl will provide technical assistance, and transfer ideas and educational excellence to the other partnering institutions. The key audiences of the project are: target group members (students at the respective partnering HEIs, participating teachers and professors in the project activities, project team members, administrative staff involved in the everyday activities of the Career Centers); project stakeholders (participating HEIs, business sector and SME representatives, other Research institutions and HEIs operating in the fields of entrepreneurship and business management, business incubators and technology parks); other interested parties and key audiences: decision-makers at the local, regional, national and EU level; Chambers of Commerce, Ministries of Education and Science in each partnering country.SPIDE project phases are:I) Preparation phase: Initial preparation for the implementation of the two main components.II) Implementation phase: Implementation of the two main components of the project (ICCE and BSS). The project's core is based on two main components: Developing an International Career Center for Entrepreneurship (ICCE)- through activities, workshops, sharing of best practices and Intensive Study Programmes for teaching staff and students; and Creating a Business Simulaion Software (BSS) - an innovative IT solution providing practical teaching and learning experience to students.III) Dissemination phase.IV) Follow-up phase.V) Conclusion phase.The project is expected to achieve the following results: Increased practical skills and experiences of students in the fields of entrepreneurship, business management and innovation; Improved collaboration and experience-sharing among students; Strengthened existing and established new cross-institutional knowledge transfers, and sharing of best practices, concerning the Career Centers, with a particular accent on the innovative approaches to current services offered; Strengthened links between the stakeholders, in particular between the business sector and students at the respective HEIs; Enhanced competitive nature and entrepreneurial spirit among students; Improved and modernized educational best-practices at partnering HEIs. The following impact is expected to be achieved: Enhanced individual capabilities of project team members; mproved skill-set in the areas of entrepreneurship and innovation to participants in the project activities; increased pedagogical skills in addressing student needs by teaching staff; enhanced entrepreneurial and innovative spirit; modernized teaching and learning methods; enhanced collaborative cross-country efforts of students and between students HEIs and business sector representatives.