At the international conference on entrepreneurship education in Tallinn, 15 schools of 15 countries offering the best entrepreneurial training were recognised, and in Estonia the title Entrepreneurial School of the Year was awarded to Tallinn School No. 21.
At the opening of the conference, the Minister of Education and Research Mailis Reps noted that entrepreneurship education and the programme of student companies are well established in Estonian schools. “The number of schools offering entrepreneurial training is increasing and the growing interest among students is welcomed. The goal of the entrepreneurship education programme launched by the Ministry is to provide access to entrepreneurial training to all students in schools of general, vocational and higher education,” said Minister Reps. “Everyone need not, and indeed will not, become an entrepreneur but entrepreneurial skills and knowledge accompanied by an enterprising attitude help everyone better succeed in life.”
A total of 15 schools from 15 countries won the title Entrepreneurial School of the Year. Junior Achievement Europe in charge of the European Entrepreneurship Education project is issuing the annual awards to enterprising schools for the third time. The winners are identified using various criteria, for example, the involvement of businesses and the community, the preparation of teachers, the school’s strategy in promoting entrepreneurship education, etc.
Tallinn School No. 21 that won the title in Estonia has been providing entrepreneurial training based on Junior Achievement programmes since 1998. More than 80 student companies have been founded at the school since then. The school has systematically developed entrepreneurship education which currently involves more than half of upper secondary level students as well as multiple businesses, mentors and parents.
The conference participants heard an overview of research conducted within the framework of the European Entrepreneurship Education project ICEE. The results of this international research show that entrepreneurship training is crucial but in order for it to have an impact on the youth’s knowledge and choices students need to complete a training course of at least 100 hours. The research project involved five countries. Participants from Estonian included Tallinn School No. 21, Võru Upper Secondary School, Kuressaare Vocational School, and Ida-Virumaa Vocational Training Centre.
The conference on entrepreneurship education that is held in Tallinn on 16-17 November under the auspices of the Presidency of the EU Council is organised by Junior Achievement Estonia in coordination with the Ministry of Education And Research. The conference brings together more than 100 experts, policy designers, officials and business operators from various European countries.
Background information
- European Entrepreneurship Education project was launched in 2015 and it involves five countries - Estonia, Finland, Italy, Latvia and Belgium - plus research institutes from Norway, Denmark and Croatia. The project is steered by Junior Achievement Europe and financed from the programme Erasmus+.
- Entrepreneurship education and student companies have been developed in Estonia for 25 years under the leadership of Junior Achievement.
- In 2015, the Ministry of Education and Research launched the entrepreneurship education programme to systematically promote entrepreneurial training on all levels of education.