Self-enterprise at the heart of educational innovation

The Global Entrepreneurship Week which takes place from November 18 to 24, 2019 is a celebration that aims to inspire as many people as possible to harness their spirit of initiative and innovation. In schools, interest in entrepreneurship as a learning tool is booming.

Indeed, several schools in Quebec, Canada and around the world are committed to entrepreneurial education. For a growing number of educational actors, the development of entrepreneurial skills, such as leadership, creativity, a sense of responsibility and the spirit of initiative, has become a priority, from an early age.

An international gathering around entrepreneurial education

On October 24 and 25, the Fall Congress on Conscious Entrepreneurial Education was held. The École branchée was a partner of this event which mobilized nearly 300 teachers, school administrators, young people and community partners from five countries and six Canadian provinces.

The opening conference delivered by the dynamic entrepreneurs behind LOOP Mission, David Côté and Julie Poitras-Saulnier, was an undeniable favorite for the delegates and set the tone for the rest of the activities. The Congress program was orchestrated around the theme Self-employment at the heart of educational innovation, a theme aimed at making people think about the idea to learn to undertake yourself, get out of your comfort zone, get involved in a meaningful project, explore new passions in order to become an agent of change in your community.

The organizers of this event aimed to:

• Mobilize young people and adults from all backgrounds (this is the only entrepreneurial education gathering open to everyone in Quebec);
• Promote networking and the sharing of winning practices (around fifteen schools were able to showcase their projects during an entrepreneurial educational fair);
• Provide teachers with tools (two conferences and around forty workshops enabled delegates to discover resources, approaches and concrete examples);
• Inspire to take action (especially with testimonials from the propel yourself session - a formula similar to the Ignite or Pecha Kucha conferences - presented at the end of the Congress).

Do you want to discover traces of this Congress?

We invite you to listen this radio interview with Fannie and Ève, teacher and student of the Saint-Victor Catholic Elementary School (first entrepreneurial community school in Ontario), both present at the Congress.

In addition, you can view the testimonials of the "thrusters" which are available on the Entrepreneurial Education Idea YouTube Channel as well as other videos that will be submitted over the next few weeks.

Finally, stay tuned as the École branchée will soon be broadcasting its educational meetings carried out during the Congress, in particular with two students from Collège Regina-Assumpta involved in the Pacte de l'école québécoise project

Do you want to embark on the path of conscious entrepreneurship?

Entrepreneurial Education Idea, which organizes the Fall Congress on Conscious Entrepreneurial Education, offers support services to schools wishing to mobilize their educational teams around the Entrepreneurial Community School project. To know more, consult leur website.

In addition, schools and individuals can join the international network OIECEC (International Organization of Conscious Entrepreneurial Community Schools). Membership in this network gives access to a resource and project sharing platform as well as a preferential rate for participating in various events. Note that an educational immersion stay will take place in May 2020 in Entrepreneurial Community Schools in the Montreal region and Eastern Ontario. You can demonstrate your interest by completing the following form.

Finally, you can participate in the next edition of the Fall Congress (subscribe to the Idée Nouvelles newsletter to be kept informed).

Develop the entrepreneurial spirit of your students: a few ideas!

There is no lack of resources and initiatives to develop the entrepreneurial spirit of your students and support the entrepreneurial culture in your schools.

• The Entrepreneurs' week at school is an initiative that promotes meetings between young people and entrepreneurs from their community in order to encourage young people to carry out their own project.
• Our school component of the OSEntreprendre Challenge highlights students who carry out entrepreneurial initiatives, which contributes to identity building, motivation and academic success.
• Our part 2 of budget measure 15111 provides financial support for the development of activities promoting entrepreneurship education.
• The Big day of small entrepreneurs, held every year in June since 2014, allows thousands of children to learn and have fun by creating a business for a day.
• Our Quebec Council for Cooperation and Mutuality with its cooperative entrepreneurship service offers youth activity kits to stimulate entrepreneurship and cooperation, a video competition and scholarships to support the realization of cooperative projects from primary to university.
• Academos is a mentoring platform that connects your students with passionate entrepreneurs to consider entrepreneurship as a career choice.
• Facebook groups bring together entrepreneurial education enthusiasts and allow them to ask questions and discuss: conscious entrepreneurial education, Entrepreneurship at school (primary and secondary).

To know more, Education hub offers you its file on the site Entrepreneurial education idea.