TRANS-EDU-NET :
INTERREG Balkan-Mediterranean Program
Description
In the era of new technological challenges, the young part of the population plays important role and is a vital resource for innovation, entrepreneurship development and change in the tourism industry and related market segments. Young people think outside the box, push boundaries and experiment with the novelty in every industry. Moreover, in a new, flexible economy in which ICT, local culture and society, education and travel experience become part of the tourism value chain, they play a vital role. According to WTO, “youth travel has moved far beyond its original status as a specialized travel niche to become an important element of the travel mix in any tourism destination”. For young people travel is a form and way of learning, a source of valuable knowledge necessary for career and self-development and the entrepreneurial knowledge and skills obtained can give them power to change the environment and to contribute to the attractiveness of the regions involved. Especially within the Balkan-Mediterranean region, there is a need for better education along with better job opportunities and a developed environment for entrepreneurs. There are high rates of unemployment, especially among youngsters in the countries involved.
Through its activities the project will enhance the learning culture of youngsters and will provide them an accessible environment for entrepreneurial thinking in the tourism industry. Through the expertise of all partners, the project will broaden its impact. LP is experienced in managing interactive platforms in the field of tourism. Having a valuable network of partners, it will contribute to the dissemination of project results outside the countries involved. Benefits of the project will be enhancing the engagement of young people as valued partners in building more prosperous and secure futures.
Objectives:
Overall objective: To encourage cooperation and networking between business entities, policy makers and training and education institutions to develop innovative learning system, increase skills and foster entrepreneurial learning in the field of tourism.
Specific objectives:
– To boost and expand the capacity for development and sharing entrepreneurial skills in the tourism industry through modern technologies, with the aspiration of increasing the employability of young people in an accessible and attractive environment for cooperation;
– To map and assess the potential and the impact of entrepreneurial learning in the field of tourism; – To establish an accessible transnational online tourism environment for young people in Greece, Bulgaria, Albania and Macedonia
– To encourage young people in the border regions to develop their own business in the field of tourism (and its related segments), taking full advantage of the regional assets and potential ensuring sustainable employment in the region.
– To improve innovation capacities through knowledge and new skills’ promotion in the tourism field. The project is directly contributing to the achievement of the SO1.3. Territories of knowledge. It will build on the entrepreneurship and tourism potential of the regions involved and will improve the territorial competitiveness, while promoting and supporting the emergence of new SMEs. It will use the increased role of vocational education and training and will focus in the tourism industry. By linking education, business and public authorities representatives the project target to transpose innovation into business practices and processes. Finally, the project will enable the entrepreneurs to seize informational technologies and tourism potential and acquire necessary skills to boost their competitiveness to grow towards other markets and introduce innovation in all phases of their business cycle.
Expected Results:
Transnational strategy for organization of trainings and curricula towards growth and employment of young people in the tourism Joint road-map for the educational materials and features
Multilingual online training manual for entrepreneurial education, training materials and knowledge transfer on entrepreneurial development and sessions for young people, incl. people with disabilities
4 curriculum models in entrepreneurial learning:
1) transnational entrepreneurship,
2) sustainable entrepreneurship
3) entrepreneurship in tourism (incl. “green growth”) and related industries,
4) entrepreneurship in new technologies and related industries. Online educational platform with interactive tools, with different tailor-made training modules– in 5 languages, up to 200 trained people
4 Virtual and equipped 4 physical Entrepreneurial Rooms as a tool for transnational entrepreneurial mentoring containing video-interviews with business representatives from the tourism related industries (incl. eco mobility). This tailor-made learning scheme will enhance the competitiveness of SMEs in the tourism related industries Virtual business companies – up to 12 (3 per country). Local stakeholders – VET schools, tourism organisations and local authorities may join as mentors and supervisors
4 exhibition stands used at local Job fairs and exhibitions to promote employment opportunities. Multilingual educational business simulation game in the field of tourism and related industries, incl. an application
3-day Transnational Start-up competition in Sofia – up to 80 participants in total
4 knowledge transfer trainings in Thessaloniki, Sofia, Vlora and Kicevo aiming to strengthen and support youth employment across borders – up to 80 participants in total
2 4-days transnational educational camps (Edu-Camp) 1 in Thessaloniki and 1 in Vlora – up to 80 participants in total
4 Dissemination workshops between SMEs and VET Schools in Vlora, Sofia, Thessaloniki and Kicevo-up to 60 participants.
TRANS-EDU-NET is expected to bring the following results::
Established tailor-made educational network between business entities, local authorities and education institutions to develop innovative learning tool and foster entrepreneurial learning for young people in the field of tourism related industries. The created network will further exist after the project end aiming to involve other stakeholders from educational and business environment thus contributing to more employment opportunities.
The project will build a strong bridge between education, business practice and the economic needs of the regions contributing to a more competitive and sustainable area. It will further support the exchange of knowledge and the creation of transnational joint entrepreneurial environment for young people encouraging the establishment of start-up companies, especially in the fields of tourism and new technologies. It will develop entrepreneurial skills and mindset of the participants, improving their opportunities in the labour market and increasing their competitiveness. It will support the identification of opportunities for the development of Transnational Entr. Rooms, Educational Network and Business Simulation Game between participants from the participating countries. Understanding the needs, the opportunities and the high social impact of women entrepreneurship and leadership, the consortium partners envisage a dynamic participation of women in the project and set the objective that ar. 50% of the trainees will be young women.
The project will result in increased transnational cooperation in the field of tourism and outlined youth employment opportunities through visits and participation in local Job fairs. TRANS-EDU-NET is expected to enhance the economic and cultural value of the experiences of young entrepreneurs. It will create awareness on local educational opportunities that will increase transnational economic activity, create new jobs and support fair competition
Partners :
- National Tourism Cluster “Bulgarian Guide”, Bulgaria
- AULEDA – Local Economic Development of Vlora Region, Albania
- Municipality of Kicevo, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
- Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Greece
- Regional Directory of Public Vocational Vlore, Albania
