Entrepreneurship – the Way to Success

Frequently, school curriculum isn‘t based on fields of experience or "themes" that consider the learners’ life experience, intellectual development, and interests or it neither integrates learning about typical enterprise fundamentals and morals nor introduces the peculiarities of local businesses.

So as to involve students into the novel and exciting business world and encourage them to take a chance without being hesitant about taking risks, Raseiniai Saltinis Secondary School from Lithuania proposed the idea of the project “Entrepreneurship - the Way to Success“ on Nordplus site inviting schools from Nordic and Baltic countries to join them. In October, 2010 three higher educational institutions – Raseiniai Saltinis Secondary School from Lithuania, Staffangymnasiet from Sweden and Apollon Yhteiskoulu from Finland assembled forces in accomplishing the main aims of the project, i.e. to stimulate students’ receptivity to fundamental business principles of different regional market conditions around Nordic-Baltic countries, their natural and gained abilities, such as creativity, logical thinking, personal and team responsibility and self-esteem.

Project participants visited local governmental institutions related to entrepreneurship, gathered information about regional successful business enterprises, met the board and employees so as to gain access to absorbing and gripping information about industrial activity and success of a number of profitable companies. Having analyzed typical peculiarities of local businesses, students developed their business plans for simulated enterprises that were visually presented and thoroughly discussed at the Enterprise Idea Fair.

Without doubt the most significant aspect is that students remember not only being deeply engaged in the activities of the project on business and creating the final products, but they are also delighted to have enhanced their oral language and communication skills, to have developed their competence in leadership and taken joy in making original handmade folk craftworks using industrial refuse. Students really enjoyed our Nordic-Baltic team working together in the framework of the Nordplus Junior programme and we all are grateful to the Nordic Council for supporting us while taking the entrepreneurial plunge which we hope will encourage our students to assume responsibility and command in their future businesses.