Entrepreneurial Classroom

This course began for our school with the challenge of creating a new space: the entrepreneurship classroom. The idea behind this space, according to the order sent by the Consejería de Educación de Castilla y León, was to create a multipurpose, conducive, digital and dynamic space that favors innovation and creativity. Among others, the objectives set for this space were:

• To encourage entrepreneurship and promote the acquisition of entrepreneurial skills in students, according to EntreComp.
• To create a network of collaboration between centers, business organizations, the community, ....
• To offer an entrepreneurial incubator space for former students, where they can work on their business projects, receive assessment and facilitate the creation of microenterprises.

If this is the first time you hear about EntreComp, it is the European framework for entrepreneurial competence. The idea behind EntreComp is to identify opportunities and act on them to create value for other people, should this value be social, cultural, or economic. The idea behind our entrepreneurship classroom then is to educate citizens who will be very active, with initiative and critical spirit, who are aware of their power to be drivers of change, who are able to detect opportunities and ideas to improve their lives, and the lives of others, and put them into practice, always being aware of the impact of their actions on other people, on society and the environment. People that in an uncertain and changing environment, are able to adapt and learn constantly.

I was charged with the task of leading the creation of this entrepreneurial classroom. The first step was to decide, together with our management team, which of the school's classrooms would be dedicated to this project. Once it was chosen and prepared, we provided it with the necessary furniture and equipment. The total budget we had was 5000 €, but who doesn't like a challenge?

The entrepreneurial classroom had to be a mobile place, inviting creativity, innovation, and action. I decided to divide it into spaces. It is not finished, since it is a three-year plan so we hope to complete it in the following courses:

• Speaker zone: a space to debate, present,... with mobile bleachers and a large digital screen

• Maker area: space to create with 3D scanner, laptops, 3D printer, VR glasses, chroma screen...

• Imagine space: a playful area where you can give free rein to your imagination, with a large analog whiteboard to give shape to any project.

• Teamwork zone: an area with mobile tables that allows multiple options to work in teams of 2, 3, 4, 4, 5 or 6 people, or to create an elongated meeting table.

• Co-working space: area equipped with laptops and high tables and chairs, thought to receive ex-alumni and offer them a place to work on their business plans and receive assessment from the teachers as well. 

Once the classroom was equipped to start working, I organized a training/motivation course and invited all the teachers in my school to let them know about this new entrepreneurship classroom and EntreComp. In principle, this is a project designed for vocational education and training, but I had seen examples in other countries of "entrepreneurial schools", and it seemed a shame to waste this space and this idea only with some of our students. My objective was that as many teachers as possible would know what the entrepreneurship classroom consisted of, what EntreComp is about, was the aim behind this new space, and to suggest some examples of activities that could be carried out in any subject to develop the entrepreneurial skills of students. 

For me, it was important to get other teachers involved in the project since I couldn't do it on my own. I had no time allotted on my schedule for this project, so entrepreneurship had to be worked on whilst at the same time teaching our standard curricula, and I needed more people on board. It was also clear to me that the important part here was not the space itself, but the methodologies to be applied that would allow our students to train and develop those entrepreneurial skills: project-based learning, challenge-based learning, service-learning, simulation, ... I would love to share with you some of the projects that we have worked on this year, but I will do it in a different blog post. I think this entrepreneurial classroom might have ignited a small spark that will bring us to be an entrepreneur school in the future.