Future Entrepreneurs, an OEP designed leading edge course for high school and TVET students has been shortlisted as a GESS Education Innovation Awards finalist. The course is a blended learning solution combining:
• cutting edge digital elements
• competency-based Finnish entrepreneurship curriculum
• visual story-based learning material
• teacher professional development for implementation in schools
Future Entrepreneurs introduces a story-based learning journey built on the digital learning platform ThingLink and facilitated by a chatbot.
The course was piloted in seven Saudi high schools by 130 students and their teachers in 2019. The results and feedback both from the students and their teachers is excellent. Entrepreneurship intent more than doubled during the course, with 97,3% of students evaluating their learning journey as excellent or very good.
The course methodology is designed to develop key skills such as self-drivenness (increase of 25%), positive solution-oriented thinking (increase 20 %) and presentation skills (increase 22%). Saudi students within the pilot group concluded that they simply became entrepreneurs, with the first 12th graders actually starting a business before even finishing school.
The cloud-based solution for Future Entrepreneurs builds on the interactive multimedia learning platform ThingLink, enhanced with AI taking the form of a chatbot. The embedded Microsoft Immersive Reader brings in an element for scaling with translation options to 60 languages. The students learn through interactive material and by making choices for Maria, a young entrepreneur setting up her business.
OEP’s Future Entrepreneurs has been designed to engage and empower students, without forgetting scalability. Our ambitious goal is to contribute to solving the global youth unemployment crisis by empowering students to see the potential in sustainable entrepreneurship.