Sfântu Gheorghe hosted the second meeting of the Erasmus+ project “Empowering the Future: A Game-Changing Entrepreneurship Program for VET Students,” focused on enhancing entrepreneurial education for vocational and technical education students. The project is implemented in collaboration between Puskás Tivadar Technical College, StartUp HUB, Heves County SZC Márciua 15 Vocational School, and Budapest Mobility. The meeting was attended by 24 representatives of the partners, who worked together to achieve the project’s objectives.
The event participants visited the Puskás Tivadar Technical College, where they had the opportunity to learn about the school’s activities. The director, Szőke Annamária, emphasised: “This meeting is the second stage of the Erasmus project, in which valuable information from the business world not only supports the professional development of the students, but also significantly strengthens the partnership relations and facilitates long-term cooperation.” With a particular focus on student-centred, interactive methods, the school presented ways of integrating entrepreneurial knowledge into the curriculum. Teachers and students demonstrated how they develop young people’s entrepreneurial skills and innovative thinking. The visit was a valuable opportunity for the exchange of experiences and the strengthening of co-operation between the partners.
Kovács Eszter, director of the Heves County SZC Március 15 Vocational School, emphasised: “For our school, this project is particularly useful because we can give vocational students a concrete vision of how they can start their own business with the help of the professional knowledge they acquire at school.”
During the five-day event, Karácsony Zsolt, head of the Entrepreneurship Development Department at Startup HUB, organised a workshop in which teachers and students involved in technical and vocational education worked together to develop entrepreneurial competencies and skills. The activities covered the socio-economic relations of enterprises, the principles of the green and blue economy and the first steps of starting a business. This was followed by group discussions in which students and teachers explored the challenges of teaching entrepreneurship in order to make the lessons more interactive and practical.
Visiting local entrepreneurs who started their careers in the vocational training system and now run successful businesses was a highlight of the programme. Participants visited Agro Electro, a company that manufactures and develops electric fencing. They also visited Pista Bá, which combines traditional craft techniques with modern approaches. During the visits, entrepreneurs explained how vocational training helped them develop their business perspective and shared their experiences of the positive impact their businesses have on the local economy.
Tök Barna, operational director of Budapest Mobility, said of the project: “This project is excellent for stimulating and encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit among the youth. We firmly believe that the planned online platform, which will be developed as a result of the meetings, will serve the students in the long term and support them in their professional and entrepreneurial endeavours”.
The participants made significant progress towards the main goal of the project: To create an online entrepreneurial development platform that helps students and teachers acquire modern entrepreneurial skills. Cultural and tourist programmes to facilitate networking and exchange of experiences were also included in the event.
This initiative is part of the KA210-VET program, specifically targeting small-scale partnerships in vocational education. The project, initiated under project code 2023-2-RO01-KA210-VET-000181869, received funding from the Romanian National Agency within the framework of the Erasmus+ program.
