There are various action plans, strategies and initiatives in Austria which promote Entrepreneurship Education (EE) and encourage its integration on different levels. One highly engaged network is the Initiative for Teaching Entrepreneurship (IFTE) which is mainly active in the sector of Initial Teacher Education. It supports EE on the level of teacher training by organizing events, workshops, seminars and summer schools. Here is an overview of some IFTE activities.
Summer school in Kitzbühel
The goal of the summer school is to present tools for teachers to teach entrepreneurial competences. A focus is placed on learning through experience so that the course offers a lot of insights from entrepreneurs and professionals. The European Commission has awarded the summer school Best practice in the area of EE.
Teachers in Economy
It is a practical training for teachers (in-service as well as pre-service ones) who get an opportunity to visit corporations and firms for 3 days and thus become an active part. In the programme, the teachers focus on understanding economic issues by experiencing managerial and operational perspectives within business processes. The training involves several companies and is a valuable tool to develop mutual understanding between educators and business professionals. Finally, teachers can apply their insights by translating them into didactical methods.
Entrepreneurship Educator of the Year
This award annually certifies the performance of a single teacher in the area of EE. It focuses on innovative teaching arrangements, possible methods to promote EE as well as on personal engagement of a teacher.
Youth Start
This program is developed by the Federal Ministries of Education from Austria, Luxembourg, Portugal and Slovenia. The aim of the program is to develop an innovative, flexible, transferable and scalable entrepreneurship program. IFTE is the Austrian program partner and responsible for the methodological framework as well as teaching and learning materials.
Changemaker
The Changemaker program is developed by IFTE and aimed at students at upper secondary school. It supports committed young people in implementing innovative project ideas for the Sustainable Development Goals. They receive support in the development of their projects from mentors, via workshops and diverse forms of funding.
Global Entrepreneurship Week & Entrepreneurship Summit
Global Entrepreneurship Week promotes around 15,000 events worldwide each year. Seven million people from 115 countries participate in the event. In Austria, IFTE is one of the organizers and host. The Entrepreneurship Summit is a one-day conference and as such rounds up the Global Entrepreneurship Week.