GreenIn – GREen ENtrepreneurship and INnovation

Entrepreneurship education is a significant element in the education process, since it stimulates the entrepreneurial mindset of the students and contributes to higher levels of entrepreneurship and economic growth (European Commission, 2006). Recently, a new generation of entrepreneurs has appeared, which combine entrepreneurship with sustainability, creating the concept of green entrepreneurship. The challenge of tackling climate change is one of the highest priorities globally, while the development of entrepreneurship is also promoted in the EU. The Erasmus+ Programme Guide 2020 promotes the implementation of projects concerning entrepreneurship education and the acquisition of entrepreneurial mindset from a young age. This project’s main objective is to familiarise students with the concepts of green entrepreneurship and innovation, stimulate their green entrepreneurial spirit and interest them in engaging actively in this field, all these with the usage of digital tools. The usage of ICT tools can help students to learn, contributing to their personal development and providing many benefits in the short and long-run, while making the teachers and their teaching process more effective (Gil-Flores, Rodríguez-Santero & Torres-Gordillo, 2017). The innovative digital education approach that our project promotes aims to replace the conventional educational approach and to create a more stimulating learning environment, while the innovative digital learning material will lead to a more effective educational process. The project’s main target groups are the students of the last grades of Primary Education (aged 10-12) and their teachers, having a significant impact on them and benefiting them in more than one way. Green entrepreneurship education is not usually integrated in the classroom and in the learning process, especially this year: environmental education has been set aside even more, due to COVID-19. Our project aims to address this problem and provide a comprehensive learning approach and innovative tools that will promote green entrepreneurship education, even during the pandemic and social distancing. At the same time, the teachers will be introduced to the e-guide designed for them, which will raise their awareness in green entrepreneurial topics and provide them with teaching techniques which they can maintain and apply in their future careers. Usually, teachers do not get the necessary training on these topics, so our project aims to tackle this problem too and help them acquire the appropriate knowledge and skills to integrate green entrepreneurship and digital education in the classroom. In the long run, the project will have an impact on the future workforce, by educating them in the present and stimulating their entrepreneurial mindset and eco- education, leading therefore to environmental protection and to a positive impact on future social and economic development.

Growing up in a digital age doesn’t automatically make a kid digital literate (European Commission, 2019). This innovative project aims to create a digital learning process, providing all the benefits mentioned above to the students, by using interactive approaches and digital tools. The innovative digital tools include the interactive student e-book and the educational game (GREENING village) that will be created. The interactive e-book will include material that will help the students understand basic concepts, stimulate their interest and interest them in learning more. More specifically, the e- book will contain the theoretical framework of green entrepreneurship, presented with illustrations and followed by specifically designed activities that can be completed in a group or individually. The GREENIN boy and girl will be two animated characters used for navigation, that will introduce the learning material to the students, provide helpful information and be their virtual guide in order to familiarise them with the material and successfully complete the activities. These activities will be interactive and in a form of games; the kids will use their computer’s mouse, follow the instructions and apply their knowledge to solve the tasks. For example, the kids will be given certain features (e.g. types of residuals) and will be asked to categorise them (move them to the appropriate colored trash bin). In addition, the e-book will contain activities that motivate students to use other digital tools (e.g. slide presentation software, video creation software) to engage them actively in the learning process and optimise their digital skills. The e-book will also contain audiovisual material in animated form that will make the learning process more appealing and stimulating (Xiao, 2013). All these features will be used with the guidance of the teacher or the parents/families. Through the e-book, the following questions will be answered:

Why is the environment important?

Why should we protect it?

How do we harm the environment?

How can we go green?

What does innovation and entrepreneurship mean?

How do businesses harm the environment?

How can they protect it and go green?

What does green innovation and entrepreneurship mean?

What are its benefits?

What green businesses are there and how do they work?

How can we create a green business?

The students will also create a green business as scenario in the educational game, to apply the knowledge gained into practice. An innovative digital village will be available on the online platform, where the students will have the opportunity to make the business of their preference sustainable. More specifically, entering the GREENIN village, the students will create their own avatar and character; later, they will input some personal preferences. The children will choose what kind of business they want to have from a selection of different businesses that will be provided (e.g. bakery, hair salon, clothes store etc.) and there will be a variety of green components (e.g. P/V installation, compost system, recycle bins etc.)that they will combine, in order to make an ordinary business greener. The students will be able to interact with each other in the GREENIN village.

HUMLEBAEK SKOLE – Denmark