Seekers' Digital Entrepreneurship: Theoretical Framework

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Adult educators' competence training for development of immigrants and asylumseekers' digital entrepreneurship: theoretical frameworkKlaipeda University together with partners from Latvia, Estonia and Sweden areimplementing the project "Adult educators' competence training for development of immigrants andasylum seekers' digital entrepreneurship". The article is specifically sought to define the relevance ofthe project as well as it’s main aims and objectives. The project is funded from the Nordplus Adultprogramme.The project "Adult educators' competence training for development of immigrants and asylumseekers' digital entrepreneurship" contributes most to the Nordplus Adult Programme aiming at theintegration of immigrants and asylum seekers into European society and development of innovativetraining programme for adult educators’ competence. Our goal is to strengthen the competitivenessof immigrants and asylum seekers in the Nordplus countries by combining the development of adulteducators' digital competence and entrepreneurship in adult education, and by creating the necessarymethods and partnerships between education, business and non-profit sector.EU Strategy 2020 for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth includes such aims as to connectthe Nordplus region and to increase prosperity within this region, thereby improving globalcompetitiveness of the Nordplus region. In order to achieve these objectives, it is vital to set up newnetworks and new platforms of cooperation, or to strengthen the existing ones, and to increasecooperation in key economic areas (i.e. information technology).The project "Adult educators' competence training for development of immigrants and asylumseekers' digital entrepreneurship" builds cross-border networks between educational and researchinstitutions (universities and research institutions), regional development centers, business sector (ITcompanies, creative enterprises) and non-profit sector (incl. social enterprises) of the Nordplus region,to gain momentum from cross-sectoral cooperation and to support the development of knowledgeintensive and/or innovative products and services now and in the future.More and better support for entrepreneurship, and strengthened cooperation betweeneducational and business institutions is also considered important by EU Strategy 2020. Bysupporting the development of entrepreneurship as an integral part of adult education, and bymodelling new methods of combining new digital technologies, entrepreneurship education andinvolvement of companies, the project "Adult educators' competence training for development ofimmigrants and asylum seekers' digital entrepreneurship" helps both immigrants, asylum seekers,educators, trainers, teachers, researchers and entrepreneurs acquire relevant competences andframeworks for cooperation.

The Nordplus states face unbalance in their labour markets. On the one hand, there isunemployment (Estonia – 7.0%, Latvia – 9%, Lithuania – 7.5%, Eurostat 2017). On the other hand,many industries, in particular in the field of IT, experience a shortage of skilled workforce. Bynetworking adult education institutions and businesses, the project "Adult educators' competencetraining for development of immigrants and asylum seekers' digital entrepreneurship" helps to matchadult education with the needs of the labour markets, and prevents a lack of skilled professionals inthe IT sector in coming years.The Europe 2020 strategy is about delivering smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, i.e.through more effective investments in education, research and innovation and with a strong emphasison job creation and poverty reduction. Regarding smart and inclusive growth, the project "Adulteducators' competence training for development of immigrants and asylum seekers' digitalentrepreneurship" targets the future, raising awareness of current immigrants and asylum seekers(future entrepreneurs or innovative employees) of the possibilities to combine new technologies,product and service development and doing business. Cross-border and cross-sectoral networkinghelps the current educational institutions and companies adapt to the challenges posed byglobalisation. One of the principles of inclusive growth priority is that the benefits of economicgrowth would spread to all parts of the EU and Nordplus countries, including its outermost regions,thus strengthening territorial cohesion. In this regard, wider use of new technologies can contribute.The project partners, namely University of Tartu from Estonia, Centre for Education andInnovation Research from Latvia, Adult education organisation “Folkuniversitetet Kristianstad” fromSweden jointly plan to develop efficient and effective methods that connect immigrants, asylumseekers, educators, teachers and entrepreneurs across various countries in using and applyinginnovative digital technologies for generating entrepreneurial ideas and projects. In order for thedeveloped methods to have a long-term impact in the adult educational system, we will involve stateand local authorities as well as local enterprise development centers.The need for the project, current situation and plans to address the gaps:1. Smart and inclusive growth requires effective investments in education, research andinnovation, and creation of new jobs. However, in some Nordplus countries (i.e. Estoniaand Latvia) a barrier hindering the creation of new jobs and economic growth is a lowlevel of entrepreneurship among the population. For example, in Estonia in 2016 womenentrepreneurs constituted about 5% of the active labour force and men entrepreneurs about12%. In contrast, in Finland the percentages for women and men entrepreneurs were about8% and 17% (European Commission 2016), and in

Latvia 10% and 17% respectively (The Stockholm School of Economics in collaboration with theBaltic International Center for Economic Policy Studies 2016).2. Countries in the Nordplus region have different levels of innovation and educationaloutcomes, hence sharing best practices cross-country allows to benefit from each others’ strong sides.The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report (WEF 2016) states that Estonia andLatvia are transition states in need of moving from efficiency driven to innovation driven. In the samereport Finland is identified as at the forefront of an innovation driven country. Entrepreneurial activityin Estonia is comparable to the average of countries of the same level of development, being closestto the figure of Latvia – in Estonia it is 20.7% of the working-age population, in Latvia and Lithuania,20.5% (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2016). A survey by the European Union showed thatnational education systems in different countries had different effects in shaping the entrepreneurialattitudes of students (Finland 64%, Sweden 54%, Latvia 55%, Estonia 48% and Lithuania 60%). Thedifference can be linked to the role of entrepreneurship in the national curricula, and the methods bywhich entrepreneurship competence is developed.3. Employers have problems finding the set of skills from immigrants and asylum seekers tomatch the skills necessary for employability in the labour market. Estonian and Latvian employershave expressed dissatisfaction with the generic skills of immigrants and asylum seekers, as well aswith their lack of practical experience. Employers see this situation as a major obstacle to economicdevelopment. PISA studies (2006, 2009, 2012, 2015) suggest that good academic outcomes are notenough (Estonian and Finland are among the top performers, whereas Latvia, Lithuania and Swedenare slightly below the OECD average, PISA 2015). A lack of creativity among immigrants and asylumseekers, collaborative skills and undeveloped potential may potentially hinder the sustainableeconomic growth.4. The objective of smart growth cannot be achieved without strengthening the links ininnovation chain and development, use and commercialization of new technologies. In all Nordpluscountries there is a huge shortage of workers in the IT sector. From 2011-2016 in Estonia alone therewas unmet demand for 6500 IT professionals. In the long-term, IT companies see the solution comingfrom changes in the education system - by increasing youth interest to science and technology and byproviding opportunities for youth to develop their digital competence.5. Although the level of IT and entrepreneurship education in the Nordplus region is high,adult educators and teachers confidence in the operational use of computers, in-school support forteachers using IT and forms of entrepreneurship education differ from country to country (European

Schoolnet 2014, Eurydice 2016). Developing IT education and entrepreneurship is considered anational priority in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. However, the development initiatives have beenfragmented and non-systemic. Common challenges and different set of strengths and shortcomingsamong participating countries is suited for fruitful collaboration and the development of practicalmethods. Regional approach and involvement of actors from different sectors enables us to poolexpertise and effectively combine best practices in different countries. Involvement of adult educationauthorities enables us to integrate effective methods of applying innovative digital technologies forgenerating entrepreneurial ideas and projects into adult education curricula both in local and innational level.Educational methods used both in development of digital competence and entrepreneurshipare characterized by practical approach (learning by doing), creativity and innovation. Theircombination has the potential of being a model for wider innovation in adult education, with the aimof bringing the education closer to the needs of contemporary society and labour market.There are good working partnerships between adult education institutions and universitiesnationally. In addition, it is possible to find in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania examples of successfulnational initiatives that engage young people in entrepreneurship and IT education, and the innovativeuse of new digital technologies (Junior Achievement in Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia; TV shows“Rakett69 and Ajujaht” in Estonia; Latvia’s initiative “Entrepreneurial people for Latvia’s growth”in cooperation with Latvian towns’ entrepreneurs, etc.). The former and current networks are a goodplatform for further co-operation and most successful national initiatives can be upscaled tointernational level.Main project activities: create a university-led network of adult education institutions to pilot new methodscombining new digital technologies and entrepreneurship education in cooperation with ITentrepreneurs, local and national school authorities and regional entrepreneurship developmentcenters; support adult educators in the network with applying new digital technologies (3Dtechnologies, mobile apps, visual programming, etc.) to develop their product or service in theirlearner company; develop in cooperation with the partner universities the methodology of development andmonitoring of entrepreneurship competence and forms of enterprise education (i.e socialentrepreneurship, creative enterprises);

develop in cooperation with the partner universities the methodology of pedagogical use ofnew digital technologies as an integral part of adult education curriculum; exchange best practices for the development of entrepreneurship as transversal competenceat different educational levels; organize cross-border learner activities that raise youth awareness to the integration of newdigital technologies and entrepreneurship (e.g. international students’ competition, telecast, socialmedia events, etc).The expected outcomes of the main project are divided into three sets:1) cross-border network of adult education institutions and partners facilitating and supportingthe work of learner companies:-arranged and conducted strategy seminars (representatives of educational institutions,local and state authorities, entrepreneurs, and NGO’s involved);-developed strategies for inter-sectoral cooperation, in order to support the activities oflearner companies;-conducted training needs assessment (survey and analysis) for combined entrepreneurshipand technology based product or service development training for adult educators,trainers, teachers and external experts supporting adult education institutions;-designed training program and methodology;-exchanged best practices;-Summer-School Week (learners spend two weeks each year in the International SummerSchool, developing product/service ideas, practicing cooperation and buildingconnections);-new digital technology products and services designed by learners companies (mobileapps, 3D products and services etc).2) methodology of development and monitoring of entrepreneurship competence and formsof entrepreneurship education, and adult education curriculum;-methodical materials for adult educators, trainers, teachers and other partners to develop-entrepreneurship and digital competence;-monitoring tools for adult education institutions and educational authorities toevaluate development of entrepreneurship and digital competences, and theeffectiveness of the used methods and strategies.3) raised general awareness of the value of and the links between adult education,entrepreneurship and innovation (due to outreach activities, dissemination and communication):

-interactive and participatory project website with links to appropriate social mediachannels, e-newsletters to the attention of the general public;-media coverage and campaigns (i.e. international students competition, publictalks, TV-talks, podcasts and articles in newspapers, multimedia releases, socialmedia events, etc) to promote innovative learning and product/servicedevelopment in international student companies, and to communicate the resultsof the project and their relevance to the general public.-workshops and open activity days for adult educators, trainers, teachers andlearners to provide first-hand experience related to project activities;-the proposed project’s fellows acting as "ambassadors" visit adult educationinstitutions, universities,-community organizations, etc. to promote their research field to learners andpublic audiences. They also assist adult educators, trainers and teachers inpreparing and delivering teaching materials;-information seminars, teacher in-service training at adult education institutions andat the teacher training institutions for the dissemination of new methods and goodpractices among adult educators,-trainers and teachers;-created and/or strengthened networks for regional and international collaboration.The methods and strategies can become a model to be applied also in other Europeancountries, and the products and services developed by learners can reach global market in best cases.

For further reading:1.Ala-Mutka, K. (2011). Mapping Digital Competence: Towards a Conceptual Understanding.Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.2.Gruenwald, N., Pfaffenberger, K., Zascerinska, J., Ahrens, A. (2017). A Study on DigitalTeaching Competence of Trainers from South Africa within the PEESA Project. Proceedingsof Riga Teacher Training and Educational Management Academy’s 12th International YoungScientist Conference, December 8, 2016, pp. 116–124. Riga: Riga Teacher Training andEducational Management Academy. 172 pp. ISBN 978-9934-503-44-3.3.Grünwald, N., Pfaffenberger, K., Melnikova, J., Zaščerinska, J., Ahrens, A. (2016). A Studyon Digital Teaching Competence of University Teachers from Lithuania and Latvia withinthe PEESA Project. Andragogika, 2016, 1 (7), pp. 109–123. ISSN 2029-6894. DOI:10.15181/andragogy.v7i0.1380. view/1380.4.Joint Research Centre. (2017). Assessing Educators' Digital Competence. Retrieved 11October 2017 from https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/digcompedu.5.Koehler, M. J., Mishra, P. (2008). Introducing tpck. In: AACTE Committee on Innovationand Technology (Ed.). The Handbook of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge forEducators (pp. 3–29). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

seekers' digital entrepreneurship: theoretical framework Klaipeda University together with partners from Latvia, Estonia and Sweden are implementing the project "Adult educators' competence training for development of immigrants and asylum seekers' digital entrepreneurship". The article is specifically sought to define the relevance of

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