The first entreTime train-the-trainers pilot

On 17-18 September 2020, the first entreTime Train-the-Trainers program for Entrepreneurship was held at the Athens Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ACEin), part of the Athens University of Economics and Business.

The vision behind the entreTime’s program is to train “all disciplines professors” and trainers, including those who do not have specific knowledge about entrepreneurship, to facilitate the adoption of new training methods/skills in their courses to develop Entrepreneurial Competences among the participants.

Starting from our philosophy which considers entrepreneurship as a unique pedagogical teaching method, the first Train-the-Trainers pilot comprised a series of lectures/workshops on new methods/tools for conceiving innovative ideas and developing an entrepreneurial mindset, delivered by acknowledged entrepreneurship experts.

Ms Dana Adriana Puia Morel, on behalf of the European Commission, highlighted the importance of developing entrepreneurial competences and mindset among students in Europe for creating economic and societal impact as well as achieving the goals of the Green Deal.

Over 37 participants (16 of them joined the conference remotely, due to COVID-19 restrictions) mostly from Universities throughout Greece both from technical departments and business ones (potential Train the Trainers), attended the two days training, including the Vice-Rectors of AUEB who declared the intention of the University to lead this new approach in the country for the development of Entrepreneurial Competences at the level of tertiary education.

Providing practical examples and exercises, the training grabbed the attention of participants “It gave me insights on how to infuse entrepreneurial thinking in courses not related to Entrepreneurship that I teach as well, for example, Operations and Quality Management” said Klas Eric Soderquist, Professor, Dept. of Management Science and Technology and Director, MBA International Program. The same positive reaction from predictionaries as Antonis Livieratos, Scientific Advisor at Archimedes (Center for Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship of NKUA), who has affirmed: “As startup mentor, I have realized that I am on the right track, this made me more confident while, on the other hand, I learned about new tools/methods that I can adopt when supporting companies or delivering training”. Besides, this has been also the opportunity for sharing methods/experiences with other ENT experts/professors across Greece.

A good start for fine-tuning the entreTime “stop and go” training programme curriculum based on EntreComp taxonomy and design our open faculty platform. The next pilots will be schedule in March-April.