Responsible education of young entrepeneurs

RESPONSIBLE EDUCATION OF YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS – THE CASE STUDY OF THE CLIMATE-KIC INNOVATIVE PROGRAMME – ‘THE JOURNEY’

Agnieszka Klucznik-Tӧrő1, Keith Heron2, Ian Hancox3 1 International Center for Entrepreneurship (POLAND) 2Henley Centre for Entrepreneurship (UK) 3 University of Warwick (UK)

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• Climate-KIC - Europe's largest public-private innovation partnership focused on climate innovation to mitigate and adapt to climate change. • The Journey - the world's largest climate innovation summer school.

It brings together students and young professionals from all over the world.

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Aims 1. Provide Masters’ degree and Ph.D. students with practical support to extend and deepen their knowledge and interests in climate change issues,

2. and to lead those interests towards innovative entrepreneurial ideas and professional business plans that can be funded and implemented Climate-KIC 5

Week 1+2 • Location 1 • Objectives: • Business idea with climate change impact • Understanding entrepreneursh.

• Programme: • Ideation, • Field visits, • Seminars, • Workshops • etc.

Week 3+4 • Location 2 • Objectives: • Teams formation • Developing business ideas • Understanding entrepreneursh., entrepreneurs, business reaction to climate change • Programme: • Working in teams • Business plans

Week 5 Objectives • Location 3 • Objectives: • Understanding entrepreneurship, entrepreneurs, business reaction to climate change • Programme: • Business plans submission • Final pitch • Evaluation

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Methods

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Roles of the coaches Business coaching and facilitating Support for teaching/learning process Emotional support of students

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Examples of tasks • • • •

Building strong foundations Objectives Ideation sessions Reflection sessions

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Challenges Testimony of Jort Ruper, J2014 student

“The intensive five-weeks-long summer school could be also extremely frustrating and therefore challenging experience. This frustration is exactly what results in the better ideas.”

• Generation of business ideas • Tiredness • Frustration

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Outcomes • • • •

First customers Thesis Green garage Positive culture & team dynamics – The openness, inclusion and supportive attitude – A highly supportive group of young people did not leave anybody aside.

– Everybody socialised with everybody easily and in a natural way, – and participants supported each other’s business ideas. Climate-KIC

creative thinking - How to improve creativity?

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“I keep in my mind so many wonderful moments with you [coaches] and the students.

I've never experienced something like that before, and in a way, it changed my vision of how we can build together the (our) future.

The power of a group such as this cannot really be described, it was my best experience so far, and finding again a group with so many talents appears to be quite impossible.”

Testimony of Florian Cochard, J6/2014 student

Testimony of Alice, J2014 student:

“What this summer school made me realised is that even young people can be taken seriously as entrepreneurs and have their own businesses.

I think my perception of the business world was too stiff, and having another international experience was very mind-broadening”.

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Closing remark The Journey shows that multidisciplinary, multinational groups of students can create fantastic business plan ideas on a tight timescale

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Dr. Agnieszka Klucznik-Tӧrő, POLAND ice@ice-ente.com Climate-KIC