JAPTI - Public Agency for Entrepreneurship and Foreign Investments
Name and Surname of contact person
Valentina Lozar
Street and number
Dunajska cesta 156
Postal code
City
Country
SI
E-mail of contact person
valentina.lozar@japti.si
Website of organisation
www.japti.si
05. SBA policy area
Entrepreneurship education
06. Source
European Charter for Small Enterprises
07. Description of the measure
We are witnessing a new trend in the world that stresses the need for interdisciplinary approach, which connects knowledge from natural, business and social sciences, technique, and humanities for the successful development of new products and services. Interdisciplinary groups of students and professors are being formed, in close connection with innovative companies. These groups are solving problems with a goal that the solutions are accepted by the customers on the market. This is a new way of teaching entrepreneurship that better motivates students for the entrepreneurship career and creative thinking.
Prototype implementation of the “Design thinking School” or d.school in Slovenia emphasises interfaculty coordination and the inclusion of businesses, establishment of the supportive environment (equipment, premises, tools, software), and the education of the holders of subjects.
08. Objectives
The first goal of education is to achieve a broad understanding of entrepreneurship and the role of entrepreneurs in the society. The role of education is also to train the students for team and project work. The third group of goals relates to the activities and specific skills of entrepreneurs. These can be learned by the simulation of the entrepreneurial process in the supervised environment.
09. Duration (dd/mm/yyyy)
Start Date
01/10/2006
End Date
Measure open-ended
Other Information
10. Target group
Undergraduate students, especially of natural and technique sciences, professors, entrepreneurs that orders problem solutions.
11. Have you consulted business organisations before submitting this measure?
Yes
11.1 Comments/testimonial by business organisation/entrepreneur
The main difference between the approach of the d.school and the classic approaches is in the practical orientation of the first one. Problems that are solved by the groups are deriving from the business practice. The cooperation of business is therefore essential for the qualitative implementation of subjects.
Beside regular visits of mentors from companies, the students were also visiting companies, where they were introduced by the work and with the help of presentations of the technologies they saw also the other side of the problems and in cooperation with the experts they sought for solutions. Companies were offering their research and prototype infrastructure to students, to help them make the prototypes.
12. Why is this measure a success? Please give information on results and achievements.
D.school is currently an elective subject in the Faculty of Economics in Ljubljana, but it is spreading to other faculties in Slovenia. Students involved in this new way of studying are developing inventiveness, prototypes, mentality, designers’ knowledge and they are cooperating with the students from other faculties and with companies. A lot of acknowledged Slovenian companies are already cooperating in the framework of this project.
13. Problems that had to be overcome and lessons learned
The implementation of subject is relatively complicated from the organizational point of view, because of relatively big number of students, possible themes and external advisers and intensive individual work with individual groups, which take place at different locations.
That is why a prototype information system (www.dschool.si) was made that supports team work and enables easier organisation.
14. Information on the measure can be provided in the following languages