Teaching people to see, think, do and be like an entrepreneur in order to start a business, change the world, or both.
Project implemented: February 2016
To equip Australians with an entrepreneurial mindset so that they can innovate and solve problems, both locally and globally.
The govt has identified that a future-ready workforce needs soft skills: critical thinking; communication and collaboration.
Build expertise in the “art and science” of innovation and entrepreneurship to support students to solve real-world problems
5 day intensive program where participants identify solutions and pitch their ideas to a panel of experts
Intensive course consisting of 6 modules with the option of completing 1 - 4 levels.
Comprehensive baseline and endline surveys will be collated in addition to interviews to measure impact
Managing Director of AgriFutures Australia John Harvey says: “We are thrilled to launch the AgriFutures startup.business program with Jo and her team. A key objective of AgriFutures Australia is to attract capable people into careers in agriculture, and this program will be a wonderful tool to expose high school students to different ways of approaching national rural issues, and importantly expand their horizons in terms of what a career in agriculture could look like.”
When asked what success looks like in offering entrepreneurship as a subject, Dave Pitcairn, Principal of Reddam House stated “the most valuable impact is engagement of students in the learning process through engagement with the content and subject matter. The love for participating is what drives these students to want to do more,” Dave said “The startup.business program provides an avenue for students to look after themselves when they leave school. If they can begin to understand the world now beyond the four walls of the classroom then they can start looking towards being self sufficient economically”. Dave values the shift in mindset taught and says that “the projects students have been working on really highlight them as global players. Students are connecting internationally by sourcing products not yet currently accessible in the Australian market. When they realise at 14 they can be global players they are more likely to think big. There should be no barriers and learning in action and entrepreneurial thinking provides this”.
Gavin Saul Ag Teacher Kempsey High School – “I’m excited to see where this Entrepreneurial Pilot could possibly direct this next growth stage of our Ag farm.
I’m really glad Liz and Jo were able to collect a first hand understanding of the students I am fortunate to teach. I am really interested in the ideas for future development as we take these students through the pilot program. I can already see the thinking minds of 12 year olds, as I was confronted by about six Yr 7 girls this morning whom had scripted about 12 points as to why their Ag farm needs a cattle dog.
The programs answer the need for an evolution in education if Australia is to successfully compete on a global scale in this age of rapid innovation. Our programs are designed around 6 modules that take people on the journey of seeing, thinking and being like an entrepreneur. They can be skewed to focus on a particular industry or social impact, or just be about entrepreneurship broadly.
Participants will be equipped with an entrepreneurial mindset that will empower them to think strategically, brainstorm creatively, collaborate, take action without fear of failure, and pitch their ideas to others. They will gain confidence and resilience in problem-solving, realising that if they take action and are persistent, they will have an impact.
These entrepreneurial skills will ready participants to compete in the Fourth Industrial Revolution for jobs not yet created, but that will require soft skills such as emotional intelligence, cognitive flexibility and an ability to collaborate.
Participants will come to see themselves as someone who can positively impact the world with their ideas and actions.
