Entrepreneurship education needs to change
This is an English language transcript of talk I gave in Gdańsk in November 22 at the BeZee Conference organised by Inkubator Starter . Slides from my presentation are here, the talk as delivered (in Polish) is here .
People sometimes ask what the impact of giving such talks is, and it is a good question. one school pupil is discussing with his school if they might not organise another “entrepreneurs from my school” competition. Polish speaking readers of this blog who listen to the talk in Polish may notice small differences between what I said on stage and this translation, but there are no significant differences.
Teaching of entrepreneurship must change.
At the beginning of the school year ceremony, every Pole swears an oath to “be a good Pole”. During the oath, he or she promises to work in such a way as to bring honour to his school, teachers, parents and homeland. to me “being a good Pole” means being enterprising. It is not enough to fit into the world as it already is, to learn what is already known, to work with tools that already exist. We need to discover new facts, implement new ideas, build better tools products and services than existed in the world of our ancestors. We don't have to look far to the East to see that a strong economy, with good technology, motivated and patriotic people is essential to national survival. Mikolaj Kopernik, Daniel Farenheit, Marie Skłodowska and Jozef Konrad were exemplary Poles, because they shaped human progress, and the progress of Poland. Well, maybe Farenheit was German, but he was born in Gdansk, so we can consider him a son of your great city . Hence my question, what can we do to ensure that an entrepreneurial mindset is instilled in the heart and mind of every Pole?What I mean by an entrepreneurial mindset: I mean:to be curious, to see problems and think how they can be solved,to take responsibility for the implementation of ideas, to be ready to take and initiate action,to be proactive, not to expect other people to act first. Be willing to make suggestions, even if they may be rejected, and accept that trying to improve the situation involves the risk of failure. To be willing to take risks. To be resilient and determined. To be well organised, hardworking and focused on results. To be good at getting things done.
All too often, even today, we Poles expect someone else to take the initiative, we blame others for our problems and find excuses not to take action. I am Polish. I moved to Poland in 1991, not knowing the language. I lived in Krakow for more than 30 years. I am proud to have been granted citizenship of this wonderful country, and I have been here long enough to know the strengths of our country, and to be aware of some of our weaknesses. Too often we make excuses and expect other people to solve our problems. We say that changing things is easier for Estonians because Estonia is small. That it is easier for Indians to solve problems because India is big, We blame Poland's history for our problems. But Poland is now seen by many as a lucky country, safe in NATO, part of the largest free trade zone in the world - the EU. But we are well aware of the tragedies that have befallen our dear neighbours to the east in Belarus and Ukraine, in Moldova and Georgia further south. They have it worse - and looking for excuses won't change anything for the better now, and certainly doesn’t justify inaction. But even now some of us, perhaps even in this room, will blame others for the lack of progress and look to others for solutions.We blame the school principal, the parents, the Ministry of Education, society, even the children. The time for excuses is over. We need to look in the mirror and start with the person we see every morning. So what needs to change. Mindset, and that starts here in this room. But we have to be careful - too often the professionals we turn to for entrepreneurial support remind me of zoologists, people who study animals. They know all about animals, but have no idea what it is like to be one. Fortunately, entrepreneurs are not animals. There are plenty of them around us and we can and should ask them for help. Entrepreneurship needs to be taught and inspired by entrepreneurs. The best person to inspire a young man or woman to consider starting a business is someone who has done it and knows what they are talking about. I asked one of my daughters about her strongest memory related to entrepreneurship education. She recalled visiting a bar in Kraków at 10am as an 11-year-old student in 2007 during the first edition of World Entrepreneurship Week in Małopolska. Dagmara - the co-owner - was talking to Polish primary school children about how to handle thousands of zlotys on a Saturday night, what to do when a customer vomits in the toilet, how to stop staff from stealing, and yes Dagmara showed them how a beer tap works. What a role model. Dagmara - a women doing a difficult and demanding job. No sugar-coating the idea that being an entrepreneur is easy. The children realised that the bar wouldn't exist if it wasn't for her, that building a company is difficult and potentially rewarding. If something is not working at a school or university, we need to look in the mirror and think 'what can we do' ourselves and with other people. The good news is that solutions are not expensive, the bad news is that too few people initiate such actions . My three children have attended many primary, middle and high schools in Krakow. Actions speak louder than words. In the remainder of this lecture, I will focus on low-cost activities and projects that any school in Poland can do, if someone wants to do them, which are characterised by inspiring pupils and teaching them through action. These are things that I have done myself. I know that they are possible.
Appeal to parents and pupils, asking them to help, to get involved, through newsletters, parent-teacher meetings, the start of the school year. Start by getting the students involved.. "Entrepreneurs from our school".
The English language description of the 2012 “Entrepreneurs from our school” competition
Encourage students to find parents and alumni who have started businesses, interview them and publish those interviews on the school website. Make sure one of the questions is, "Would you be willing to come to the school for a workshop or organise a visit?" It is very difficult for a 50-year-old businessman to say 'no' to a 12-year-old child. Pupils learn about research, organising meetings, asking questions, recording and presenting results, and entrepreneurs feel valued.
My two minutes video pitching competition
Pupils recorded their business ideas in a two-minute video, were judged on effort and clarity as much as feasibility, and the best were invited to an awards ceremony.
The children enjoyed it, they got to think, they got to try, some were extremely creative. If they didn't try, nothing happened. Instead of complaining about sitting on their phones all the time, the project made them use them in a positive way. In those days we used Youtube, maybe now Instagram or Tiktok would be better, it's about empowering them.
Ask parents if they are prepared to host visits or come to school to explain what their businesses do, what lessons they have learnt, what advice they would give to someone starting a business. Instead of having them talk for 30 minutes about how to get a job, ask students to role-play in small groups where one is the employer and the other is the candidate, so that they have to think about what it's like to be on the other side of the table,
There are many projects where students can become leaders and lead independent activities. These include initiatives such as school TEDx, School Enterprise Clubs,Open Coffee Youth? getting in touch with alumni. Mini-enterprises in schools, World Entrepreneurship Week, Entrepreneurship Days. It only takes 5 minutes on Google to find examples. They gather experience and learn by doing. Key qualities develop children's sense of self awareness, responsibility.
My son Daniel was leading a school TEDx conference - a big responsibility, a large scale conference and he came home from the organising team meeting clearly frustrated and under pressure.I could tell from his body language that something was wrong. "Dad, you're an entrepreneur, can I ask you a question?""Of course you can" he asked
"How do you get other people to do their jobs properly and work hard?
What a question for a 17 year old to be asking.
"There's nothing wrong with failure,
Children don't have to be good at everything, academic and sporting success is not the only kind of success that counts.So what are the next actions/things we should take to initiate this change? If we want children to be entrepreneurial, we need to lead by example. Ask your head teacher for a minute during the start of the school year when you can make an appeal to parents and students to get involved in entrepreneurial projects. Also ask them to share the message on their newsletter, website.
At least give it a try, what's the worst that can happen.
So what are my calls to action. Are entrepreneurs highlighted in the famous alumni section of your school or university website? If not, find out who is responsible for the website and run an “entrepreneurs from your school” project so that you can update it.
I started my talk by referring to the pledge. A commitment we want children to make, to be good Poles, serving our country. This responsibility rests on the shoulders of our children and it never ends. It is also our responsibility, today, now. If not us, then who, if not now, then when.