Entrepreneurial activation of students in Ptuj

The project “Supporting Youth in Entrepreneurship – PoMP” is carried out by five Slovenian partners (ZRS Bistra Ptuj, Primorski Technological Park, Development Center Novo Mesto, Technological Park Ljubljana, and Saša Incubator) and the Norwegian partner, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), within the framework of the Norwegian Financial Mechanism. Its purpose is to establish a comprehensive and sustainable supportive environment that encourages Slovenian primary and secondary school students to search for entrepreneurial ideas, develop business models, and provides them with the necessary entrepreneurial knowledge to enhance their entrepreneurial competence. We have created the PoMP Academy to assist teachers and a nationwide network of supporting institutions.

The project aims to contribute in two main areas: (1) enhancing the entrepreneurial competence of teachers/mentors to improve their professional and pedagogical skills in entrepreneurship education, and (2) through them, enhancing the entrepreneurial competence of young people to increase their employability or self-employment potential.

The main target groups are: (1) students, (2) their teachers/mentors, (3) principals, (4) project partner staff who will improve their entrepreneurial competence during the project, (5) support and educational institutions, and (6) interested individuals who will join the supportive network with the aim of providing long-term support to young people, especially in less dynamic environments.

The activation of students in the PoMP project will significantly contribute to the training of teachers because teachers will achieve deep learning of entrepreneurship competence through experiential learning, enabling them to work independently even after the project concludes. Furthermore, activation is even more critical for young people themselves because, through experiential learning within project entrepreneurial events, they will strengthen their entrepreneurship competence, improve their attitude toward entrepreneurship, enhance their entrepreneurial self-efficacy, and increase their entrepreneurial intentions.

At ZRS Bistra Ptuj, we began the activation of young people (students) as part of the PoMP project. On Wednesday, September 6, 2023, together with teachers/mentors and students from the School of Economics, Tourism, and Agriculture Ptuj (ŠETK), we organized a startup challenge. During this event, we, along with students, explored ideas and developed them into entrepreneurial concepts, establishing a solid foundation with a prepared business model CANVAS. Students will present their business ideas through pitches to an audience and a panel of judges. The best ones will participate in the Pitch Festival scheduled for the year 2024.