SELF is made up of seven partners from five countries (Spain, Belgium, Portugal, Italy, Slovakia). The partners come from different educational fields and socio-economic sectors and aim to improve the wealth of knowledge on non-technical and professional skills and competencies relevant to higher education (HE) students aspiring to be solo-entrepreneurs. The partners are University of Malaga, University of Aveiro, EDUCATT, IHF asbl, IDP IT, Internet Web Solution and Comenius University Bratislava.
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The University of Aveiro, leading Workpackage 3 (WP3) in the Erasmus+ funded project "SELF - Solo Entrepreneurs Learning Framework," proudly announces that all training modules in English for the project are now complete. This significant milestone marks a pivotal moment in the development of educational content aimed at enhancing students' entrepreneurial skills across Europe. This completion is not just about the availability of content; it is about empowering young entrepreneurs with the tools they need to succeed in a rapidly evolving world. This initiative aligns with the EU's holistic approach to support self-entrepreneurs, focusing on young people, higher education students, and graduates by addressing socioeconomic disparities and enhancing essential skills. WP3 specifically aims to: Consolidate Training Material: Develop and refine educational content for HE students, emphasizing skills, attitudes, and knowledge crucial for aspiring solo-entrepreneurs. Strengthen Entrepreneurial Competence: At a transnational level, enhance opportunities for entrepreneurial competence building, upskilling, and reskilling. Promote Innovative Pedagogies: Implement trans-disciplinary approaches and student-centered curricula to support the acquisition of forward-looking skills and entrepreneurship. With these targets in mind, WP3 has achieved the following Key Achievements of WP3: Completion of English Training Modules: Each module, designed as micro-credentials, addresses specific entrepreneurial competencies from EntreComp, offering concise educational content, now fully available in English. Innovative Learning Approach: These modules have been crafted to foster a new generation of self-employed professionals, ready to navigate a digitally unified European labor market, by enhancing self-employment pathways for higher education students. The next phase of WP3, will involve translating these modules into partners' national languages, ensuring that the educational materials are accessible and useful to students in their local contexts across the participating countries. This step is crucial for the broader dissemination and application of the training program, contributing to the project's overarching goals of promoting innovation in entrepreneurship education and supporting a co-participated educational approach between higher education institutions and the private sector.
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October 17, 2024, Málaga, Spain – The University of Málaga (UMA) hosted the second transnational meeting of the SELF project, an innovative EU-funded initiative focused on promoting self-employment and supporting solo entrepreneurs through targeted training tools and educational resources. The SELF project, coordinated by the UMA, involves institutions from five European countries. It aims to map solo entrepreneurship trends and develop a comprehensive training framework that supports sustainable growth in self-employment. This project stands out for its commitment to providing open educational resources (OER) and accessible digital training materials. Meeting Highlights During the meeting, project partners reviewed progress across work packages (WP) and outlined upcoming steps. Key points included: WP2: Mapping and Extrapolating Trends – EDUCatt, responsible for WP2, presented 19 case studies that will be sent to IWS for inclusion on the SELF open educational resource platform. WP3: Development of Training Content – The University of Aveiro is leading the implementation plan guiding the creation of training modules, designed as micro-credentials. These materials will be available in multiple languages and aligned with recognized competencies to facilitate self-paced learning. WP4: Digital Learning Platform – IWS shared the current status of the SELF learning platform, which will feature interactive modules, self-assessments, and competence certificates. Next Steps and Dissemination Activities All the partners are working to increase the visibility of the SELF project by posting on social media, sharing press releases, and linking to the project on their websites. Partners are also identifying Associate Partners to expand the project’s outreach across their respective countries. About the SELF Project The SELF project is funded by the European Union and is dedicated to creating self-employment opportunities through accessible, high-quality training tools. All materials developed under SELF are freely available under a Creative Commons license, encouraging adaptation and dissemination to support entrepreneurs everywhere. For more information on the project, please visit www.solobiz.eu.
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A new international and pan-European research initiative has shed new light on the dynamics of self-employment and solo entrepreneurship among young people in Europe. Developed as part of the SELF (Solo-entrepreneurship in Post-pandemic Europe) project, this report highlights the significant gaps in current education and training opportunities for aspiring self-entrepreneurs and unveils a new innovative framework designed to address these challenges. The SELF project, which focuses on creating pathways for solo-entrepreneurship in the post-pandemic era, aims to address the evolving needs of higher education (HE) students and young graduates. The project is driven by three core objectives: Fostering entrepreneurial initiative; Enhancing self-employment pathways; Creating a unified digital market for solo-entrepreneurs. The SELF project report examined both the triumphs and challenges faced by young aspiring entrepreneurs across Europe. It found that despite growing interest in freelancing and self-employment, the resources available for formal education in this space remain scarce. Currently, most entrepreneurial training options are limited to paid online courses rather than being embedded in institutionalized education, leaving young people without sufficient support during their transition to early-stage entrepreneurship. However, the European Union is taking important steps to address these gaps. The EU has actively sought to democratize access to entrepreneurship education, providing a range of accessible resources to equip young self-entrepreneurs with essential skills and support. This effort aims to empower young innovators and enable them to bring their ideas to life in an increasingly competitive market. One of the most pressing findings from the SELF report is the significant downturn in self-employment across Europe. This decline is attributed to rapid technological change and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, both of which have disrupted traditional self-employment pathways. Furthermore, the research highlights a persistent gender gap in the field, with fewer women taking the leap into self-entrepreneurship. Addressing this disparity is a priority, with targeted policies needed to foster inclusion and create equal opportunities for all. In response to these findings, the SELF project team has developed a new, innovative training and education framework tailored specifically to the needs of young, aspiring solo-entrepreneurs. This framework focuses on key areas of entrepreneurial development, including: Entrepreneurial competencies - Skills in leadership, innovation, and business planning to help aspiring entrepreneurs turn ideas into actionable business models. Digital literacy - critical training in technology and digital tools necessary for navigating today’s digital-first business environment. Financial management - comprehensive education on funding strategies, investment readiness, and sustainable financial planning. Socioeconomic inclusivity - Training that addresses gender gaps and promotes equitable access to entrepreneurial opportunities for all, with a particular focus on women entrepreneurs. This framework is designed to complement existing EU initiatives and support young people, particularly higher education students and recent graduates, by offering accessible, practical, and effective training. It aims to bridge the gap in entrepreneurship education by integrating tailored courses into the academic curriculum of European universities, fostering a more inclusive and dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem across the region. Through the SELF project, we aim to ignite the entrepreneurial spirit of young people across Europe and help them navigate the challenges of self-employment, ensuring that they can thrive in the digital and post-pandemic world. For more information on the SELF project, research findings, or the new training framework, please visit: https://www.solobiz.eu/
Read MoreDevelopment of solo-entrepreneurship curricula, tools, training and resources for self-employment
innovative training solutions to capitalise on the opportunities of solo-entrepreneurship and related socio-economic empowerment.
highlighting insightful inputs on success features on entrepreneurship competence building initiatives for HE students
