By the 2009 definition of the European Training Foundation (ETF) entrepreneurial learning includes “a form of education and training, both formal and non-formal, which contribute to an entrepreneurial spirit and entrepreneurial behaviour with or without a commercial objective.”

In 2008, the ETF, in partnership with the governments of the Southern Mediterranean and pre-accession regions, facilitated a group of higher education experts to develop a set of indicators designed to raise awareness and understanding of the potential of promoting entrepreneurship across all faculties within a university setting.

These indicators were pre-piloted at two universities (University of Sfax, Tunisia and the University of Bitola, FYR of Macedonia) between February and April 2009, followed by a more developed piloting exercise involving six further universities in the second half of 2009. The project’s second phase in 2010 will involve 13 further universities from both regions, and involve four universities from the Euro-Mediterranean University network.

On November 20, 2009 representatives from 22 institutions came to a meeting in Bitola, FYR of Macedonia, to provide feedback on the first stage of the project. The event was organised by the ETF and hosted by the St Kliment of Ohrid University in Bitola and the Mayor of the City of Bitola. The Bitola Conference was attended by the Deputy Minister of Economy Metodij Hadzi-Vaskov and Nikola Todorov, Minister of Education and Science. “Boosting the entrepreneurial spirit and including entrepreneurship in higher education is a serious mission for our ministry,” said Mr. Todorov. In June 2009, both Ministers signed a declaration to promote entrepreneurial learning in higher education. Addressing the declaration, Mr. Hadzi-Vaskov stressed during his speech: “This is sending a strong policy message to universities into which direction they should go. And that is clear – an entrepreneurial university should be our future.”

During the Bitola meeting a new organisation was unveiled – the National Centre for Promotion of Innovations and Entrepreneurial Learning. NCDIEL is established with the financial support of Austria Development Cooperation (ADC) in the FYR of Macedonia for the period of 2009 to 2011.

Author: Radmil Polenakovik.