Teaching entrepreneurship with new technologies

15-18 November, 2016

Marrakesh, Morocco

Promoting entrepreneurial skills is increasingly recognized as one way to help youth access the world of work in the Arab region, where the youth unemployment rate is one of the highest in the world. A capacity development programme implemented by the ENSET-Rabat in Morocco, supported by UNESCO-UNEVOC, convened regional actors to discuss promoting entrepreneurship through the use of technology.

The youth unemployment rate in 2013 in the Middle East and North Africa was 27.2 and 29 per cent respectively, twice as high as the global average (ILO 2014). Entrepreneurial skills have been promoted as a way to address this, but teachers and trainers themselves often lack the necessary knowledge and pedagogical skills to teach these subjects. The capacity development programme implemented by the ENSET-Rabat in Morocco, a UNEVOC Centre since 1995, and supported by UNESCO-UNEVOC discussed potential ways to strengthen teaching of entrepreneurship, including a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) launched by the ENSET-Rabat.

More than 30 TVET managers and teachers from Algeria, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia were trained over a four day period in the areas of teaching entrepreneurship and developing MOOCs. The workshop also was an opportunity to present a review on UNESCO’s previous work on entrepreneurship in the Arab States region. Participants had the chance to present their analysis of the state of entrepreneurship education in their countries, including the integration of entrepreneurship skills in their curricula and programmes. As a result, all participants gained a shared understanding of the critical issues related teaching entrepreneurship and MOOCs.

participants exchange views during group work

Two Promising Practices on embedding entrepreneurship education into curricula were presented and discussed; one from Morocco in the context of formal education and another from Lebanon in the context of non-formal education.

The workshop successfully facilitated the sharing of ideas and experiences, and UNEVOC Centres agreed to strengthen their joint work in the future especially regarding the MOOCs and setup a group to continue the discussion on advancing entrepreneurship education within their institutions.

Green skills in entrepreneurial education

On the occasion of COP 22 in Marrakesh, the first day of the capacity development programme workshop was devoted to green skills and lifestyles as an integral part of teaching entrepreneurship. The day addressed how green entrepreneurship can incorporate ideas and innovations to meet social needs by solving existing social, cultural, economic but also environmental challenges. The participants paid a visit to the COP 22 premises to have a hands-on experience and contribute to the discussions taking place on the role of education in supporting the transition to sustainable development.

Workshop gains local media coverage

The regional workshop caught the interest of the local media, and a news item written by Adahira 24 can be read here (in Arabic).

The following UNEVOC Centres participated in the workshop:

• Ecole Normale Supérieure de l'Enseignement Technique. Université Mohammed V Souissi (ENSET-Rabat), Morocco
• Higher Industrial Technical Institute, Directorate General of Technical and Vocational, Lebanon
• National Higher Engineering School of Tunis, Tunisia
• Higher Centre for Technical Education of NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania