Nearly 80 students from Wroclaw's nineteen secondary schools took part in this year's educational project entitled "My first business before I turn 20". An official closing of the project's second edition took place on Thursday.
"My first business before I turn 20" is the only Polish project that combines areas such as education, universities, the financial market, and entrepreneurship and is performed by the Wroclaw Municipality and the WSB School of Banking. Its objective is to provide to young people opportunities not only to learn online business skills but also to create attractive products in the form of board games. The classes were conducted by academic workers of the WSB School of Banking according to their own programme.
The participants learned how to use the Internet for professional development and to establish a and run a business.
The students were divided into 20 teams of 3-4 persons and, with the guidance provided by their teachers, worked on business projects. Fourteen teams developed online stores and six teams worked on concepts and mechanics of board games.
The project also included lectures by well known economists and meetings with entrepreneurs who have their own online businesses. In May, after a series of workshops was completed, the teams presented their online stores and board games.
During the official closing of the programs, the authors of the best designs received awards. In the online store category, the winning team was the team of the Wroclaw's Group of Schools no. 18, while in the board game category - it was the team from the 3rd High School in Wroclaw.
"The project method is the best way to learn; therefore, it is important that all participants have the opportunity to test their business skills in practice", said Jarosław Delewski, director of the Education Department of the City Council in Wroclaw. "We are very happy about the link between education and business. This is why it is so important that it is not a one-time project but a program that will become a part of the education system in Wroclaw.
"This project proves that it's a good idea to work with young people and to share one's own experiences with them", said Dr. Andrzej Sucholiński from the WSB School of Banking in Wroclaw. "These young people have more enthusiasm than others, which will translate into a better life for them. They are not thinking about how they can become good employees but most of all about how they can be employers and fulfil their own dreams in the future.
The Honorary Patron of this year's edition of the project was the Mayor of Wroclaw.
The first, pilot edition of the project took place in the 2012/2013 school year and was entitled "Online store - my first online business".
Katarzyna Kunka
