"To arrive at our collective European goal which is that every young person should have a practical entrepreneurial experience before they leave school, the consortium will test what the scenario looks like at 50% penetration among students between 15 and 20 years old. The consortium will come up with a suggestion for how practical entrepreneurship education experiences could flow from primary to upper secondary in a 'progression model'.Considering the positive indications from studies and the widespread application of mini-companies today, the consortium will use this method as its test-bed. All the ministerial consortium members have a specific focus on entrepreneurship education in their national strategies. Eastern Norway Research Institute specializes in impact research and policy evaluation while the Foundation for Entrepreneurship-Young Enterprise in Denmark and Strossmayer University Croatia are both knowledge centres on entrepreneurial learning which conduct research as well as activity. JA-YE Europe and the national NGO participants are expert practitioners in delivery and brokering partnerships with the community outside schools.Entrepreneurship education was given top billing in the Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan released in January 2013: ""Investing in entrepreneurship education is one of the highest return investments Europe can make...Whether or not they go on to found businesses or social enterprises, young people who benefit from entrepreneurial learning develop business knowledge and essential skills and attitudes including creativity, initiative, tenacity, teamwork, understanding of risk and a sense of responsibility.""The more practical the entrepreneurial experience at school, the more successful it is in meeting these objectives. Mini- companies are cited as highly effective practical entrepreneurial experiences for schools. The highest levels of mini-company penetration (20%) are in the Nordic countries. Thanks to research conducted in Sweden, Norway and Denmark there are many positive indications on the successful achievement of learning outcomes, increased student engagement, self-efficacy, the intent to start a business and longer-term outcomes such as enhanced employability, better earnings, higher start-up rates.The evaluation and research will use multiple methodologies (interviews, surveys, analysis of existing policies/approaches, focus groups, comparative control group methods). The consortium is seeking knowledge about implementation models, hindrances and drivers, criteria and conditions for effective policy and monitoring, transferability, and data regarding multiple outcomes of practical entrepreneurial experiences at school.Several success factors will be examined: the existence of specific national strategies, the nature of content and method, approach to teacher training, quality of partnerships with external actors, extra-curricular activity and visibility for the young participants."

This is a proposal for a two-day conference to be held in 23-24 October 2019 in Helsinki under the topic of gender equality in research and innovation. The among the objectives of the conference are the following: 1. The proposed Conference will hold discussions that provide the basis for future action under four general themes: • Institutional or structural change of gender equality in research and innovation. • Intersectionality, diversity and other dimensions of equality in research and innovation to complement the gender equality dimension. • Gender equality dimension in the fields of digitalization, artificial intelligence and robotics. • Gender equality in innovation activities, especially in the private sector. These themes connect the conference to the ongoing discussions and developments in the research and innovation area. 2. Another important objective is to focus on the future of equality in research and innovation and the next steps necessary to ensure progress for the future strategy and actions at national EU and global level. 3. The Conference will also look at the achievements of the past 20 years and lessons learned in European gender equality policy development in particular with established instruments, involvement and collaboration. One of the main focus of the Conference will be to discuss how to utilize what we have learned in bringing forth a new and improved vision for gender issues in research and innovation.