OSKu
Towards a cooperative business in welfare sector - the future professionals who are acting entrepreneurially
Project Description and Objectives:
This project aims to train entrepreneurship and develop entrepreneurial learning in social and health care. Entrepreneurship is combined with vocational skills by creating a student cooperative at Lahti University of Applies Sciences (LUAS). Students and teachers from the fields of social work, physiotherapy and nursing participate in the cooperative.
As a result of this project a multi-disciplinary student cooperative will be built at the faculty of Social and health care at LUAS. By creating a suitable learning environment for entrepreneurship this project will generate a new kind of entrepreneurship in the welfare area. Learning through actions in cooperative is educational and at the same time it gives knowledge for the future business. The project supports and develops students’ entrepreneurial approach to work.
The cooperative is part of the students’ path to entrepreneurship. A coop will be founded by students who are interested in developing the content of the studies in their field. They are also interested to learn about entrepreneurship in a different way.
The teacher is a coach who supports and guides students in their path to entrepreneurship. In this way, theory is integrated into practice. Entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial working method is learned best by trying and acting with real clients. Customer-oriented approach to work, job development, risk management and innovation become possible in student cooperatives. Students’ initiative, responsibility, creativity, social skills and ability to work in a group are strengthened through studying.
The indirect target groups of the project are the public, private and non-profit sector in social and health care, as well as clients of welfare services in Päijät-Häme region.
Results:
As a first result a workable social and health care student cooperative will be established. In addition, a network between companies and students will be developed, which will promote educational and professional co-operation. Furthermore, teachers’ in social and health care attitude towards entrepreneurship (internal and external) will become more positive and cooperative entrepreneurship knowledge will increase. Some of these teachers are selected as coaches for the cooperative.
Benefits:
The project supports regional entrepreneurship. As a result of its impact, the students’ entrepreneurial intentions will grow stronger and even contribute to the establishment of new businesses. The region will get a new approach to the social and health services which are practiced in the student cooperative. Professional and education interaction and cooperation will be strengthened. Work life will provide data for future needs and with this knowledge education can better respond to the future challenges and problems.
The industry in Päijät-Häme is in restructuring phase where traditional industry sectors make room for health services. At this stage, new innovative solutions are required to facilitate the emergence of new entrepreneurship in the region. Social and health services play an important role in these structural changes.
Partners:
Lahti Region Educational Consortium/ Lahti University of Applied Sciences (Social and health care). The project has also co-operative partners from the private-, public- and non-profit sectors.
Project Manager: Riikka Mäkelä
Telephone: + 358 44 708 1090
Email: riikka.makela@lamk.fi
Duration: 9/2010-1/2013
Funding Programme: The European Social Fund ( ESF) 2007-2013
Budget: Total 450 000 Euros
