Yesterday’s presidential inauguration was an ordinary event in the course of American history. But it became remarkable against the backdrop of the violence experienced at the Capitol and the continuing toll from COVID. And for me, one aspect that made it even more remarkable was listening to Amanda Gorman, the youngest poet laureate ever to create and recite a poem at an inauguration. One could not help but be struck by her confidence, passion, professionalism, creativity. So the question, is, how do we instill those types of skills in all of our students?
Too often, school is a series of courses kids tolerate to graduate. Few believe that their coursework is preparation for their future lives. So, in 2015, when Galia Kedmi, a serial entrepreneur, came up with a plan to introduce entrepreneurial thinking and skills in our classrooms and beyond, we jumped at the idea. She recognized that the skill set necessary for entrepreneurial success – flexibility, teamwork, creativity, problem solving, communication and time management – were the same skills required in all spheres of life. We recognized that exposing students from disadvantaged backgrounds to “real world” opportunities would open their horizons. And, if we wanted to make the experience meaningful and relevant to our students, we needed to partner with companies and leaders that could mentor our students to become entrepreneurs themselves.
How are we making that happen?
In the various programs under the AMIT entrepreneurship umbrella, students work on real-life projects that they are interested in and benefit society. The process includes product design and management, so students learn to research and develop an idea, manage a process, communicate an idea, and persuade an audience to invest. At AMIT Sutker Renanim, students developed a plan for high-tech companies and employees to contribute time to NGO’s and students. A team from AMIT Schreiber Tzfat transferred a sensor system used in parking lots to trains, making on-boarding easier and faster. Another app in development is a proposed partnership with YNet where a digital platform would match stronger students to weaker students for tutoring across the country as part of their “social responsibility” requirements. And, this year, we held a six-session entrepreneurship program open to all AMIT students in grades 7-12 with a final “Shark Competition” where leaders and entrepreneurs from a variety of fields evaluated the 92 teams. Our goal is to develop in-house experts at all our schools so that these skills become part of the DNA of every AMIT student.
What are our learnings so far?
The entrepreneurship program, as part of AMIT Gogya, creates a virtuous circle. That is, a chain of occurrences that reinforce desirable outcomes for our students. We see motivation as the most important skill in new learning. By exposing students to the “real” world and “real” leaders, they become excited and motivated to acquire skills that will enable them to succeed. And when we help them develop skills like creative thinking, critical analysis, flexibility and decision making, at least two things happen: our students become that much more motivated to work on other skills they will need to become successful and these skills become embedded in our core curriculum and our students naturally use them.
Amanda Gorman look out! You’ve got competition.
