TOY

TOY and our other entrepreneurship education models

The TOY model and our other innovative entrepreneurship education models are results from a long-term national development work coordinated by Sasky. The national development work was focused on how to transfer the successful entrepreneurship education model used in HE (Team Learning) to VET and on training teachers accordingly. The original method was developed in Team Academy, Jyväskylä, Finland.

The essential features of the methodology include:

• The students work as entrepreneurs e.g. during their work-based learning period
• The students do real projects for real customers, earning real money while doing so
• The central learning environment is a co-operative society (a company form) allowing them to make money
• The responsibility for the work and for the learning is yielded to the students, the teachers act as coaches
• Teamwork and reflection on the learning outcomes in a dialogue circle
• The students learn both entrepreurial and vocational skills at the same time

The TOY model was selected among the best entrepreneurship education methods in Europe in 2018 (ECOOPE).

Another adaptation of the methodology was selected as the best entrepreneurship education model in Finland (the Federation of Finnish Enterprises).

The JA Company Program (one year as an entrepreneur) is used a lot too.