Since January 2017 The University of Economics and Culture (Ekonomikas un kultūras augstskola – EKA) participates in the international project Strategic Partnership for Innovation and Development of Entrepreneurship (SPIDE) within the framework of Erasmus+ programme.

The coordinator of project is Integrated Business Institute (Macedonia), participants - University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), Kehl University of Applied Sciences for Public Administration (Germany) and EKA (Latvia). Duration: January 2017 - December 2018.

The overall objective of the project is to enhance the utilization of innovative approaches and practical cross-sectional methods, thus increasing the quality of the educational programmes at HEIs, by improving thematic international collaboration of HEIs in the fields of entrepreneurship and management.
The specific objectives of the project are:

• To increase practical learning and skills of the target group members, by supporting and integrating the Career Centers, that will merge efforts of skills build-up for increased understanding of entrepreneurship, market principles, competencies in business management and knowledge that will enable them to implement potential business ideas on the market.
• To empower the target group members in the area of entrepreneurship and management by providing them with a simulated virtual environment, establishing a connection between practical and theoretical learning
• To improve the quality and efficiency of educational best-practices at the partnering HEIs

The project’s core is based on two main components: Developing an International Career Center for Entrepreneurship (ICCE) - through activities, workshops, sharing of best practices and Intensive Study Programmes for staff and teachers; and Creating a Business Simulaion Software (BSS) – an innovative IT solution providing practical teaching and learning experience to students.

The proposed project is aligned with the goals of the “EU Agenda for the modernization of Europe’s Higher Education Systems for improving the quality and relevance of higher education and linking higher education, research and business -2011”.The project directly addresses two of the 5 EU 2020 headline targets:

• Increasing the employment of 20-64 years olds through specialized workshops and ICT solutions, that increase their self-employment capacities
• Decreasing the level of school drop-outs by promoting new and improved interactive teaching methods, and encouraging active students to pursue higher education (secondary and tertiary)

For more information please visit spide.org.