The ERASMUS+ programme “AI-ENTR4YOUTH; Blending AI and Entrepreneurship Education for Youth” has, over the past three years, enabled students from Compulsory Secondary Education, Baccalaureate, and Vocational Training at SAFA ÉCIJA to receive specialised training in Artificial Intelligence (AI) applied to entrepreneurship.
In essence, after analysing their immediate environment, the students identified problems or needs affecting different segments of the population. These issues inspired them to propose entrepreneurial ideas or inventions that address these challenges by applying this new technology. This programme has helped to train future agents of change who, with the support of artificial intelligence, can improve people’s quality of life, generate social and environmental impact, and, above all, develop ideas capable of transforming today’s world.
AI-ENTR4YOUTH project has brought Artificial Intelligence closer to students enrolled in an educational centre located in a rural context, from working-class families with a medium to low economic level, whose parents typically perform essential jobs with modest salaries. Therefore, we are talking about an educational innovation programme that has represented a great opportunity for our students, providing training in computational programming, algorithm design, and data analysis.
Learning about artificial intelligence not only involves using tools but also understanding how they work and how they affect the world, fostering critical judgement. In our case, we have successfully combined this with the development of entrepreneurial talent, seeking AI-driven solutions to problems, needs, and concerns within society.
Many of these ideas have received various national and international recognitions, where the use of AI to create innovative solutions capable of solving real problems was highly valued—such as improving health, education, sustainability, or accessibility, optimising resources, personalising services, and anticipating risks, all of which directly contribute to improving people’s quality of life. Currently, some of these ideas are in the process of obtaining patents, with the aim of protecting authorship and preventing plagiarism.
Likewise, we would like to highlight that the development of this programme led the teachers involved in this experience to receive the ÍTACA award. These awards recognise initiatives and experiences that develop innovative projects and contribute to improving educational quality. In our case, in addition to developing a project that combined AI and entrepreneurship, the active methodologies applied, the design and configuration of a bespoke subject at the centre to implement this programme, the participation of two teachers in the classroom (one expert in AI and another in entrepreneurship), the development of talent and multiple intelligences, among other aspects, were all valued.
More than 400 students and nearly 100 entrepreneurial ideas applying AI summarise the most significant figures of SAFA ÉCIJA’s participation in the AI-ENTR4YOUTH programme. However, not all results can be summarised in numbers, data, awards, or recognitions. Learning in the classroom is lived, breathed, and shared. Therefore, we are convinced that the seeds sown by this programme will soon germinate and create a significant impact on the environment.
We thank the Junior Achievement Foundation and INTEL for the opportunity they gave us by selecting us to participate in this programme, which has brought about a methodological transformation in our school’s classrooms, enabled the development of computational thinking and the ability to solve complex problems logically and structurally, and, of course, promoted an entrepreneurial culture. TO FORM PEOPLE FOR OTHERS is the aim of our educational centre, an aim that inspires every learning experience developed in our classrooms. On this occasion, AI-ENTR4YOUTH has enabled us to develop future AGENTS OF CHANGE, SOCIAL TRANSFORMERS, INSPIRATIONAL LEADERS… who, with the help of artificial intelligence, seek to transform and improve our world, striving to IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ALL.
