Good practice:

SMART PRACTICE

“SMART PRACTICE” is supporting system of the EQ-Thinking Model, for developing value-creating partnerships between students and business or NGO’s communities, which combines “real-life” challenges and cases together with learning processes and individual / group experiences of the students. This challenges students to solve issues being faced by business or social organisations, generate ideas and create actionable projects or bring social impact to local community. The results include organisations receiving new ideas and insights, whilst the students benefit from developing entrepreneurial capabilities and future (social) business networks.
“Smart Practice” main elements are:
- Group work in interdisciplinary teams (4-6 persons), solving real challenging cases of organisations for a period of 2-3 months (it could be any of our 100 partner network: including Kaunas city municipality; best business companies; NGO’s; social institutions);
- Personal entrepreneurial competences development approach (Experience reflection);
- Individual and group mentoring and couching;
- Case solving using creative and project – based methods and techniques (“Design Thinking”; “Lego Serious Play”; “Experience Design”; “MethodKit” ect.).
Another important element is a strategic social partnership between the universities, businesses and local community, based on the long-term and directed efforts and attempts to solve different socio-economic, scientific or technological problems.

- Budget ± 95.000 EUR / Y
- Costs linked to provide uni staff with expertise and know how, support with access to facilities and equipment.
- Salary and working costs related to mentoring, supervision teaching, training, admin.
- Costs linked to acquiring new methodologies, toolboxes, trainings.

- Over 1000 students and 400 schoolchildren have participated in the programme. More than 120 business and social cases/ challenges were solved.
- Partnership network, consisting of more than 100 business companies, associated structures and social partners, was created.
- In 2018 “Entrepreneurship Academy” became national winner and among top 3 projects in EU in EUROPEAN ENTERPRISE PROMOTION AWARDS 2018.
- One of 51 good practice case studies on UNIVERSITY – BUSINESS COOPERATIONS” in EU

Main challenge are:
- To build clear profile and to foster the acceptance, recognition and accreditation processes in “traditional” education system.
- To combine academia and business mindsets into one system, that they complements each other.
- To sustain high motivation and interest

“MINDED” organisation continues to share the SMART PRACTICE outcomes and know-how with other educational institutions, city municipalities and relevant stakeholders in Lithuania and abroad. The Model can be transferred to other environments regardless of the country, culture or age groups, time scope (it could vary from one month until 3 years, depending on the context). We are already implementing SMART PRACTICE by creating:
- curriculum for developing entrepreneurial competences;
- ecosystems to foster school pupils entrepreneurial mindset;
- platforms for social innovations in municipalities;
- organisation’s case solving solutions;
- programmes for business and startups creation, training and acceleration.

Guidelines to replicate SMART PRACTICE model already exist and can be requested from the Centre for Enterprise Practices.