The UNESCO Chairs Meeting on “Challenges of Interdisciplinary Entrepreneurial Universities and Education in Europe within SDG-4”
Article published on 31-01-2019
The UNESCO Department for Business Administration within the Faculty for Business Administration in Foreign Languages of the Bucharest University of Economic Studies, in partnership with the National Commission of Romania for UNESCO, the Ministry of National Education, the Ministry for Business Environment, Commerce and Entrepreneurship, the UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship and Intercultural Management of the University of Wuppertal (Germany), and the Student Entrepreneurial Society within the Bucharest University of Economic Studies, organized at the Bucharest University of Economic Studies the UNESCO Chairs Meeting on “Challenges of Interdisciplinary Entrepreneurial Universities and Education in Europe within SDG-4”. The conference brought together Romanian and foreign representatives of UNESCO departments specialized in Entrepreneurship, Education, Innovation and Sustainability, and not only, and representatives of the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe.
The meeting was a platform for discussions on how entrepreneurial education and higher education institutions can be relevant, inspiring and motivating, contributing to the fulfilment of Sustainable Development Goals 4.4 Relevant skills for decent work and 4.7 Education for sustainable development and global citizenship.
With regard to 4.4., we strive to better support the increase of the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship. With regard to 4.7 we aim to encourage all learners to acquire the knowledge and skills needed for sustainable development, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, and the promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development.
Discussions focused on the sharing of best practices, case studies and already implemented curricula on entrepreneurial education. We started the development of a set of measures to raise the interdisciplinary approach within entrepreneurial education for sustainable development in higher education institutions, and will publish a collection of scientific papers on the topic, underlining the necessity of an interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary approach.
Topics covered by the workshops: Challenges of Interdisciplinary Research and Education within SDG 4, Entrepreneurship Education and Sustainable Development Goals, Future Emerging Skills, Global Citizenship Education, Preventing Violent Extremism through Education.
Within the workshop “Preventing Violent Extremism through Education”, Iris Constantin, NCR UNESCO expert, presented the special themes addressed by UNESCO under the umbrella of global citizenship: Preventing violent extremism through education (PVE-E), Education about the Holocaust and genocide, Languages in education and the Promotion of the rule of law through global citizenship education. The PVE-E theme was further developed and the workshop participants learned that UNESCO is helping countries deliver education programs which help build learners' resilience to violent extremism and mitigate the drivers of the phenomena. The audience also learned about UNESCO and UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime)’s partnership, “Global Citizenship Education: Educating for a Culture of Lawfulness”, and about the regional capacity-building efforts undertaken by the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe.