SPARK and Qatar Fund for Development have partnered to support the development of entrepreneurial mindsets and competencies amongst both teachers and students in universities and educational institutions in Turkey and Jordan.

As part of the Economic Resilience through COVID-19 programme (a four-year programme that creates new jobs), SPARK has launched the Skill Up component, which works closely with both professors and university students across all faculties, with entrepreneurs in both countries, governmental entities and the private sector in order to develop an entrepreneurship curriculum that matches the needs of the 21st century.

The component activities aim to develop an entrepreneurship curriculum to be part of the university's modules. The curriculum will be developed through group activities, including technical need assessments with universities, focus group discussions with private sectors, governmental bodies, entrepreneurs and current university students. As well as delivering training of trainers to professors aiming to promote entrepreneurship as an education mindset.

“Entrepreneurship consists of a set of skills that empower the future workforce to grow as individuals either solely or within an existing venture. The Jordanian workforce is eager to have the toolset to support them to flourish in the economy,” said Dr. Lena Abu-El-Haija, Head of Department - Industrial Engineering at German Jordanian University.

So far, SPARK has worked with at least 12 different universities, both public and private, in Turkey and Jordan. Presently, SPARK is engaged with four universities in Jordan (German Jordanian University, Al-al Bayt University, Zarqa University, and Jordanian University of Science and Technology - JUST) and two universities in Turkey (Kahramanmaras Sütçü Imam University and Gaziantep University), which have committed to implementing entrepreneurial curriculum development and enhancement.

“SPARK is excited to be partnering with universities in Jordan and Turkey,” said Leontine Specker, Regional Programme Director for the Middle East and Turkey at SPARK. “The unemployment rate in Turkey and Jordan is dramatic. With such efforts in educational systems in both countries, we can make a difference. The skill up component is a unique opportunity as it targets professors and students simultaneously”.

Upon completion of the workshops and during the next 14 months, the next activity phase will start. The next step will be organizing curriculum redesigning workshops for relevant HEIs representatives and the local private sector and organizing teacher training workshops on the new curricula to ensure the new curricula are well introduced and integrated. Later on, pilot courses in the new curricula will be introduced in the six higher education institutions in Turkey and Jordan, where 200 regular students enrolled at these institutions will follow the adapted curricula during the project period, and new enrolments will continue their education in the adapted curricula thereafter.