As part of the Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) 2020, the Seychelles Institute of Teacher Education (SITE) produced a video demonstrating the linkage between educators and entrepreneurs.
SITE is a Tertiary, Non-university Educational Institution in Seychelles that specializes in the training of teachers. The vision of the institution is to be a highly reputable, accessible and recognised centre for excellence in teacher education and educational leadership
The 20-minute long video explored the various study programs and areas of specialization at SITE through 3 minute long segments where the speakers talked about how their areas of study relates to building skills. For example, the video highlighted how geography can be used as tools to choose the best business locations; mathematics as the basic tool to ensure accountability in ventures, and the use of languages, which are essential in preparing documents and communicating with clients. The video in itself cemented the notion that teachers are the heart of the community and it is through their efforts that the dreamer, innovators and entrepreneurs of the world are formed.
Supplementing the video, the institution’s GEW Committee lead representatives: the Director, Mrs. Rosianna Jules, the Deputy Director for Studies, Mrs. Mavis Lespoir and a Technology and Enterprise Lecturer, Ms Sylvianne Sultan, explained the role of SITE in relation to the teachers being trained to foster entrepreneurship.
“The roles of teachers are to encourage learners to use the knowledge, skills and attitudes imparted in teaching and learning in the classroom to appreciate entrepreneurship as a career pathway. They also help learners understand the role of entrepreneurship in the development of economic growth, assist in recognizing and pursuing economic and business opportunities through the development of personal enterprising capabilities, which aims to promote entrepreneurship through extra-curricular activities such as Entrepreneurship clubs. Entrepreneurship is an initiative, which has an essential competency in the National curriculum framework. Therefore, when teachers are planning lessons, they should ensure that this competency is integrated in the lessons across all subjects. “
When asked about intrapreneurship, SITE’s GEW purposed internal committee representatives stated that “Teacher education promotes the holistic development of learners to become competent teachers. Therefore, teacher trainers are empowered to be intrapreneurs. SITE also has specialist lecturers who are trained to teach entrepreneurship courses. As intrapreneurs, we participate in various activities, competitions, national fairs, festivals and conferences and organize activities like open days, forums, educational visits with trainees across the islands. We also use all means of marketing and advertisements through various media, such as radio, television, website and Facebook page to further promote our institute especially to candidates interested to join the teaching profession. In addition, we sell different memorabilia such as T-shirt, mugs and pens.”
The video will be stored at the Seychelles Institute of Teacher Education as a teaching resource where it will be shared with current and future trainees to deepen their knowledge on the matter. The Entrepreneurship and Industry Department on the other hand has stated that it looks forward to working closely with SITE to ensure that the national vision for entrepreneurship is taken onboard by the institute in order to achieve synergies when sensitizing students and the general public.
The Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) 2020 is the largest, and most visible one-week campaign affiliated with entrepreneurship. It occurs annually every November and celebrated amongst more than 170 countries with approximately 10 million people across the globe. This year, Seychelles hosted the GEW and secured multiple participants including numerous Departments and Agencies to assist in promoting the values of Entrepreneurship in Seychelles.
