Agro_EduGames; An array of contemporary game-based learning methodologies towards the amelioration of Agro-entrepreneurship

Background To address limited youth participation in the agricultural field, people need to have access to training that is relevant to the needs of the labour market and, furthermore, to establish links with agro-businesses so as to be able to find effective routes into employment. The provision of specialized agro-entrepreneurial training is one of the ways to achieve the above target, thus allowing people to gain direct access to the labour market in an environment that puts their development at its heart. The need to increase youth employability and competencies in the context of the agro-entrepreneurial field in Europe is compelling, as currently, for each farmer younger than 35, there are 5.6 farmers older than 65 in Europe, out of which only one in 5 young farmers has followed a full agricultural training cycle and over two-thirds exercise this occupation out of the practical experience (Eurostat, 2017) Objectives Academic research supports that the introduction of GBL approaches in entrepreneurship education has augmented learners’ motivation, has improved the adaptation of learning material for various types of learners (such as people with SLDs) and has facilitated the formulation of entrepreneurship mentality, skills and competencies through the simulation of real business-oriented challenges (Grivokostopoulou et al.,2019). As such, through the creation of this project, the three main results were: i) the modernization of the teaching/training material that youth organizations and youth centres introduced in their daily routines and which are now interwoven with the reinforcement of the field of agro-entrepreneurship; ii) the creation and empowerment of a new generation of agro-entrepreneurs, fully trained to tackle multiple modern challenges, able to come up with sustainable and structured solutions, thus creating their own agriculture enterprises; iii) full exploitation of all the possibilities provided through the GBL processes, and especially through the Escape Games methodology. The latter aimed to be converted into effective and efficient educational tools. Implementation During the Agro_EduGames project, the following main activities were implemented: -4 Local Training Sessions in the partners’ countries on the 5 ER scenarios, the accompanying material and the escape card game, gathering 100 people in total; -1Transnational Pilot Session that gathered 8 specialists to test the validity of IO2 and IO3; -4 transnational meetings (1 physical and 3 online due to COVID-19 restrictions); and -4 multiplier events in every project country (1 international and 3 national). Achievements During the project the most important practical results of the project were the creation of OERs in four languages (English, Greek, Spanish, Polish). These OERs include: -1 guidebook explaining the concepts of AE and GBL, the benefits of this teaching methodology and providing examples of its possible applicability in youth education through variations of Escape Games / https://agroedugames.com/io1-guide-the-educational-bearing-of-game-based-learning-in-agro-entrepreneurship-for-the-youth-sector/ -1 learning module, including 5 Escape Room scenarios centred on AE, along with all the blueprints, multimedia and digital material / https://agroedugames.com/io2-module-escape-rooms-break-out-boxes-on-agro-entrepreneurship/ - Video trailers to guide the youth workers in the delivery of the ERs / https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYt6CdM3emR2-FZFUkxw_DsLuGq7JuyJg - 1 Escape Card Game, along with its implementation guide, which teaches youth how to overcome various daily AE challenges through an innovative way / https://agroedugames.com/io3-agro_edugames-escape-card-game/ -1 Booklet of good practices presenting the trials, errors and successes throughout the project to help youth trainers grasp better the provision of AE education through GBL processes and the Escape Games methodology / https://agroedugames.com/io4-agro_edugames-booklet-of-good-practices/ - 4 videos showcasing the delivery of Local Training Sessions in the consortium countries / https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYt6CdM3emR3os-yGMT8YryZEaFCW47Z_ - Project website / https://agroedugames.com/