Project Team

The Consortium relies on key international partners dealing with Early School Leaving in the vocational training system and secondary schools for applying the Practice Enterprise methodology to their curriculum. The RUSESL project team consists of 9 partners from Germany, Spain, Italy, Bulgaria and Lithuania.

PEN Worldwide, with over 25 years of experience in over 40 countries, leads the project.

Project Coordinator

PEN Worldwide

PEN Worldwide (formerly EUROPEN-PEN International) is a non-profit association providing support and software and online tools to the European and International practice enterprise networks. The European network consists of 17 legally autonomous non-profit national Central Offices that together include thousands of Practice Enterprises and hundreds of thousands of trainees from across Europe every year.

A Practice Enterprise (PE) is a trainee-run company that operates like a real business silhouetting a real enterprise's business procedures, products and services. With an emphasis on career readiness, Practice Enterprises offer a live European and worldwide business simulation that offers trainees a competitive edge through project-based, collaborative learning and the development of skills in entrepreneurship, international business, problem solving and communication. Through developing and managing student-run businesses, students learn professionalism, business acumen, corporate knowledge, presentation skills, and teamwork. And through their business and trade across industries, borders, and cultures, students develop hands-on knowledge of the expectations of both the workplace and the European economy, thereby improving their employability and spirit of entrepreneurship, as well as their motivation to stay in school.

The PEN Worldwide quality assessment and certification system came about from a Leonardo project whose outcome was recognized as Best Practice by the Commission at the conclusion of the project. European-wide certification is a major plus-value for both graduate employability and mobility.

In 2016, the European Training Foundation (ETF) awarded PEN Worldwide and the Practice Enterprise concept their top rating, 3-star Excellent Practice, as an internationally recognized Good Practice in training business skills and entrepreneurship to youth.

PEN Worldwide leads the project management, dissemination across its global network, and pilots the studies and comparisons of the methodologies to be implemented over the course of the project.

Fundacio Inform (ES)

The foundation is aimed at managing, coordinating and implementing different projects and educational training programmes, including the Practice Enterprise programme SEFED, in the educational system.

Istituto Don Calabria (IT)

The association manages the Practice Enterprise training program - Simulimpresa - oriented at the qualification in the administrating, tourism and industrial field using the simulation method.

Bulgarian Centre of Training Firms (BG)

The Centre manages, develops and coordinates the Bulgarian network of Practice Enterprises and facilitates the establishment and activities of PEs in the National network.

Lithuanian Practice Enterprise Association (LT)

The non-profit association LIBA provides support to the Lithuanian Practice Enterprise network and works on stimulating qualitative and quantitative PE programme expansion.

Escola Tècnico Professional Xavier (ES)

Escola Tècnico Professional Xavier is a democratic school with integrative and non-discriminatory learning environment. Since 1999 it has been registered in the PE programme SEFED.

ITES Roberto Valturio (IT)

ITES Roberto Valturio is one of the oldest secondary schools in Rimini that provides vocational training in the economical, business and financial fields. It has strong relationships with the Chamber of Commerce of Rimini and the University of Bologna.

SU Asen Zlatarov (BG)

SU Asen Zlatarov is a general secondary school with vocational classes located in the territory of municipality Shabla. Since 2011 it has been registered in the Bulgarian Centre of Training Firms network and successfully applied the method of PEs.

Vocational Education and Training Centre Zirmunai (LT)

The Vocational Education and Training Centre Zirmunai is a VET school offering general and secondary education in Vilnius. It has more than 10 years international project experience and has been running the PE since 2000.