Tekwill Project signs cooperation partnerships with INTEL and Junior Achievement Moldova to study optional subjects in the country’s schools
It’s one step closer to the jobs of the future! Students from several Moldovan schools now have the opportunity to take courses in Artificial Intelligence, Digital Entrepreneurship and Mobile Applications starting September 2021. The TEKWILL Project, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research of the Republic of Moldova have signed a cooperation partnership with IT giant INTEL and Junior Achievement Moldova in order to teach the new subjects in Moldovan high schools. These courses are part of the ‘Tekwill in Every School’ program, implemented by the TEKWILL Project, with the support of the foreign development partners: USAID Moldova and Sweden.
Ana Chirita, Tekwill Project manager: “It is known that certain jobs will be no longer be relevant in 5-7 years’ time, and now we have the opportunity to learn to be competitive on the future job market. The INTEL Company, although not being physically present in Moldova, has been our partner in promoting and implementing several educational projects. World-wide, INTEL is running many programs designed to develop the skills of potential future engineers, and the new partnership shaping today proves there is consistency in the undertaken actions, there is a connection and openness to new achievements. Thanks to this cooperation, young people from educational institutions in the country will have access to a curriculum developed by the best specialists in the world. And, in partnership with Junior Achievement Moldova, we contribute to the training of the future generations of IT entrepreneurs.”
Madelene Eichhorn, representative of the Swedish Embassy: "Through the signed agreements, we mark another important milestone in this exciting journey of the 'Tekwill in Every School' project. It is an initiative enriching the experience of teachers and students, a step further in the development of entrepreneurial, digital and creative skills, motivating young people to create solutions and products innovative for society. We believe that the earlier we get the students involved into the world of science and digital technologies the sooner our society will strengthen. This is also the mission of the project: supporting the young people from this country to successfully embrace any career they want.”
Valentin Crudu, head of the General Education Department, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research of the Republic of Moldova: “I hope this initiative will be very successful among young people and thus help them easier choose a job of the future. The students’ freedom to develop certain skills through optional subjects could stir a revolution in everything related to education in the Republic of Moldova. When you have more learning opportunities, when you offer more interesting optional subjects in which students can develop their skills, you have progress in the national economy, too. We want these partnerships to enhance the education in the Republic of Moldova, and the students to enjoy more opportunities to develop their skills.”
In the upcoming time, as many as 120 teachers will follow a mentoring program to get trained to teach Artificial Intelligence and Digital Entrepreneurship to over 3,000 students.
Michal Dzoga, INTEL representative: “Our goal is to change and improve everyone’s skills, and that’s why we have committed to support the implementation of the Artificial Intelligence subject and to work with 30 million beneficiaries from schools in 30 countries, by 2030. We believe that in the future, professions will not be lost, but be transformed through Artificial Intelligence. To do this, we must be prepared, learn a lot and use technologies in our lives, which in turn will be able to change the reality and society. We are confident this technology will change the way jobs are developed in the future, also having an enormous potential to do so, including with the global economy.”
Laurentia Filipschi, Executive Manager, Junior Achievement Moldova: “For more than two decades, we have been working to develop entrepreneurial skills and cultivate the entrepreneurial spirit of young people aged 6-20, for whom entrepreneurial programs are developed and tailored to their needs, depending on each school grade and in accordance with the curriculum approved by the National Curriculum Council. It is important for us to expand the family of partners, both in the area of central and local public authorities, businesses, civil society, and with the teachers delivering meaningful information to students and trigger their desire to study entrepreneurship, but also with students who are the end beneficiaries of our programs. All programs give the student the opportunity to learn through action. Through ‘learning by doing’ activities carried out in classrooms and by interacting with the volunteer consultants from the business community, the young people acquire essential skills for life, unique experiences."
Subjects of the future get increased interest in schools
Aliona Puscas and Sofia Zaim are teachers in Chisinau high schools, and are going to teach students Artificial Intelligence starting next fall. The teachers are looking forward to the mentoring session, where they will learn as much as possible about algorithms, how intelligent applications and self-teaching systems can be applied in practice, but also the principles of using the future-determining technology.
Aliona Puscas, teacher at Vasil Levski Bulgarian Theoretical High School: “Most of us have heard about artificial intelligence either from movies or by using mobile devices or from media. I have decided to learn and later teach this subject to children because I want to know how it really works, how it will change the world, what problems it can solve and what artificial intelligence entails in the real world. Moreover, I am eager to know how much this topic is related to the jobs of the future. I look forward to the mentoring session to find answers to the above questions and to give students access to more thorough knowledge.”
Sofia Zaim, teacher, Prometeu-Prim” Creativity and Invention High School: “For me, artificial intelligence is an algorithmic way of thinking and advanced logic. It is an increasingly interesting field, which is constantly developing, and what is new is interesting and exciting. It is also relevant for young people, respectively it is good to be explained to children as earlier as possible. I want to study this course because it is close to my area of activity, to broaden my knowledge, but also to answer students' question: Can equipment become as intelligent as humans?"
The new subjects to be studied in the 2021-2022 school year have aroused interest among students. In the Digital Entrepreneurship subject, young people want to learn how to develop a business, what are the best promotion techniques and especially how to cope with the challenges of maintaining a successful growth.
Vlada Turcanu, student, Aristotle Theoretical High School, Chisinau: “Entrepreneurship? Entrepreneur? I have always been interested in this field. As a child I dreamed of owning my own coffee shop, and when I found out about the Entrepreneurship course implemented by the ‘Tekwill in Every School’ project, I was pleasantly surprised. I am firmly confident that attending this course will help me understand how an online business can be promoted and how the views can be used effectively.”
Cristian Stratin, student, Pro Succes Theoretical High School, Chisinau: “I am interested in entrepreneurship because I am passionate about the jobs of the future and everything related to development opportunities. In the future, I think of a business of my own, and this course will help me find the steps to follow in order to be a successful entrepreneur.”
Currently, the project ‘Tekwill in Every School’ is implemented in 77 general schools from Moldova, and the number of members will increase to 234 schools starting the next school year.
About ‘Tekwill in Every School’
The development of the project "Tekwill in Every School" was possible due to mobilizing the financial efforts of the private sector and of citizens of Moldova and the diaspora (in the crowdfunding campaign of the TwentyTu project, which started in 2018), as well as thanks to our development partners - USAID Moldova, Sweden, EU4Moldova and UNDP Moldova. The project is also being developed in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research. In the long run, the project has the mission to enhance the human capital of the Republic of Moldova and to raise a generation of people creating at home, in Moldova, products and services meeting national and global socio-economic challenges.
