Business spirit for all
The first phase of the «Ideopolis 2004» competition concluded last Wednesday with the awarding of 14 prizes and 20 commendations for the best entrepreneurial ideas. Students from all of the country’s universities participated in this competition sponsored by the Ministry of Education and directed by Business Administration Professor Emmanuel K. Kondylis of the University of Piraeus. Addressing the award ceremony, in the presence of Deputy Minister for Education Spyros Taliadouros, Professor Kondylis stressed the need to introduce the enterpreneurial spirit into all education levels. «Competition among groups and individuals is today based on who can add value to the greatest entrepreneurial resource, knowledge, by handling it better than others. This requires enterpreneurial spirit. We must cultivate this spirit by creating economically literate citizens to support it. Therefore, emphasis ought to be placed on developing personal skills and basic knowledge of market economy. Meanings such as ‘who am I,’ ‘who are these others,’ ‘risk, return, revenue, cost,’ etc. should become standardized knowledge for everyone, just like geography,» Kondylis suggested. Deputy Minister Taliadouros said that entrepreneurship in the education system has been granted 19 million euros for 2000-2006. The second phase continues with the «Business Plan» section of the competition, for which applications will be accepted by March 15, 2005. The 10 best plans will be rewarded in May and promoted for application through incubators and venture capitalists.
