Launceston, Tasmania – From 31 October to 2 November 2024, Young Change Agents, in collaboration with the Tasmania Principals Association and local schools Cressy District High School and Launceston College, hosted a 3-day Unconference at the new University of Tasmania, Inveresk Campus in Launceston.
In its third year, the Entrepreneurial Educators Exchange (E3) event connected entrepreneurial educators, school leaders, youth, and government representatives from across Australia and globally, fostering networking and collaboration.
Throughout 27 workshop sessions, attendees explored place-based entrepreneurial education around the themes of Digital + Industry, Equitable Access, Resilience, and Sustainability.
Young Change Agents CEO & Co-Founder Margaret O’Brien remarked, “Our ambition is to reach 2 million young people worldwide with entrepreneurial education by 2030. Purpose-driven entrepreneurial education is not only beneficial for students, educators, and schools, but it also has a positive impact on society, the economy, and the environment. With over 1560 schools in Australia already utilising Young Change Agents’ programs, this year we went global – connecting educators from across the world.”
“We were joined in Tasmania by our partners from India as well as our Global Scholarship recipients from the USA, Panama, Ghana, and New Zealand. These partners shared their insights and experiences and participated in immersive activities, ready to pilot Young Change Agents programs in their schools in 2025.”
City of Launceston Mayor Matthew Garwood welcomed the Global Entrepreneurial Educators Exchange conference to Launceston. “As a proud University City, the importance of education has always been celebrated in Launceston, and it was fantastic to see the Global Entrepreneurial Educators Exchange here,” Mayor Garwood said.
“It’s also great to see the conference making use of the newly developed University of Tasmania buildings at Inveresk, a product of the Launceston City Deal which places huge emphasis on educational attainment. I hope the organisers and attendees had a brilliant time in Launceston, learned heaps, built new connections, and enjoyed everything our amazing city has to offer.”
Mark Gleeson, Principal of Cressy High School, stated, “We were really excited to host this global conference here at UTAS – having so many innovative educators in Launceston to collaborate and share their experience and knowledge about how we leverage entrepreneurial skill sets to improve student engagement was inspiring. The Tasmanian Department of Education and Young People has a number of improvement priorities, particularly in relation to literacy, but also around learning engagement. The E3 Exchange truly helped to elevate this by helping educators to activate student agency, in turn underlining collaboration, creativity, and design thinking, which is very exciting to consider as both a principal and an educator.”
Representatives from education partner Avenues Meghalaya in North East India shared the success of recent youth pilot programs there after participating in professional development and codesign with Young Change Agents in February. Mark Laitflang Stone, Founder of Avenues, shared, “We integrated design thinking and entrepreneurial mindsets into our flagship school programs for adolescent youth. The team also conducted specific bootcamps for over 120 students aged 13-15, and we intend to adapt the curriculum to a wider audience of 20,000+ students in the longer term. E3 was an opportunity to continue building on this Australia-India partnership through knowledge sharing and immersion.”
E3 Global Scholarship recipient, Dr. Naomi Adjepong, School Director at Alpha Beta Education Centres, Ghana, remarked, “I saw E3 as a lever for enacting change through expanding the entrepreneurial leadership I have been championing in Ghana over the past decade. Ultimately, it will help us foster a generation of innovative and resilient entrepreneurial leaders for Ghana and the African continent as a whole.”
Flying in from Alabama, USA, E3 Global Scholarship recipient, Dr. Amanda Jones, Ed.D, Principal of Barton Academy for Advanced World Studies, added, “I was interested in how other schools globally are integrating entrepreneurial education and in finding ways to connect my school to others around the world. I saw E3 as opening doors, and through the use of Young Change Agents’ resources, I plan to strengthen project-based and entrepreneurial learning at my school, so we can serve as an innovative model to others.”
Following this innovative education summit, teachers across the world gained new strategies for engaging students and helping them build their entrepreneurial mindset, skillset, and toolset!
About Tasmania Principals Association: The Tasmania Principals Association represents the interests of principals and school leaders across Tasmania, advocating for quality education and leadership in schools.
About Cressy District High School & Launceston College: Both local schools are committed to fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in education, providing students with opportunities to develop critical skills for the future.
