CROSS-SECTORAL COOPERATION FOR DEVELOPING OF STUDENTS' ENTREPRENEURIAL ABILITIES IN THE CONTEXT OF STEAM ACTIVITIES*

The competence of entrepreneurship in the context of general education is developed at different levels by students of different ages. Young people have many features of a successful entrepreneur, but the enthusiasm of the students themselves is not enough to encourage entrepreneurship. It should be a systematic approach, proper organization and coordination of activities. Entrepreneurship abilities, in the absence of an appropriate system, are developed spontaneously, fragmentarily, without creating a complete picture and seeing the final result. In order for students to be able to apply their knowledge in practice and gain practical entrepreneurial skills, it is necessary to properly organize their formation process and be able to manage it. The tendency is that increasingly younger students want to learn the elements of entrepreneurship. Therefore, the only option is non-formal education, usually project activity. This paper deals with a project carried out under the cooperation program of high schools of Šiauliai city and Šiauliai city municipality in the context of STEAM activities. The model My smart product for work or leisure for developing entrepreneurial abilities of students of different ages is discussed, its conception and realization possibilities are revealed. The essence of such model is a creative collaboration between students of different ages and cooperation with scientists, business consultants, in order to transform the entrepreneurial idea into a prototype of a real product. Thus, in the context of STEAM activities, the aim is to develop the creativity of different age students, their ability to put their ideas into practice, to make engineering and technical decisions, and thus to acquire practical entrepreneurial skills. * The program was financed from the budget of Šiauliai City Municipality