About BRIDGE
The main goal of BRIDGE Erasmus+ Project: Bridging the Gap – Youth Work-Based Learning Cooperation with the Western Balkans is to enhance cooperation between Western Balkan and EU Practice Enterprises. This cooperation focuses on developing shared Practice Enterprise activities and events. It encourages sharing best practices among the partner countries and is creating a common cooperative activities program. This program can serve as a model for future regional cooperation.
Strengthen regional cooperation between Western Balkan national Practice Enterprise networks and their EU counterparts. The project also helps trainees in the Western Balkans understand the EU market, its commercial laws, and regulations. This understanding helps them adapt and fosters positive educational cooperation.
The project offers opportunities for youth from Programme countries to connect and learn together.
The BRIDGE project will develop cooperation and partnerships between Practice Enterprises in the Western Balkans and Practice Enterprises across Europe through common multinational activities.
To share ideas and practices to develop activities that will allow regional youth to experience exchanges and an internationalisation@home and abroad by creating a multinational activity programme that will provide a good solution for challenging times such as those of the ongoing pandemic by offering international collaboration and regional and EU cooperative activity opportunities.
To produce a sustainable cooperation model, both in terms of adaptability and methodology. This project will strengthen EU business and digital know-how for Western Balkan youth and provide a better understanding of how the EU market works and offer Practice Enterprise trainees a common activity programme to foster regional cooperation.
Consortium
The Bridge Consortium is led by BUCT (Bulgaria). Partners include PEN Worldwide (Germany), MESTI (Kosovo), CSO (Montenegro), CPCD (Bosnia and Herzegovina), and Ekonomska skola Cacak (Serbia)
PEN Worldwide (PEN) is a non-profit association providing coordination of and support to the international Practice Enterprise networks. The European network consists of 17 legally autonomous national Practice Enterprise Central Offices that together include over 5,000 Practice Enterprises training more than 120,000 VET students every year.
With an emphasis on career readiness, Practice Enterprises offer a live European and worldwide business simulation that provides trainees with a competitive edge through project-based learning and the development of skills in entrepreneurship and international business.
Bulgarian Centre of Training Firms /BUCT/ was established in 1996 and became a service centre of the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science in 1999. The Centre facilitates the establishment and activities of the practice enterprises in the National network; develops the concept of practice enterprises and its methodology on national level; manages, develops and coordinates the National network of Practice Enterprises in Bulgaria; simulates the state institutions for the needs of practice firms; ensures bank operations between Bulgarian and foreign companies; organizes fairs of practice enterprises. Bulgarian practice enterprises network consists of more than 300 PEs annually in all regions of Bulgaria within secondary vocational and comprehensive schools and universities. Practice enterprise concept is taught as a compulsory subject, extracurricular activity, project-based activity and as practical training for adults.
ESC – Secondary School of Economics Čačak , Republic of Serbia, is a state school founded in 1948 . Secondary School of Economics l (ESC) teaches and trains students in the two fields of education; Economics, Law and Administration, and Trade, Hospitality and Tourism. The school has about 700 students. 25 Practice Enterprises are founded and work in the Secondary School of Economics in Čačak. Classes are held at school and as per dual system concept, professional practice is performed in real companies in all educational profiles. The school takes part in numerous projects, student exchanges programs, competitions and fairs. Our teachers are in charge of the management of the Central Virtual Bank, which participates in the establishment of all practice enterprises in Serbia, and there are more than 400 of them now. Central Virtual Bank (CVB) is one of the organizers of the Practice Enterprises National Fair.
Centar za promociju civilnog društva (CPCD) is one of the oldest civil society organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, that is reliable and important support to other organizations, but also to citizens, authorities, the academic community, the international community, and media. Independent, professional and stable organization that in more than 25 years of existence has implemented more than 150 projects. We stand for civil sector strengthening through interconnection, the introduction of standards, innovative capacity strengthening programs, and financial and technical support to civil society organizations – not only in BiH but also in the Western Balkans region. CPCD was the first one to gather associations and foundations around one idea in 2004 when the process of establishment of institutional cooperation between the government and the non-governmental sector started.
The Kosovo Centre for Practice Enterprise (KCPE), established in 2009 under the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) in the Republic of Kosovo, is dedicated to enhancing practical business education through simulated business environments. These initiatives aim to bridge the gap between academic learning and real-world business practices by providing students with hands-on experience in a controlled setting. Through the Practice Enterprise, students gain valuable skills in entrepreneurship, management, and operational functions, thereby improving their employability and readiness for the competitive job market. The center plays a crucial role in fostering innovation and entrepreneurial spirit among Kosovo’s youth, aligning with broader goals of improving the quality and relevance of education. Since 2016, KCPE has been part of PENWorldwide, a global network of practice enterprises.
The public institution Center for Vocational Education performs the professional tasks of developing qualifications, analyzing and monitoring the quality of vocational education and adult education. Within this institution is located the Service Center of the practice enterprises, founded in 2005. The main function of the Service Center is to provide a real business environment for practice enterprises, by assuming the role of institutions with which real companies cooperate (central register of economic entities, tax administration, bank, insurance funds, etc.), as well as work on improving and promoting entrepreneurial learning in secondary schools. Servis Center is the carrier of activities for the inclusion of Montenegrin practice enterprises in PEN Worldwide and represents a link between domestic and training companies on the international market.