Students Lab Italia Association is a non-profit organisation that operates in Italy to spread economic and financial education, organisational culture, initiative and creativity in order to support and improve the employability of future generations. Students Lab Italia Association unites schools, students as well as companies and businesses. The Association’s mission is to promote Italy’s development, exploring the world of businesses as a means to create a stronger link between studying and the job market. Moreover, they focus on discovering and developing the talents that students want to pursue and helping them find professional experiences and opportunities suitable for the growth of transversal skills (team working, leadership, decision making, problem-solving).
The Association conducts various activities to achieve its goals, including the Students Lab Training Programme.
Our Partnership
Since 2018, Students Lab Italia Association partnered with Aflatoun International because of its excellent educational value, as we offer social and financial education to millions of children and young people worldwide, empowering them to make positive changes for a more equitable world. In fact, the Association recognised their own goals and values in Aflatoun’s mission.
Students Lab Italia Association truly believes that Aflatoun’s programmes and curricula are very interesting and highly relevant as they provide the fundamental 21st -century skills needed by young people. Moreover, they shared the importance of introducing these programmes and teachings in Italian schools, so that students can learn and understand the job market, including employment opportunities and self-employment. In addition, the Association felt very grateful to be part of a strong network of dedicated partners and supporters who provide Social and Financial Education through a constructive and functional method.
Students Lab Italia Association has been implementing the Aflateen curriculum because their target audience is mainly secondary school students between the ages of 14 and 19. In the future, they plan to extend the curriculum offer to primary school students from the age of 9. Moreover, they aim to integrate the Aflateen curriculum into the national compulsory study plan, in order for students to learn about financial education during their curricular or extracurricular hours.
Mini-companies: Learning by Doing
Within the successful activities offered by Students Lab Italia Association, there are mini-companies, which are created and managed in the school environment, according to the methodology of “learning by doing”.
Mini-companies are recognised in Europe as one of the best strategies to learn about entrepreneurship. In fact, mini-companies are models that faithfully reproduce a real business company’s different processes, functions and objectives. They provide a methodological framework, within which it is possible to enhance personal transversal skills and apply the knowledge acquired and consolidated during financial education in class.
After creating and managing mini-companies, students can participate in fairs and competitions. Here, they can show their hard work and see what other students and schools have worked on. Furthermore, the best mini-companies can proceed to regional, national and up to international competitions, which involve the participation of the best Italian and foreign projects.
