RCE East Midlands - 2023

Natural Entrepreneurs in Leicester - using biomimicry to solve the challenges of today and shape the future.
Basic Information
Title of project : 
Natural Entrepreneurs in Leicester - using biomimicry to solve the challenges of today and shape the future.
Contributing organization(s) : 
University of Leicester (RCE East Midlands)
Margaret Fleming Associates (RCE East Midlands)
...working with Wild Awake and project partners on the NatEnt initiative (BiomimicryNL (NL); Responsible Innovation Network (Germany); Careful Digital (UK); Children’s Environment School (Latvia); Focus Eco Centre (Romania).
Focal point(s) and affiliation(s)
Name: 
Margaret Fleming
Organizational Affiliation: 
Margareet Fleming Associates
E-mail: 
margaret.fleming@gmail.com
Name: 
Sandra Lee
Organizational Affiliation: 
University of Leicester
E-mail: 
sll33@leicester.ac.uk
Name: 
Richard Dawson
Organizational Affiliation: 
Wild Awake
E-mail: 
richard@wild-awake.org
Language of project: 
English
Date of submission:
Monday, October 30, 2023
Web link: 
https://uolsocialimpact.wordpress.com/2023/07/06/young-entrepreneurs-impress-with-sustainable-solution-projects/
Additional resources: 
Natural Entrepreneurship project website: https://natent.eu/en
Does this project link to any education and/or sustainable development policy or policies?: 
Yes
SDG 4.7 - Education for Sustainable Development in educational settings
At what level is the policy operating?: 
International
Geographical & Education Information
Region: 
Europe
Country: 
Germany
Latvia
Netherlands
Romania
United Kingdom
Ecosystem(s):

Target Audience:
Higher, Secondary
Contents
Status: 
Completed
Period: 
July, 2023
Rationale: 
Young people need to be aware of the sustainability challenges we face and design entrepreneurial solutions to live their future within planetary limits; a need clearly aligned with green growth. Natural Entrepreneurs (NatEnt) aims to inspire young people to view nature not only as a source of beauty and resources, but also a source of learning for a sustainable future, for intelligent technological solutions achieving the aims of conserving the environment and sustaining human progress; inspiration which nature provides in the form of biomimicry.

Biomimicry learning takes students on a journey to discover the principles which makes nature a model for sustainability. It offers an opportunity to explore how these principles can tackle challenges facing Europe such as climate change and increasing levels of waste and pollution. And finally, it empowers students to apply their new competences to create real solutions that work; entrepreneurship for social and economic good.
Objectives: 
NatEnt had the following objectives:
1. Develop the competence of students to apply biomimicry to understand and address Europe’s key sustainability challenges.
2. Increase the capacity of students to apply entrepreneurial thinking and work collaboratively to create solutions for the green economy.
3. Provide support for teachers to integrate STEM subjects with entrepreneurship.
4. Improve access to digital learning to enhance both independent and collaborative learning.
Results: 
The key result is the NatEnt platform. Use of the platform is entirely free, and all supporting resources are included. NatEnt is perfect for STEM projects, green weeks, design challenges or simply extending curriculum areas into real life.

The platform enables students (working in teams) to apply biomimicry design to a challenge of their choice. It guides students through the whole biomimicry design process from challenge to biology … and on to a design solution and implementation. The biomimicry design process is split into four phases – define, discover, create, communicate – and each phase includes step-by-step guidelines.

Research and data from each phase is entered and stored on the NatEnt platform, keeping a record of student work. Uniquely, the platform allows teams of students to view the work of other teams, learn from them, and collaborate to improve their own design.

The results have been impressive, with teachers reporting:

• “The structure of the course was brilliant for the students, it gave them enough information that they could be really independent later on in the programme.”
• “I think in those two days the students not only learn a lot about science and design, they also develop a lot of communication, presentation, research and collaboration skills.”

And students saying:

• “I really enjoyed creating a solution to a given problem. It was very fun and it gave me different perspective of thinking that I didn't know I had. After all, it was amazing experience that I would recommend to everyone.”
• “I most enjoyed how biomimicry works and I liked applying it to real life scenarios.”
Key messages: 
The NatEnt entirely free, and all supporting resources are included. NatEnt is perfect for STEM projects, green weeks, design challenges or simply extending curriculum areas into real life. It was implemented successfully in Leicester, working with local schools and the University of Leicester.
Relationship to other RCE activities: 
This initiative is one of several collaborative arrangements between local RCE members and schools in the Leicester area.
Funding: 
NatEnt has been funded by the EU's Erasmus+ programme.

Pictures:

File Name Caption for picture Photo Credit
Image icon Capture.PNG (1.72 MB) Young entrepreneurs from five different schools across Leicester University of Leicester
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
(https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgs) and other themes of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)
SDG 4 - Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all 
Direct
Theme
Curriculum Development 
Direct
ESD for 2030-Priority Action Areas
Priority Action Area 2 - Transforming learning and training environments 
state: 
Direct
Priority Action Area 4 - Mobilizing youth 
state: 
Direct
Update: 
No
I acknowledge the above: 
Yes