2022 GOU-STEP Train The Trainer Workshop
For the continuous integration of an end-to-end entrepreneurship program in Godfrey Okoye University and in pursuit of its vision, the Directorate of Entrepreneurship of the university hosted a contingent of STEP (Student Training for Entrepreneurial Promotion) Masters Trainers from Leuphana University Germany and Makerere University Uganda from 19th – 28th October 2022 for the Train the Trainer (TTT) Workshop on STEP.
The STEP is an action-oriented entrepreneurship training which enables students to learn about entrepreneurial process through a real startup project in teams. Accordingly, students are expected to undergo the training in 12 sessions. Students acquire evidence-based, entrepreneurial action knowledge that they can apply directly to their own startup project. Since the STEP implementation in 2018, about 900 students have been trained using the evidence-based psychological method of entrepreneurship.
The goals of the action-oriented training is to train 15 new trainers in becoming Entrepreneurship Trainers in order to support the STEP trainer team. Meggy Kantert, Project Manager ICMPD and Christopher Uwakwe, Director of Entrepreneurship Directorate initiated the two weeks TTT workshop which held in two batches at the GO-Uni Thinker’s Corner Campus.
The TTT kick-started on 19 October 2022 with a pre-meeting by Mr. Paul Jasper Herrmann, Entrepreneurial Specialist and STEP Trainer from Leuphana University, Germany. All prospective trainers from GO-Uni were introduced to the STEP training in general and within three days, the 15 new STEP trainers from GO-Uni gained all the experience to conduct STEP trainings in the future.
To mark the great success of the training, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Rev. Prof. Dr. Christian Anieke, Eb. (Mittelkirchen/Austria) honoured all trainers with a certification that makes them official STEP trainers. Ms. Meggy Kantert was also certified as a master trainer for the STEP program. This certification is the highest honor within the STEP consortium and this will enable Ms. Meggy to train new instructors for the STEP program. A gift was presented to Mr. Paul Jasper Herrmann and in appreciation he stated that it was a great achievement to train the selected staff from GoUni because they will contribute to the vision of STEP in becoming future STEP trainers. He further stated that the training is a good way to create young entrepreneurs to change their mindset from job seekers to job creators.
Plans are also being made to introduce STEP to Godfrey Okoye Secondary School and even to roll it out across Nigeria and West Africa.
