Hanover, June 23, 2026 – Key skills thanks to entrepreneurial spirit: The Entrepreneurship Education Congress in Hanover emphasizes the opportunities and skills that entrepreneurial knowledge brings to students. Systematic integration of entrepreneurial education into the German school system is called for.

Developing ideas, solving problems (even unconventionally), and taking responsibility for implementing their own ideas – these are skills that young people urgently need for the jobs of the future, especially since AI is massively changing not only schools and learning, but also working life. Entrepreneurship education empowers students to do precisely this and imparts much more than just basic business knowledge. The nationwide Entrepreneurship Education Congress 2026, organized by Niedersachsen.next and Gründung in school, impressively demonstrated this at the IdeenExpo.

Around 80 education professionals, including many teachers from various German states, gained insights into how entrepreneurial thinking and new learning formats in schools can inspire young people – regardless of their future career paths – to embrace knowledge and foster greater independence and self-efficacy. The conclusion: those who want to succeed in a world that is becoming increasingly fast-paced, technological, and uncertain must be self-reliant, critical, resilient, and creative. At the same time, it became clear how significant the challenge of this cultural shift is and how long the transformation process in schools will be. The participants agreed that it often requires courage in interpreting the curriculum.

Mirjam Gerull, head of the KGS Pattensen school, emphasized that change is possible with perseverance. She stressed that entrepreneurship cannot be taught with worksheets and that teachers are poor influencers in this area. Therefore, new formats are needed, which her colleagues have developed over a period of ten years. For example, upper school students designed a new workspace themselves and learned to exceed their own expectations through tasks outside of school. Entrepreneurship education must be modeled by the school leadership, and the conditions created by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Education for this are very good.

When asked about the most important skill to instill in young people, the headmistress cited perseverance—the ability not to give up immediately when things don't go as planned. Other participants added the courage to embrace imperfection, individual taste and originality in order to make a difference and create something, as well as appreciation, teamwork, and leadership skills. All of these are competencies that could be taught in schools through entrepreneurship education. It is therefore all the more important to develop a strategy for Lower Saxony that firmly integrates entrepreneurial education into the curriculum, emphasized Samir Roshandel, Entrepreneurship Education Manager at the state's business and innovation agency, Niedersachsen.next. Silke Feser, Head of the Department for Cross-School Affairs at the Lower Saxony Ministry of Education, announced plans to consider the topic for all types of schools, strengthen teacher training in this area, and further expand practical formats such as collaborations with startups.

Professor Johannes Lindner, one of Europe's leading experts in entrepreneurship education, presented a best-practice example from Austria in his keynote address. There, a veritable entrepreneurship journey begins in primary school, solidifying entrepreneurial knowledge and the associated skills over a long period. Regarding the responsible use of AI, he appealed: "AI increases the ability to act and enables massive simplifications; entrepreneurship education strengthens the ability to make sensible and responsible decisions about how to act."

Further keynotes, discussions and workshops provided impetus and clear recommendations for dealing with AI and raising awareness among young people about their own role in the future professional world, the value of confidence, resilience and mindfulness, as well as social entrepreneurial ideas for tackling social problems.

Background:

ÜberNiedersachsen.next As the state's economic and innovation agency, Niedersachsen.next strategically connects business, science, and politics to ensure optimal knowledge and technology transfer and the digitalization of the economy. Niedersachsen.next provides impetus for projects, identifies trends, promotes technologies and innovations, and is a key partner for startups, established companies, and research institutions alike. Niedersachsen.next supports the state government by reviewing funding applications from business and science and by strategically evaluating the state's innovation guidelines. .next competencies: Digitalization, startups, mobility, energy, life sciences, food and agriculture, age-friendly everyday life, innovations and recruitment of skilled workers

About founding in school Gründung in school is a nationwide network that strengthens entrepreneurship education in Germany and brings together stakeholders from education, politics, and business. It operates on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and aims to embed entrepreneurial thinking early on in the education system and promote it sustainably.

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