Me & MyCity
Me & MyCity is a learning module on the economy, working life and society targeted at 12–13-year-olds, encouraging entrepreneurship in them. Awarded as the world’s best education innovation (WISE, 2014), Me & MyCity offers a high-quality learning module filled with the joy of learning. Me & MyCity is based on the highly esteemed Finnish National Core Curriculum. The story of Me & MyCity began in 2010, and, currently, learning environments are operating in eight localities around Finland. The learning module reaches more than 75 per cent of the sixth-graders in Finland.
Me & MyCity has gained a strong position as a promotor of societal skills, economic literacy and entrepreneurship in Finland. Through the Me & MyCity learning environment, students and teachers get acquainted with employers operating in their own area and their special features. Me & MyCity gives young people the first touch of the working life and supports their growth into members of society. According to a study conducted by the University of Vaasa (Panu Kalmi, 2015), the Me & MyCity learning module also significantly enhances the economic skills of young people. More than 75% of sixth-graders reported that the Me & MyCity learning module increased their interest in economic matters and personal savings.
About Me & MyCity concept
The Me & MyCity for sixth-graders consists of teacher training, ten lessons and visit to the Me & MyCity learning environment. The learning material, including 10 lessons, based on the core curriculum leads the participants into the Me & MyCity day. With the help of the material, pupils get acquainted with, for example, the fundamentals of the economy and society. The learning environment is a miniature city that simulates the functioning of society. In the learning environment, pupils work in their own professions, earning a salary for their work. Furthermore, pupils function as consumers and citizens as part of society.
The Me & MyCity partners enable an authentic experience of society and working life to the pupils. The enterprises in the Me & MyCity are real companies and public service providers, and the duties performed in them have been designed in collaboration with the business partners. Me & MyCity aims to present the working life and the operation of companies and public service providers in as authentic way as possible. For companies and public service providers, Me & MyCity is a natural way of implementing their corporate social responsibility and creating a positive employer image.
Digitalisation is an important part of Me & MyCity, and it supports the learning module. We offer students an opportunity to use technology in a way that it supports their learning and offers tools for it. The Me & MyCity day is run by an awarded digital game system developed by Me & MyCity (Blue Arrow Awards, 2016), steering the activities of the pupils in the learning environment from the use of money to voting. It is also used for simulating the economy of the miniature society, where money is transferred in real time. In addition, in Me & MyCity digitalisation is used for bringing multisensory feel to work and promoting social skills.
Read more about Me & MyCity Finland at: yrityskyla.fi/en
- IPN 2016: Global Best Award, Winner, “Partnerships that build learning communities”
- Blue Arrow Awards 2016: Winner, “Societal influence” -category
- World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) 2014: Winner, “World’s best learning innovation”
- European Enterprise Promotion Awards 2013: Winner, “Promoting the Enterpreneurial Spirit”
- IPN 2012: Global Best Award regional winner Europe (most innovative new programme)
Gallery:
Photos by: Iiro Rautiainen
