KHARKOV TECHNOLOGIES

CENTER OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

International Workshop "SME education in transition 2007"

BUSINESS EDUCATION IN THE COUNTRIES OF EASTERN EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA: Regional Network "TC-NET"
July 11-13, 2007, Kharkiv, Ukraine

Sponsored by: World Bank infoDev Program and Central European Initiative (CEI)

Hosted by: “Kharkov Technologies” Center

In partnership with:
Training Center of the Ukrainian Business Incubators and Innovation Centers Association,
SODBI Business Incubator, Shymkent, Kazakhstan

Introduction:
The Workshop “SME Education in Transition 2007” was the first international event of newly created training centers network (TCnet) of the Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region aimed at exchanging information and experiences, generating knowledge and data bases on the issues of business education, introducing Internet-based tools for promoting training services for clients regionally and internationally, skills-building in network management.
The Workshop was carried out in two formats: on-site and on-line, thus enabling unlimited number of virtual participants to take part in.
Forty six participants representing ECA region countries business incubators, training and consulting centers, local authorities and governmental business support organizations, entrepreneurs' associations from Belarus, Bulgaria, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Russia, Romania, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine as well as external international experts and participants from Germany, USA, and Israel took part in the workshop sessions.
Main distinguished feature of the Workshop was using of Internet conference tool based on the hotconference.com product. Internet conference technology allowed to broadcast video and audio information both in English and Russian languages, to participate in on-line forum that provided an opportunity not only to observe workshop discussions on-line but to provide on-site participants with on-line presentations, to ask and answer questions, to give comments on-line.

Content:
During the workshop both on-line and on-site participants had an opportunity to exchange ideas and discuss:

• current state and prospects of business education in the ECA region countries,
• experience of training networks in the ECA region and worldwide,
• remote education services for clients - distant learning, coaching, etc.

Rositsa Djambazova (Bulgaria), Tatyana Tetyanka (Belarus), Elena Pereverzeva, (Russia), Volodymir Yaremiy (Ukraine), Tatyana Shpuling (Kazakhstan) provided information about current situation in sectors of business incubation and business education as well as introduced contemporary trends in delivering business services for clients in their countries.

Olena Bulba, Director of the UBICA Training Center, Ukraine has introduced the results of “Comparative Research on Current State of Business Education in the Region: Outcomes” conducted with support of ECA country coordinators. This research outlined commonalities and differences of organizations that provided training and consulting business development services in the countries of ECA region and emphasized the ways and most important directions for further collaboration within TC network.

Тatyana Shpulung , Project manager of SODBI, Kazakhstan made the presentation of TCNet Internet-portal mYconsultant.ru created within InfoDev supported project. Portal has to become efficient tool for dissemination of knowledge, good practices, methodologies, and information exchange among individuals and organizations provided training and consulting services in the region. mYconsultant.ru is a toll for SMEs as well, which will assist them in finding information about: ways of professional development, business consultants in the ECA region and worldwide, proposed training/consulting services for SMEs.

Inna Gagauz, TBI "Kharkov Technologies", Ukraine. Her presentation Distance Learning and Educational Services for Remote Clients (Virtual Business Incubator) was focused on ICT tools worked out and used in TBI activities, distant learning courses and other educational services developed for remote clients.

Two on-line presentations were provided by: Veniamin Kaganov, President of the National Commonwealth of Business Incubators, Russia: “Practice of Training Services for Innovation Infrastructure in Russia”

Osman Nasr, International expert in entrepreneurship development, Germany: State consulting and training support of small and medium business in Germany. Saxony’s experience.

Essential part of the Workshop was focused on Consultant Skills-building for Business Services Network for East Europe & Central Asia. Rustam Lalkaka, international expert, president of Business and Technology Development Strategies LLC, New York, USA has provided presentation and moderated discussions on the issue “How to start and manage a business service consultancy organization?”

Last day's planning Session for TCNet Activities for 2007-2008 finalized previous days’ discussions and brainstorming: Overcoming Barriers and Network Co-operation Mechanism moderated by Stefan Sсhandera, Expert of the World Bank InfoDev Program, German, and outlined further steps for TCNet development.

The following working groups were established to carry out further activities, initiate new programs and projects: TCNet PR and marketing ICT network tools Distance learning Fundraising TCNet management

More information, workshop presentations is available for registered users at File archive.