The innovation key for innovative schools

The innovation key for innovative schools

The Innovation Key is a project developed by Ásgarð consultants in collaboration with schools and municipalities to increase innovation and entrepreneurship education in Icelandic schools. The Innovation Key consists of six thematic packages that aim to promote creativity, innovation and entrepreneurial learning in education, and is based on the principles of the Icelandic National Curricular Guidelines and the Innovation Ladder. Schools that implement specially formulated Innovation Key criteria and indicators can apply for the Innovation Key Quality Certification, and those that obtain certification qualify for the label, Innovation School. The data and materials from the project are available on the Innovation Key Online Learning Resources Plaza. Over 20 schools across Iceland have been involved in the project and it has been positively received by teachers. The project has been funded by the Federation of Icelandic Industries.

The Innovation Ladder is a framework developed by Eyjólfur Brynjar Eyjólfsson, director of the Educational Innovation Hub at the University of Iceland’s School of Education. The framework describes how innovation and entrepreneurship education can be progressively implemented across educational levels.

The Innovation Key project was funded by the Federation of Icelandic Industries to support primary school teachers in implementing the most recent national curriculum. The project provides six themed activity packs and lesson plans that promote creativity and innovation in the classroom, along with a quality manual for schools to confirm their status as an “Innovation School”. The theme projects are based on innovative ideas in school work and are available to Icelandic teachers on the Learning Resources Plaza, with success criteria linked to every learning criterion for real-time evaluation. Over 20 schools are involved in the project’s development.

Tryggvi Thayer
University of Iceland