Do you know the Mondragon Team Academy FALKON Model?
Do you know the Mondragon Team Academy FALKON Model?
Do you know the Mondragon Team Academy FALKON Model?
From the 2020-21 academic year, the formal implementation of the MTA FALKON Model (pedagogical framework) in the LEINN degree has begun
To understand what are the keys to this model called FALKON Model, we will briefly review where and how Mondragon Team Academy and LEINN are born and understand the process of transformation from the Rocket Model (pedagogical framework used until 2020) to the Falkon Model.
Where and how MTA and LEINN were born
In May 2008 a team of intrapreneurs in the Faculty of Business (Mondragon Unibertsitatea Enpresagintza) created Mondragon Team Academy as the entrepreneurship unit of Mondragon Unibertsitatea. The purpose of Mondragon Team Academy is to revive the spirit and creative capacity of the entrepreneurial community of the early days of the MONDRAGON cooperative experience. To this end, they dream of creating an open and global community of cooperative, multidisciplinary, multigenerational and multicultural entrepreneurial teams.
The Degree in Entrepreneurial Leadership and Innovation (LEINN) was the first program created at the Mondragon Team Academy (MTA). It was officially approved in July 2009 becoming the first official European degree in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. In September 2009, the first generation of LEINN started at MTA Irun with 27 young women entrepreneurs enrolled, who created the first team companies AKKUA and TAZEBAEZ (TZBZ).
The LEINN program was born with the vocation of responding from university education to the need to promote innovation, business creation and the development of entrepreneurial teams within the framework of European and global competitiveness. LEINN's educational model takes as its starting point the Finnish educational model (Tiimiakatemia Finland), the educational experience of Mondragon Unibertsitatea and the MONDRAGON group, being the first official European degree in Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Innovation (2009).
One of the pillars of the conceptual model of this project is based on Peter Senge's "Learning Organizations" described in the book "The Fifth Discipline".
From the first moment of LEINN's creation, different partners showed interest in collaborating internationally to develop LEINN and create MTA labs in their local communities and cities.
This global strategic commitment, with entrepreneurship labs distributed around the world that are connected and form the community of entrepreneurs in Mondragon Team Academy (MTA World), allows training global people capable of driving and leading change in companies and organizations, in the pursuit of social and economic transformation based on ethical principles and responsibility to the planet.
In the framework of the celebration of the first 10 years of MTA and LEINN, the need and opportunity was identified to carry out an in-depth assessment of the implementation model of LEINN as a university program of Mondragon Unibertsitatea and as the backbone of the transformation of young people and a catalyst for innovation in multiple innovation ecosystems and diverse socio-cultural contexts.
In this way, various analyses were carried out "MTA World Globalizer 2016-17" and "Unleashing MTA-LEINN energy with the Ideas For Change (I4C) 2018-2019 team". From these, the MTA FALKON Model was created to strengthen the implementation of the LEINN model, solve current challenges and weaknesses, as well as ensure its future scalability. In June 2019, this analysis phase was completed with the presentation of the new MTA FALKON Model.
From then on and during the last 2 years, the implementation strategy of this new model has been carried out. For this, a major milestone was the development and approval of the new Academic Report of the LEINN Degree by UNIBASQ, the Quality Agency of the Basque University System.
Thus, from the 2020-21 academic year, the formal implementation of the MTA FALKON Model in the LEINN degree begins.
What are the keys to this LEINN Falkon Era?
In the process of transformation from the Rocket Model (pedagogical framework used until 2020) to the Falkon Model, these 8 keys that (r)evolve and improve the LEINN experience stand out.
- Three universes of learning
- Accompanying team
- Timing
- Specialization
- Gamification
- Competence profile
- New learning processes
- Evaluation system
1. Three universes of M-T-A Learning
There are three "universes" in the MTA FALKON Model that correspond to three areas in the process of transformation and training as a teampreneur. These are:
Universe "M": "Cultivating Changemaker teams".
Becoming an agent of change in teams.
The "Cultivating Changemaker Teams" universe is a unique and essential element of MTA's educational and pedagogical model. It is in this universe that, through the development of various real projects, the identity of the LEINN student evolves to become a "teampreneur".
Universe "T": "Impact Startup Development".
Impact Startup Development.
This universe integrates all the learning processes of company creation and development where the real and creative experience "team learning by creating" coexists with the theoretical knowledge and technical tools necessary to ensure a successful journey in the creation of Startups, from its conception and first steps, to its maturity and management of investors and strategic partners.
Universe "A": "Technical Knowledge & Tools".
Technical knowledge and tools.
In the universe of "Technical knowledge and tools" is where the learning processes take place that allow the entrepreneur to equip himself with the necessary technical knowledge to develop his entrepreneurial competences at an individual level, playing in a team and putting them into practice within his company.
2. Accompanying team
The existence of three universes and the integration of the "Technical Skills" in the business engine and in the T universe, makes it necessary to identify three roles of companions in LEINN: team coaches, advisors and business mentors, who have to integrate and play together as a team of companions of the laboratory (team coaches team). In contrast to the previous model where the teams were mostly accompanied by Team Coaches.
The team coach remains ultimately responsible for the overall experience of each Team Company and Teampreneur, but embracing the diversity of roles that are integrated as facilitators in LEINN.
3. Timing
The new model re-interprets the timing of LEINN's transformational process and entrepreneurial dimension, which until now was centered on 4 equal years with two semesters each.
In the new Falkon MTA Model, its interpretation focuses on two major processes and milestones:
- The initial one of "Start-up and take-off of the LEINN process" (putting the teams and teampreneurs into orbit) which in normal conditions occurs during the first 18-24 months in LEINN and where the entrepreneurial dimension is one of experimentation.
- And a second "Entrepreneurial and Business Development" that occurs after the previous one and in which the business dimension evolves from "experiments" to "Startup and intrapreneurial project development".
4. Specialization
The new model allows and encourages the customization of the LEINN experience focused on each person. In this way, and through various ingredients and especially thanks to the new process of "Specialization", each LEINNer is encouraged and empowered to co-design his/her own adventure/experience, seeking that each leinner equips himself/herself with the technical capabilities in which he/she is most interested.
5. Gamification
The points system is re-evolved, which until now was limited to "Reading Points" and now allows a points system for all sources of knowledge of the process "Self-drive/ Individual Learning = Learning Points" and its articulation in learning paths/spirals.
In the same way, the implementation of a gamification system by points for the rest of LEINN engines, "Company Engine = Value Points" and "Team-Community Learning = Community Points" is being started.
MTA Value Generation Model
In addition, the Falkon model proposes a change of look at the economic indicator present during the 4 years of LEINN. Giving it a long-term perspective and dimensions closer to the business world. In this new approach, there will be a perspective of progress and goals based on 5 points (cost per hour of work, gross margin, break-even point, financing and investments and turnover), to be developed at a pace adaptable to the reality of each team company.
6. Competence Profile
The training competencies of the LEINN degree are a key element since all the activities and processes of the degree seek and assume the challenge of training people with this competency profile.
There are 21 competencies divided into three categories (MU transversal competencies, LEINN general competencies and LEINN specific competencies) specifically defined for the LEINN Falkon Era.
TRANSVERSAL COMPETENCIES (MU)
Cooperative
Creative & Changemaker
Critical Thinker & Analytical
Life Long Learner
Global Mindset
Resilient
Aware & Socially Engaged
LEINN GENERAL COMPETENCIES (personal)
Creative
Open & Self Starter
Brave & Bold
Aware & Future Driven
Team Players
Honest and Transparent
Passion Driven
LEINN SPECIFIC COMPETENCIES (professional)
Global Mindset
Innovative (& Risk Mitigators)
Entrepreneurial Leader
Digital
Visionary
Results & Impact oriented
Connected
7. New processes
New learning processes have been incorporated to the model to complete the profile of LEINNers in those points that were interpreted as weaker.
- Empathy and diversity
- Personal cultivation and Wellbeing
- Changemaking experiments
- Impact investments with partners and investors
- Emerging Technologies
8. Evaluation system
In this new model all learning processes are monitored through a continuous evaluation system.
- Individual work accounts for a maximum of 30% of the final grade.
- Team work is evaluated with a minimum of 70% of the final grade.
If you are interested in this topic, we will soon develop another article explaining the evaluations in MTA.
How is it implemented in MTA Falkon Model?
In the MTA Falkon Model, 19 learning processes have been defined with learning outcomes, metrics and evidences to be evaluated in each one.
It is important to mention that these learning outcomes and their corresponding evidences or indicators are mandatory in order to evaluate a process as passed/approved. They are what is known as "unified" and "must" since they are considered the minimum academic indicators that must be kept unified in all laboratories and for all LEINNers.
In addition, another particularity of the model is that each laboratory and each team company can include new indicators ("not unified") as a complement to the program.
Once we have internalized the general structure of the Falkon Model, the three universes and the 19 learning processes, we need to understand the purpose of these.
In addition to the 3 universes, 3 dimensions emerge in the MTA Falkon Model: individual, team and company. Thus, the learning processes emerge from the relationship between the universes and the dimensions.
But how do we enable these processes to be activated? What are the competencies that are developed in each of them and the expected learning outcomes? What are the tools or training activities that make the process happen?