Entrepreneurship suffers from the myth that it only deals with the creation of a new venture. However, entrepreneurship is much broader than that as it is not just about establishing a new business but instead about a way of thinking and behaving Cooney & Murray (2008, p68)
Between the Dragon s Den and the Didactic Sharing national practices in Entrepreneurship Education from a study of Irish HEIs Maébh Coleman, Programme Manager Accelerating Campus Entrepreneurship @ NUIG
Introduction The ACE Initiative The story of Accelerating Campus Entrepreneurship A little bit about Entrepreneurship Supply Side Perspectives Policy & culture What are other HEI s doing in this space? No really. what are they up to? Demand Side Perspectives Students (undergraduate and postgraduate) Industry Blue Skies Findings, frameworks and future thinking
The ACE Initiative Interrogative pronoun challenge! Who are we? ITS, ITB, CIT, NUI Galway and led by DkIT What are we going to achieve? 4 targeted actions: Pedagogy, multidisciplinary, embeddedness and culture change When is it happening? Sept 2008 to Sept 2011 (terms and conditions apply) Why is this important?
Research (and methodology) Secondary research Reports, papers, books and journals Best practice cases and study visits NICENT University of Satakunta, Finland National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship Teaching and Learning Resources Strategy, Policies and Culture Infrastructure Multi-disciplinary Approaches Development Design and Co-ordination Innovation and Commercialisation Surveys Supply side surveys National survey of Irish HEIs Demand side surveys 4 stakeholder groups Presidents, Business School, non-business School and TTO/ILO Undergraduates Postgraduates Enterprise
Entr*pren**r Is it a dirty word? FICTION: To be an entrepreneur you must be born that way. Research suggests that entrepreneurs often possess these traits: calculated risk taker creative innovative vision persistence inquisitiveness strong drive to achieve high energy level goal oriented behavior self confident tolerance for failure commitment problem solving skills tolerance for ambiguity strong integrity highly reliable personal initiative strong management skills competitive change agent
Social Fusion Harvard B School Social Fusion works with local and global social entrepreneurs that are growing exceptional hybrid businesses, both nonprofit and for-profit, that accomplish large-scale social impact through a strong business model Their vision is a sustainable future built by empowered entrepreneurs Their bottom line: having your head, heart and wallet all headed in the same direction
Supply Side (that s us)
Entrepreneurial Island: Policy Context Bubble chart of nations sized according to new business density. Source: 2008 World Bank Group Entrepreneurship Survey. GEM Report 2008 No change in new firm entrepreneurs (7.6%) to the fore in terms of international comparison of early stage entrepreneurs Nascent entrepreneurs decreased 4.2% in 2007 to 3.3% in 2008 Sharp decrease in perception that there were good opportunities (sharpest of all GEM countries) 46% to 27% between 2007 and 2008 Necessity entrepreneurs rose from 6% to 19% so 1 in 5 are motivated by necessity Positive social and cultural norms, sharp decline in perception of entrepreneurship as a good career choice Upward trend of women starting businesses has now reversed 5.6% to 4% while men increased 10.6% yo 11.26%
Breadth and Depth: A message for the new economy? EU, National and Organisational policies Lisbon Strategy, Barcelona Agreement NDP, Smart Economy, SFI, Government Agencies Focus is on commercialisation of research outcomes at HEI level, not entrepreneurial mindsets Entrepreneurship education spans several different government portfolios Investment still not enough to unlock the knowledge reservoir 1/50 th of the total
Bertie on the Dragons Den http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne5o79ao XAw
HEI Context: Top Goals Presidents Foster entrepreneurial behaviours, skills and mindsets and to increase the number of student start-ups Seek opportunities to commercially exploit knowledge at institution Inspire students towards an entrepreneurial career or life EU Research suggests that provision of EE to ALL students is of top priority
Course provision of Entrepreneurship Education 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Business Academic HOS - Non-Business Percentage - % Education Arts Natural Science Social Science Business Studies Technical Food Industry Agriculture Health Care Public Service UL
What are other HEI s doing in this space? Business Schools EU survey of good practice institutions identified entrepreneur in classroom, case studies and project teams Lecturing Case Studies Practitioner Guest Company Visit Simulations/Mini Companies Never Rarely Sometimes 63.7% of all respondents named either their TTO; business plan competitions and new venture simulation Often
No really, what are they up to? Type In-Curricular Extra-Curricular Business Plan and Competitions Response Guest speakers and lecture Academic modules or part modules Project work with or without a multidisciplinary focus Industry placement Business game or venture simulation Entrepreneurs society or forum Commercialisation and mentoring Enterprise week and business week Sabbatical exchange for academics Workshops and blue-sky days Enterprise Ireland competition Newstalk student competition Involvement of Irish Marketing Institute Maébh AIB Coleman, Innovation 2009. Fund General exhibitions, local initiatives
Demand Side Maslow s pyramid of human needs
Undergraduate Students Lecturers are the least likely to influence undergrads!! Motivations include: wealth and success (55.9%) and being own boss (53.9%) Helping community also high 78.1% are interested in starting a business 72.4% found entrepreneurship education to be an important course element..it allows students who don t want to go into mainstream jobs to have a choice My Entrepreneurial Instincts I continually come up with new ideas I prefer to follow others lead I want to be my own boss I prefer a steady income stream I like to take risks Rating Avera ge 2.13 2.85 1.81 1.79 2.00 (N) 281 287 282 282 283
Postgraduate Students 63% would prefer to use the HEI infrastructure to commercialise their idea 81.5% identified access to finance opportunities would play a significant role in the success or failure of their idea Business contacts can be hard to make when new to an industry and coming from an engineering background the 'business' concepts are not familiar Legal Advice Suppliers Other HEI Support for Networking Formal Engagement with EI Potential Customers Other Researchers in Your Field Avg 2.44 2.08 1.92 2.5 2.28 3 25 24 25 26 25 12 (N)
Enterprise and Industry 50% of respondents thought that communication skills are the most important skill required by entrepreneurial graduates followed by innovative and creative thinking (45.8%) and problem solving skills (34.8%). Surprisingly team-work did not rank highly as a key skill (33%). Other capacities are how to pitch the business and project management skills. 45% of respondents felt that real life projects help to promote entrepreneurship. 36% felt that student work placement would be an effective tool in the pedagogy of entrepreneurship education whist 37% felt that venture simulations would be of benefit
Findings, frameworks and future thinking
What problems to academics think student entrepreneurs face? Academic Financial and Economic Personal Technical Structural Elective rather than mandatory course offering Matching learning outcomes to industry needs Creating an awareness of risk management Access to capital requires experience Prohibitive legislation on bankruptcy Current economic climate prevents investment in new programmes and prohibits growth of new businesses Self-development Teamwork Fear of failure / risk aversion Age of students impacts their credibility Perception of entrepreneurship as a viable career path Opportunity recognition Feasibility studies Sustainability of technology ideas Disjointed agency/policy environment Lack of networks and industry contacts Resources for academics who would like to provide entrepreneurship education No one-stop-shop for student entrepreneurs Access Maébh to support Coleman, and 2009. services
Five elements for Entrepreneurship Education calculated risk taker creative innovative vision persistence inquisitiveness strong drive to achieve high energy level goal oriented behavior self confident tolerance for failure commitment problem solving skills tolerance for ambiguity strong integrity highly reliable personal initiative strong management skills
What is the challenge? Business Academic Non-Business Head of School President TTO/ILO 1 Depends on the efforts of a single person Depends on the efforts of a single person Depends on the efforts of a single person Limited expertise/ competence Policy environment and government support Policy environment and government support 2 Lacks strategic integration at an institutional level Limited expertise/ competence Lacks strategic integration at an institutional level Depends on the efforts of a single person Limited time for academics to engage properly Limited time for academics to engage properly Limited time for academics to engage properly No recognition for excellence at institution 3 No academic credibility Lacks strategic integration at an institutional level No recognition for excellence at institution
Increasing student entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial students Policy Focus Policy Action Implementation Focus HPSU and SME growth in all sectors Targeted support for campus startups coherent national strategy to develop indigenous entrepreneurs national strategy to streamline entrepreneurship education from primary to fourth level entrepreneurship education on the agenda for strategic plans and mission statements entrepreneurship as an essential programme outcome entrepreneurship education is made available to all Hard Supports Soft Supports Implementation Action Investment in curriculum development Defining and assessing new pedagogy Pilot schemes in place Tangible rewards for academia Innovative funding mechanisms for start-ups Dedicated on-campus enterprise facilities Access to funding information Practical mentoring Pedagogy is integrated into curriculum across disciplines Networking and cultural initiatives Personal development HEIs measure entrepreneurial health Cultural shift toward new entrepreneurial mission
Impacts so far at NUI Galway Research work, conference and journal papers Innovation think tank Open source online module Embedding entrepreneurship in curriculum Encouraging multidisciplinary approaches Increased awareness Launch of initiative and programmes at Farmleigh House by An Tánaiste
Thank you This presentation draws from a conference paper first delivered at the Irish Academy of Management conference in Galway 2009. For a copy of the conference paper Shaping the Next Generation of Entrepreneurs: Overcoming the Challenges and Barriers please contact me. Phone 091 493550 Email maebh.coleman@nuigalway.ie