International Center for
Entrepreneurial Studies
J.J. Strossmayer University
in Osijek, Croatia
Slavica Singer
UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship
It began with…
• EU funded survey, 1990-1992 (regional
development and entrepreneurship)
– Mushrooming of educational programs in entrepreneurship
in the USA
• War consequences
– devastation of human, social and physical capital –
mistrust, unemployment, poverty
• Personal responsibility
– what I / WE can do?
How to survive in a globalised world,
after the war?
• Develop an entrepreneurial society
–
–
–
–
Empowered individuals
Ethical businesses
Democratic state
Active civil society
Jobs of the future
• Problem identification
• Problem solving
• Ideas exchange
Robert B. Reich
University of California, Berkely,
The Work of Nations: Preparing Ourselves
for 21st Century Capitalism, 1991
Principles
• Some people take no mental exercise
apart from jumping to conclusions.
Harold Acton
CREATIVITY
Principles
• It’s better to fail in originality, than
succeed in imitation.
Herman Melville
INNOVATIVENESS
Principles
• Success is going from failure to failure
with no loss of enthusiasm.
Winston Churchill
ACTION
Principles
• Those who lack courage will always find a
philosophy to justify it!
Albert Camus
COURAGE
Entrepreneurship is...
• way of life
– in which IDEAS on improvement are
emerging
– in which OPPORTUNITIES are assessing
– in which a CHANGE / ENTERPRISE is built
through connecting ideas with
opportunities
Entrepreneurship IS NOT...
• (ONLY) small business
– Small business can be non-entrepreneurial
• management
– business function
• Entrepreneurship IS knowledge HOW to put
business functions in proactive, creative and
innovative harmonised business behaviour
History
• Started in year 2000
– As the first and still only one in Croatia
• Result of the best world’s practice
– International Academic Advising Board
– Howard Stevenson, Harvard Business School
• Case, Ph.D. thesis ... about us
• Surveying needs of Croatian entrepreneurs /
businesses
– GEM project
• Adjusted after Bologna Declaration
Current Operations
• Master’s degree program in entrepreneurship,
from 2000
• Specialisation in entrepreurship, 2
years, from 2005
Bologna revised programs
• Undergraduate program in
entrepreneurship, 3 years, from 2005
• Master’s degree program in
entrepreneurship, 2 years, from 2008
• Specialisation, 1 year, from 2010
Coming soon...
• Ph.D. Program in Entrepreneurship, from
2008
Program
• From vision to resources and performance
• From business idea to fast growing businesses
• Entrepreneurial management in all phases of
business life
Content
combined
knowledge & skills theory & practice
Customised after student’s
needs...
Core and electives
•
•
•
•
1. semester: 3 core + 5 electives
2. semester: 3 core + 5 electives
3. semester: 2 core + 7 electives
4. semester: 2 core + 9 electives
Special features
1
• Competitiveness
(Harvard Business School – M. Porter’s course)
• Authentic leadership for entrepreneurs
(University of Naropa, Colorado, USA)
• Managing family business
(De Paul University, Chicago, USA)
• Business ethics
(Yale University, USA)
Special features
2
• Maverick seminars
(guests: Bob Mathew, Washington D.C.; Roger
Fishman, Los Angeles; Robert Šenk, Pula; Nenad Bach,
New York)
• Student loan program
– Kathryne and David Moore, New York
$25,000 grant
New pedagogy
• Interactive teaching, experiential classroom,
drama (cases, guest speakers)
• Teach-the-teacher:
– Case method training on site – Susan Harmeling,
USA, 2001-2002
– Harvard Business School
• M. Porter – competitiveness (2003, 2006)
• H. Stevenson – entrepreneurship (2005, 2007)
– Syracuse University, St. Louis university, Loyola
University, University of Wisconsin, 2006, 2007
• Experiential classroom
Learning process
• Case method
• Individual and team
projects,
• Practitioners
• DISTANCE LEARNING
• www.pspefos.hr
Practical experience:
Center for Entrepreneurship, Osijek:
counseling, training
www.poduzetnistvo.org
Center for franchising
www.fransiza.hr
BIOS – business incubator
www.inkubator.hr
Technological development centar
www.tera.hr
Professors
45 professors
Osijek, Zagreb,
Slovenia,
USA, UK,
Finland, Norway,
Australia
entrepreneurs –
Guest speakers
Our students
11 cohorts (from year 2000!)
- 308 students
8 cohorts in Osijek, 2 in Poreč
Students’ profile
Geografski:
eastern Croatia
230
north Croatia
29
Istria
37
Macedonia
9
Bosnia and Herzegovina 3
Students’ profile
Experience:
working
90%
average working years
7
Former education:
economic
non-economic
70 %
30%
Students’ profile
• Small business
49%
• Middle sized business
21%
• Big business
30%
Students’ profile
• Business owners (Kanaan, Kolarić, Lens, SPIN...)
• Directors (Allianz osiguranje, Karlovačka
pivovara, GPP Osijek...)
• Managers (Saponia, HT, HEP, Nexe,Euroherc,
Hypo banka, Zagrebačka banka, Privredna banka,
Lura, Podravka…)
• Consultants (Deloitte...)
• Teachers (high schools, VERN,...)
• directors of centers for entrepreneurship,
incubators…
• Mayor (Pakrac)!
Code of conduct
• Professors
– Be on time
– Be available to students
– Be professional
• Students
– Be on time
– Be responsible toward program requests
– Be ready for team work
Students and professors...
• ...partners in developing the center of
excellence in learning and research of
entrepreneurship in Croatia
• ...partners in application of
entrepreneurship knowledge in building
leadership capacity for leading
POSITIVE changes in Croatia
Our experience –
presented as a good practice
• ICSB Conference, Belfast, 2003 – Slavica Singer &
Joan Gillman
• Strathclyde University, Glasgow, 2004 –International
Research Conference on Entrepreneurship Education
(co-organized with Babson College, USA), Susan
Harmeling & Slavica Singer
• Case of effectuation: Osijek’s experience with
starting university based program in
entrepreneurship – Susan Harmeling, Howard
Stevenson - Darden Business School, 2005
• St. Louis University, USA, Conference on
Entrepreneurship Education, 2005 – Allan Gibb &
Slavica Singer
• University of Helsinki, 2006 – Slavica Singer
International Advisory Board
Howard Stevenson, Harvard Business School, USA
Allan Gibb, Durham University, UK
Harold Welsch, DePaul University, USA
Jerome Katz, St.Louis University, USA
Robert Brockhaus, St.Louis University, USA
Joan Gillman, University of Wisconsin, USA
Saravan Venkatamaran, Darden Business School, USA
Antti Paasio, Turku Business School, Finland
Deirdre Hunt, Cork College University, Ireland
Raphael Cohen, University of Geneva, Switzerland
Adolph Hanich, Swinburne University, Australia
International Center for
Entrepreneurial Studies (ICES)
• Synergy of 15 years in local economic
development
• UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship
• Center of excellence in learning
entrepreneurship in South Eastern Europe
– Undergraduate, master’s, specialization, doctoral
– Executive program
– Distance learning
Features:
Development School
Intelectual School
What you think vs. What you know
School for the Future
think globaly, act localy
School of Life
learning through doing, experiments
Our vision
International Center for
Entrepreneurial Studies
Center of
excellence
in learning
entrepreneurship
in SEE
How we see ourselves and
students?
IT’S NOT HOW GOOD YOU ARE,
IT’S HOW GOOD YOU WANT TO BE.
Contact:
Slavica Singer
Head of the Graduate Program in Entrepreneurship
J.J. Strossmayer University in Osijek
Gajev trg 7
HR-31000 Osijek
Croatia
Phone: +385 31 224 444
Fax: +385 31 224 438
e-mail: singer@efos.hr
www.pspefos.hr
Contact:
Mirta Matešić
Program Coordinator
Graduate Program in Entrepreneurship
J.J. Strossmayer University in Osijek
Gajev trg 7
HR-31000 Osijek
Croatia
Phone: +385 31 224 467
Fax: +385 31 224 438
e-mail: mmatesic@efos.hr
www.pspefos.hr