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Entrepreneurship Education
Opportunities and Challenges for Universities in
Visegrad Countries
Dana EGEROVÁ, ,YHWD8%5(ä,29È Witold 12:,ē6.,
Csilla CZEGLÉDI et al.
3O]HĖ
Authors:
,QJ/HQNDý(&+8529È
doc. PaedDr. Dana EGEROVÁ, Ph.D.
Chapter
Chapters
1
5, 9, Introduction,Summary
doc. PaedDr. Ludvík EGER, CSc.
Ing. Jarmila IRCINGOVÁ, Ph.D. КУ
doc. Dr., Ing. Miroslav PLEVNÝ
,QJ-DQ7/8ý+2ě3K'
Ing. Michal MIýË.
GRF-LĜt9$&(.3K'
Ing. Jana KOZÁKOVÁ, Ph.D.
Chapters
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
Chapters
2, 6
8
4
7
6
1
1, 6, 7
,QJ'UDKRVODY/$1ý$5,ý3K'
Ing. Radovan SAVOV, Ph.D.
Ing. Marián TÓTH, Ph.D.
Prof. Ing. Iveta 8%5(ä,29È, CSc.
Dr. Csilla CZEGLÉDI, Ph.D.
prof. László HAJÓS, CSc.
Zsuzsanna KUNA MAROSNÉ
Miskolcine Dr. Andrea MIKÁCZÓ, Ph.D.
Peter KOLLÁR
Dr. Erika VARGA, Ph.D.
*UDĪyna NOWACZYK, Ph.D.
Anna SOBCZAK, Ph.D.
:LWROG12:,ē6.,, Ph.D.
Dr. Artur FABIS
PhDr. Lukasz TOMCZYK
Edited by: Dana
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
Chapters
Chapter
Chapter
Chapters
Chapter
Chapter
Chapters
Chapters
Chapters
Chapters
Chapter
Chapters
5
4
4
2, 8
6
6
1, 7
2
5
4, 8
4, 6, 8
4, 6, 7
2, 5
6
1, 3
EGEROVÁ
Reviewers:
doc. Ing. Bc. Petr Suchánek, Ph.D. prof.
Ing. Miriam Bitterová, Ph.D.
Scientific review by NAVA
ISBN 978-80-7211-499-3
Published in the Czech Republic by NAVA, 2016
International Visegrad Fund, Strategic Grant No. 31410020:
Innovative entrepreneurship education - necessary precondition for future
prosperity of V4 region
9/2014 – 8/2016 Scientific
exchange and research
Project co-ordinator: u CZ - University
of West Bohemia
Project partners:
u SK - Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra u
HU - Szent István University, Gödöllö
u PL - :6%8QLYHUVLW\LQ3R]QDĔIRUPHUO\Poznan School of
Banking) u PL 7KH6WDWH6FKRRORI+LJKHU(GXFDWLRQLQ2ĞZLĊFLP u PL
- Pedagogical University of Cracow
The monograph was published with the support of International Visegrad Fund and
University of West Bohemia.
CONTENT
Introduction ..............................................................................................................................
9
1
Entrepreneurship education – theoretical framework ...............................................
12
1.1
Role of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education ........................................
12
1.2
What does entrepreneurship education really mean? ................................................
15
1.2.1
1.3
2
Classification of entrepreneurship education and training (EET) programs ......
16
Who should teach entrepreneurship? .........................................................................
20
1.3.1
How to teach entrepreneurship ...........................................................................
21
1.3.2
Entrepreneurial vs. traditional approach in education ........................................
22
1.3.3
Measuring impact of entrepreneurial education .................................................
23
1.4
Entrepreneurship education in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe ...............
23
1.5
Entrepreneurship education in the EU and other related documents .........................
24
1.6
Recommended actions for academic institutions ......................................................
25
National strategies concerning entrepreneurship education at university level ......
28
2.1
National strategies in the Czech Republic .................................................................
28
2.2
National strategies in Hungary ..................................................................................
31
2.3
National strategies in Poland .....................................................................................
34
2.4
National strategies in the Slovak Republic ................................................................
37
2.5
Discussion and Conclusion ........................................................................................
41
3
Education – Andragogy: Methods of teaching and learning .....................................
43
4
Entrepreneurship education at universities / analysis of selected curricula .............
52
5
6
4.1
Introduction to Education System at Universities in V4 Countries ...........................
52
4.2
Methodology and the Sample of Study Programs Analysis ......................................
56
4.3
Results of the Study Programs Analysis ....................................................................
58
4.4
Examples of Best Subjects for Entrepreneurship ......................................................
61
4.5
Conclusions and Recommendations ..........................................................................
63
Entrepreneurial intentions and plans of university students from Visegrad
countries
–
key
findings
from
questionnaire
survey
........................................................... 66
5.1
Rationale and objectives of the study ........................................................................
66
5.2
Data ............................................................................................................................
66
5.3
Methods .....................................................................................................................
67
5.4
Sample characteristics ...............................................................................................
68
5.5
Results .......................................................................................................................
71
5.6
Conclusions ...............................................................................................................
77
5.7
Limitations and opportunities for future research .....................................................
77
Key findings from focus groups research ....................................................................
79
6.1
Introduction ...............................................................................................................
79
6.2
Methodology of focus groups research .....................................................................
79
6.3
Research design and pilot study ................................................................................
82
7
8
6.4
Partial results from each country ...............................................................................
82
6.5
Conclusion .................................................................................................................
94
In-depth interviews with entrepreneurs and experts ..................................................
96
7.1
Methodology ..............................................................................................................
96
7.2
Sample – Structure of respondents ............................................................................
97
7.3
Key outputs ..............................................................................................................
101
7.3.1
External conditions (environment) for starting business ..................................
101
7.3.2
Individual background of an entrepreneur .......................................................
103
7.3.3
Entrepreneurship and educational system (university education) ....................
108
7.3.4
Recommendations for entrepreneurial education at universities .....................
109
7.3.5
Experience from being an entrepreneur ...........................................................
110
7.3.6
Concluding remarks from interviews with entrepreneurs and experts .............
111
Best Practices ................................................................................................................
112
8.1
Examples of Best Practices in the Slovak Republic ................................................
112
8.1.1
AmCham Slovakia´s Committee on Business – Academic Cooperation ........
113
8.1.2
The Carrer Day at the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra ....................
113
8.1.3
Operational Program Education in relation to the best practice .......................
114
8.1.4
Operational Program Research and Development ...........................................
114
8.1.5 Dialogue - Bridges between Research and Practice in University Lifelong
Learning .........................................................................................................................
115
8.2
Examples of best practices in the Czech Republic ..................................................
116 8.2.1
Examples
of
Best
Practices
at
Czech
universities
............................................ 116 xPORT Business Accelerator – University of
Economics in Prague ............................. 116
8.2.2
Business Clubs and startup competitions .........................................................
117
8.2.3 University of West Bohemia in Pilsen – project UNIPRANET and the
Entrepreneurship Centre at the Faculty of Economics. ..................................................
118
8.2.4
Cooperation between universities and regions .................................................
119
8.2.5
Cases of insufficient sustainability ...................................................................
119
8.3
Examples of Best Practices in Hungary ..................................................................
120
8.4
Examples of Best Practices in Poland ......................................................................
124
8.4.1
Programs and specializations ...........................................................................
124
8.4.2
Business teaching methods ...............................................................................
125
8.4.3
The involvement of student organizations .......................................................
126
8.4.4
Educational events ............................................................................................
126
8.4.5
Academic Business Incubator (ABI) ................................................................
127
8.4.6
Support for teaching faculty .............................................................................
128
8.5
9
Conclusions
128
.............................................................................................................
Conclusions and Recommendations ...........................................................................
130
9.1
Conclusions
130
.............................................................................................................
9.2
Recommendations
133
...................................................................................................
References
135
.............................................................................................................................
Summary
146
...............................................................................................................................
Entrepreneurship Education – Opportunities and Challenges for Universities in Visegrad Countries
1
ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION – THEORETICAL
FRAMEWORK
Most of what you hear about entrepreneurship is all wrong. It’s
not magic; it’s not mysterious; and it has nothing to do with genes.
It’s a discipline and, like any discipline, it can be learned.
Peter F. Drucker
This chapter is based on the desk research. During its preparation we reviewed numerous
documents related to entrepreneurship generally and to entrepreneurship education
specifically. We refer here often to summary reports of different institutions and organisations
where the reader can find extensive lists of references to original journal articles, reports and
other resources.
1.1Role of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education
The World Bank in 2014 published an extensive report on “Entrepreneurial Education and
Training Programs around the World” (Valerio, Parton, Robb, 2014). It starts with the
following statement: “Over the last 20 years, entrepreneurship education and training (EET)
programs have mushroomed, given their promise and potential to promote entrepreneurial
skills and attitudes. While the number of such programs continues to expand worldwide,
global knowledge about these programs’ impact remains thin.” One of the goals of this
publication is to contribute to the pool of knowledge about entrepreneurship education by
summarizing research performed in Visegrad countries.
There is still no single precise definition of entrepreneurship. The research of
entrepreneurship owes much to Joseph Schumpeter. He argued that the innovation and
technological change of a nation come from the entrepreneurs. He coined the phrase
“entrepreneurial spirit” and asserted that "... the doing of new things or the doing of things that
are already being done in a new way" stemmed directly from the efforts of entrepreneurs
(Schumpeter 1947). Other scholars understand entrepreneurship as a process of opportunities
discovery with the final purpose of creating new wealth.
Baumol, Litan, and Schramm (2007) find that among developed economies, the United
States and some Anglo-Saxon countries nurture innovators more successfully than the
economies of continental Europe and East Asia because they encourage dynamic, young, highgrowth businesses. These businesses, not mature companies, exhibit the fastest innovation-led
growth and push the technology frontier. Such enterprises tend to be the main sources of
entrepreneurial activity.
Bessant and Tidd (2007) already in the title of their book express their position that
innovation and entrepreneurship are on-board of the same ship and cannot prosper one without
the other. As they say, the archetypal inventors like Thomas Edison, Graham Bell, James
Dyson and others, were also entrepreneurs, as they developed successful businesses based on
inventions and innovations.
12
Entrepreneurship Education – Opportunities and Challenges for Universities in Visegrad Countries
The World Economic Forum in its report Educating the Next Wave of Entrepreneurs
adopts the following concise definition: “The pursuit of opportunity beyond the resources you
currently control.” (Volkmann et al, 2009).
Entrepreneurship’s contributions to economic development can depend on the type of
entrepreneurship. Acs, Desai, and Hessels (2008) suggest that entrepreneurship should be
understood more broadly and that – besides of “opportunity (innovative) entrepreneurship”
focused on starting a business to exploit a perceived business opportunity we should not leave
without attention the “necessity entrepreneurship”, i.e. starting a business after being pushed
into it. While the first generate employment, spillovers and structural economic changes, the
latter are unlikely to expand, but are an important source of income, especially in developing
countries.
Stimulating entrepreneurship plays increasing role in the development of businesses.
Newly established workplaces can contribute to strengthening the local labour market because
these new workplaces are often situated where the entrepreneurs are living. It is especially true
for family businesses. There is a positive correlation between entrepreneurship and economic
growth. Sustainable growth based on innovation requires an increasing number of start-ups,
which are likely to provide more and better jobs.
European Commission states (EC 2015): “Entrepreneurship is a skill that can be learnt.
You don't have to be born an entrepreneur to run a successful business. You can become one
by developing an entrepreneurial mind set and skills. As Europe needs more entrepreneurs
creating jobs, it's necessary to support this type of education in all EU countries. The main
objective of the European Commission is to promote entrepreneurship education and stress its
importance at all levels from primary school to university and beyond.”
Sometimes, the “art” and the “science” of entrepreneurship are separated: the former
(e.g., creativity, innovative thinking) is not teachable, except through practical experience;
while the latter (e.g., business and management skills) can be taught. Despite these points to
the contrary, research supports that when education and training systems incorporate creative
and entrepreneurial skills into teaching methodologies, the mindsets and skills more closely
tied to the “art” of entrepreneurship are transmittable
Entrepreneurship Education and Training (EET) represents academic education or
formal training interventions that share the broad objective of providing individuals with the
entrepreneurial mindsets and skills to support participation and performance in a range of
entrepreneurial activities.
Audretsch (2004) sees a government’s action grounded in four types of market failures:
network externalities (geographic proximity to complementary firms), knowledge
externalities (knowledge spillover), failure externalities (value created for other firms and
individuals even if firms fail), and learning externalities (motivation and learning from the
demonstration of entrepreneurial activities by others).
Governments can employ a number of policy tools: easing business environment
constraints, expanding access to credit, promoting value chain integration, strengthening
13
Entrepreneurship Education – Opportunities and Challenges for Universities in Visegrad Countries
capacity to improve business practices, and establishing incubators to support innovation and
business start-ups. And they are important players in supporting entrepreneurship education
and training. Their rationale for playing a role in EET is tied to its interest in addressing
mindsets, knowledge-based skills, and cultural constraints to entrepreneurship. Governments
can be uniquely situated to support EET. For example, at a strategic level, governments can
serve as champions for EET through the establishment of national plans and agendas. They
can set policy frameworks that shape the context of EET delivery within education systems
and institutions and directly fund EET interventions, assist in developing EET curricula and
training instructors to implement curricula in education systems.
Involving the private sector in the delivery of EET can bring additional benefits to
participants, therefore governments’ role should also include public-private partnerships to
provide EET more effectively.
According to the Oslo Agenda for Entrepreneurship Education in Europe, “some
successful entrepreneurs often emphasize that education is too formal, too rigid, too
systemized, and too equalizing, does not motivate people to be themselves, and therefore kills
and destroys their entrepreneurial spirit.” (EC, 2006).
Promoting entrepreneurship has several long-term benefits:
u it drives personal development,
u it strengthens the ability to innovate and adapt, and hence the ability to make
efficient use of resources,
u it contributes to necessary diversity in business life.
Entrepreneurial mindsets and skills can be best promoted through learning by doing and
experiencing entrepreneurship in practice, by means of concrete projects and activities. At
university level, entrepreneurship education should have a strong focus on generating business
ideas, technology-based activities and innovation.
The scope of entrepreneurship education is much wider than training on how to start
a business, as it includes the development of personal attributes and horizontal skills like
creativity, initiative, self-confidence, among many others.
Mentoring or coaching from people with business experience should be a basic
element in all entrepreneurship training. However, it is not sufficient just to bring
entrepreneurs into the classroom: students should be directly involved in enterprise
projects.
Entrepreneurship in education includes development both of personal qualities and
attitudes and of formal knowledge and skills:
u Personal qualities and attitudes increase the probability of a person seeing
opportunities and doing something about them. Work on entrepreneurship in
education must primarily place emphasis on development of personal qualities and
attitudes. In that way a basis is laid for later utilization of knowledge and skills in
14
Entrepreneurship Education – Opportunities and Challenges for Universities in Visegrad Countries
active value creation. u Knowledge and skills concerning what must be done to
establish a new enterprise, and how to be successful in developing an idea into a
practical, goal-oriented enterprise.
15
Entrepreneurship Education – Opportunities and Challenges for Universities in Visegrad Countries
1.2What does entrepreneurship education really mean?
Education is the clearest path to individual opportunity and societal
growth, and entrepreneurship education is especially vital to fuelling a
more robust global economy. Entrepreneurs bring new ideas to life
through innovation, creativity and the desire to build something of
lasting value. Therefore, we must continually foster educational cultures
within our companies, governments and communities to keep the
entrepreneurship pipeline filled for generations to come.
Dirk Meyer, President and CEO, AMD
According to the OECD study “Entrepreneurship and Higher Education” (OECD, 2008), the
entrepreneurship education can be defined as all activities aiming to foster entrepreneurial
mindsets, attitudes and skills and covering a range of aspects such as idea generation, start-up,
growth and innovation.
Entrepreneurship education involves developing certain personal qualities, and is not
necessarily directly focused on the creation of new businesses.
The objectives of teaching about entrepreneurship should therefore include:
u Promoting the development of personal qualities that are relevant to
entrepreneurship, such as creativity, spirit of initiative, risk-taking and responsibility.
u In addition to this, entrepreneurship education should contribute to raising pupils’
and students’ awareness of self-employment as a career option. The message being
that you can become not only an employee, but also an employer.
A set of personal qualities relevant to entrepreneurship includes the following abilities and
competencies of potential entrepreneurs:
u Problem solving: the ability to see problems as opportunities, acquire problem
solving skills, methods and tools, develop competencies in planning,
decisionmaking, communication and the willingness to assume responsibility ·
u Cooperation and networking: to develop social competences as the ability to
cooperate, networking, learning to assume new roles.
u Self-confidence and motivation: to develop self-confidence, learn to think critically
and independently and to learn autonomously.
The study compares the prevailing current university offerings versus entrepreneurs’ learning
needs and concludes that while universities focus on imparting knowledge and information,
entrepreneurs emphasize need for developing implementation skills.
One of the strategic EU documents related to entrepreneurial education, “The Oslo
Agenda for Entrepreneurship Education in Europe” (European Commission, 2006), refers to
experience of entrepreneurs: “Some successful entrepreneurs often emphasize their lack of
education, and claim that it is the lack of education that has made it possible to succeed. They
16
Entrepreneurship Education – Opportunities and Challenges for Universities in Visegrad Countries
say education is too formal, too rigid, too systemized, and too equalizing, to allow people to
be themselves, and will therefore kill and destroy their entrepreneurial spirit.”
What, according to the Oslo Agenda, can the education bring to the entrepreneurial party?
1. Presentation of systemized knowledge, summary of entrepreneurial experience
allows to learn from others, not only from own mistakes, which would be very
costly!
2. Entrepreneurial success requires knowledge of social, economic and technological
influences. Education will help you get that.
3. Education helps to create networks that could be hard to get access to on your own.
4. Education may stimulate a kind of personal growth that generates entrepreneurial
activities.
Today’s pupils and students represent tomorrow’s workforce and hence the foundation of our
future welfare.
Promoting entrepreneurship has several long-term benefits:
u it drives personal development,
u it strengthens the ability to innovate and adapt, and hence the ability to make
efficient use of resources,
u it contributes both to increased equality among individuals and to necessary
diversity in business life.
The education system plays a vital role in fostering attitudes and behaviour that enhance
cooperation, creativity and innovation among children and young people. Students must
believe in their capabilities and ability to spend resources in order to create wealth and jobs
and understand, how education and entrepreneurial activity may stimulate each other, not the
opposite.
Of course, not all youngsters who are exposed to entrepreneurship programmes will
decide later on to start their own company. However, by taking part in entrepreneurship
programmes and activities, students become more willing to take responsibility and to use
their initiative, better at developing their own ideas and at channelling their creativity.
Therefore entrepreneurship helps young people to be more creative and self-confident
in whatever they undertake. It relates to managing one’s own life; to being creative in any
working activity; and to establishing and expanding a business successfully.
1.2.1Classification of entrepreneurship education and training (EET) programs
According to the World Bank report (Valerio, Parton, Robb, 2014), entrepreneurship
education and training (EET) programs can be classified under two related but distinct
categories: education programs and training programs.
u Academic entrepreneurship education (EE) programs tend to focus on building
knowledge and skills about or for the purpose of entrepreneurship. The academic
17
Entrepreneurship Education – Opportunities and Challenges for Universities in Visegrad Countries
nature of EE means these programs target two groups in particular: secondary
education students and higher education students, the latter including both graduate
and undergraduate students enrolled in formal degree-granting programs. u
Entrepreneurship training programs (ET), by contrast, tend to focus on building
knowledge and skills, explicitly in preparation for starting or operating an enterprise.
ET programs target a range of potential and practicing entrepreneurs who are not part
of formal, degree-granting programs. Potential entrepreneurs targeted by ET programs
can include, at one end of the range, vulnerable, unemployed, inactive individuals, or
necessity-driven potential entrepreneurs, and at the other end of the range, highly
skilled, innovation-led, or opportunistic potential entrepreneurs. Likewise, the range
of practicing entrepreneurs runs from individuals owning informal, micro- and small
enterprises all the way to highgrowth potential enterprise owners.
Figure 1.1 gives a picture of ET programs classification according to program type and target
audience.
The research presented in our report focused mainly on entrepreneurial education for
higher education students. However, in this context we should not ignore the entrepreneurial
training of potential, innovation led entrepreneurs and also keep in mind practicing
entrepreneurs, to whom the universities can offer specific, short-term trainings within the
lifelong learning programs.
Fig. 1.1: Classifying Entrepreneurship Education and Training Program
Предпринимательское
обучение
Предпринимательское
образование
Безработный
Среднее специальное
специальное
Потенциал
предпринимателей
Предприниматели
Undergraduate
Higher education
students
Practicing
entrepreneurs
Informal and microand small
enterprise owners
High growth potential
enterprise
owners
Graduate
Source: adapted fromValerio, Parton, Robb, 2014, p. 34
18
Entrepreneurship Education – Opportunities and Challenges for Universities in Visegrad Countries
The 10 EEHE programs included in the World Bank research showed that the outcomes are
largely related to entrepreneurial mindsets and capabilities and to a lesser extent
entrepreneurial status and performance (see centre of Fig. 1.2). This is consistent with the
profile of the target group for EEHE programs: students in tertiary education institutions who
are typically preparing to enter the world of work and, thus, entrepreneurship.
Fig 1.2 summarizes program characteristics, participants and context of 10 analysed
programs. The pie graph in the middle illustrates the areas emphasized in the analysed
programs.
Fig. 1.2: Entrepreneurship Education—Higher Education
Program characteristic:
u
u
u
Blend of theory and practice
Emphasis on strategic planning
and business plan development
Mentoring and coaching
offered
Performance
Status
Mindset
Capabilities
Participants
u
u
Context
u
Expressed interest in
entrepreneurship
Had prior work experience
u
Cultural openness to
entrepreneurship
On-campus support for
program implementation
Source: adapted fromValerio, Parton, Robb, 2014, p.71
Outlined below in Table 1.1 are outlined some of the key areas in terms of what, how, where
and who to teach entrepreneurship, to maximize the learning of the participants.
Tab. 1.1: What, how, where and who to teach entrepreneurship
19
Entrepreneurship Education – Opportunities and Challenges for Universities in Visegrad Countries
What
How u Enhancing entrepreneurial behaviours and
u Interactive, learning centred
pedagogies
u Multi-disciplinary programs and projects
mindsets
u Building self-confidence, self-efficacy and u Case studies, games, simulations, business
leadership
plan competitions, etc.
u Creativity, innovation and ability to think
u Extensive use of visuals, digital tools and
„out of the box“ to solve problems
multimedia u Managing complexity and
unpredictability u Learning by doing / hands-on u Basic business and financial skills“
u
Experiential learning / labs (trial & error)
„business literacy
u Projects, internships with start-ups u Opportunity
identification
u Mentoring and coaching
u How to build, finance and grow ventures
u Interactions with entrepreneurs u
Developing negotiation skills u Building relationships, networks,
social capital
STUDENTS
&
ENTREPRE
NEURS
Who
Where u Students
school administrators
u Formal school systems (primary, secondary, u Teachers and
tertiary):
o At all levels
o Across disciplines
u Professors, trainers
u Business people and leaders in other sectors
u Entrepreneurs
o Compulsory and elective courses u Mentors, coaches, advisors
u
Informal systems (after school and other)
o Local schools, training institutions
o Community centres, NGOs,
government agencies, banks, etc. o
Life-long learning
Source: Volkmann et al., 2009, p.11
1.3 Who should teach entrepreneurship?
Preparing today’s students for success and eventual leadership in the
new global marketplace is the most important responsibility in
education today… Entrepreneurship education is an important tool to
achieving these objectives [and]…should be universally available to
provide all students with opportunities to explore and fulfil their
potential.
Stephanie Bell-Rose, President, Goldman Sachs Foundation and
Thomas W. Payzant, Harvard Graduate School of Education
20
Entrepreneurship Education – Opportunities and Challenges for Universities in Visegrad Countries
A core objective of entrepreneurship education that differentiates it from typical business
education is the challenge to generate and evaluate a wide variety of different ideas how to
exploit a business opportunity. It must include skill building courses in negotiation, leadership,
new product development, creative thinking and exposure to technological innovation.
Entrepreneurship education, to be successful, demands entrepreneurial teachers.
Retooling for successful youth entrepreneurship education means selecting and promoting
teachers who are able to engage young learners in the necessary experiential activities.
Teachers may need training in either or both the experiential pedagogy and the business
content. The training curriculum may be nearly as extensive as the underlying curriculum for
students.
Certification of entrepreneurship teachers is an important step towards ensuring that
minimum standards are met. Ultimately, teachers colleges will need to include
entrepreneurship in the basic curriculum for aspiring educators, and they will need to partner
on this topic with business and law schools.
Effective entrepreneurial education requires that students have substantial hands-on
experience so that they can learn how value is added to real ventures and thus be prepared to
add value to their own ventures. Project-based, experiential learning should be widespread in
entrepreneurial education and take many forms, such as the development of business plans;
student business start-ups; consultation with practicing entrepreneurs; computer simulations;
and behavioural simulations. Companies established by students (even fictional) should
constitute an important part of entrepreneurship in education
Traditional business programmes have come under increased criticism for failing to be
relevant to the needs of today’s changing business environment. It is also quite common for
entrepreneurship classroom situations to focus heavily on theory – either management theory,
adjusted to advise entrepreneurship and small business – or entrepreneurship theory explaining
the emergence of entrepreneurs and their personal traits. Those voicing this concern note that
entrepreneurship programmes often educate “about” entrepreneurship rather than educate
“for” entrepreneurship.
1.3.1How to teach entrepreneurship
World Economic Forum report “Educating the Next Wave of Entrepreneurs” (Volkmann et
al., 2009) conclusion on how to teach entrepreneurship are summarized in the following
paragraphs:
“Mainstream pedagogy will have to change, leading to the hands-on, project-based,
multidisciplinary, non-linear approaches that entrepreneurship education requires. We need to
move towards these higher-order thinking skills for all young people.”
Entrepreneurship education cannot be based mainly on lectures, presentations and
other traditional tools. No amount of book based learning on its own will allow the student to
progress in this field. To acquire practical skills, companies established by pupils and students
should constitute an important part of entrepreneurship in education
21
Entrepreneurship Education – Opportunities and Challenges for Universities in Visegrad Countries
The curriculum for most successful youth entrepreneurship programmes includes many
or all of the activities below, typically with clear learning objectives tied to textbook themes,
usually with pre- and post-reflective sessions and evaluations, and frequently taking place
outside the classroom:
u Simulations and games. u Interactive
teamwork and group activities.
u Direct, action-oriented market research (students recognize market opportunities by
observing and interviewing potential customers, identifying needs in their own
communities). u Student buying and selling events, using real money (grants or loans
from the school or programme).
u Field trips to local businesses, especially entrepreneurial ventures.
u Entrepreneurs or venture funders as guest speakers in class.
u Business plan and other competitions, with business people as judges. u
Student-run businesses, using real money (including in-school stores).
Most successful programmes engage entrepreneurs and other business professionals as
volunteer advisors, mentors, and coaches for the students. Mentors and coaches play a major
role in incubating student businesses. Young entrepreneurs also need exposure to and support
for furthering their education.”
There exist good practice examples of study materials and guides for entrepreneurship
courses at different levels of education. Most of them were created in the OECD countries in
English. They can serve as an inspiration for potential authors of study materials in V4
countries, however they should be customized to specific conditions of respective countries.
As some examples that are far of exhaustive can be listed here:
u ILO Know about Business (KAB) modules (ILO, 2011),
u Textbook “Entrepreneurship” (Bygrave, Zacharadikis, 2014) and complementary
web pages,
u Harvard Business School Core Curriculum: Entrepreneurship (Applegate, 2015), u
MIT Entrepreneurship Courses (MIT, 2014).
1.3.2 Entrepreneurial vs. traditional approach in education
Tab. 1.2 lists the differences in entrepreneurial vs. traditional approach in education:
Tab 1.2: Differences in entrepreneurial vs. traditional approach in education
Entrepreneurial approach:
Traditional approach:
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Entrepreneurship Education – Opportunities and Challenges for Universities in Visegrad Countries
‡*URXSSURFHVVLQWHUDFWLRQ
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Source: OECD, 2008
Among the reasons for SME entrepreneurs’ lack of interest in university programmes are their
cost, their perceived ineffectiveness, and the entrepreneurs’ inability to leave their businesses
to attend them. Of these, it is the perceived ineffectiveness that should cause some concern
among the HEIs, as it might be due to a fundamental mismatch between what is offered by
higher education institutions and what is actually needed by SME entrepreneurs.
Tab 1.3: University offerings vs. entrepreneurs´ learning needs
University / Business School learning focus
Entrepreneurs’ learning needs
Critical judgement after analysing large amounts
of information
Gut-feel decision making with limited
information
Understanding and recalling the information
itself
Understanding the values of those who
transmit/filter information
Assuming commonality of goals
Recognising the widely varied goals of different
stakeholders
Seeking (impersonally) to verify the absolute Making decisions on the basis of judgement of
truth by study of information
trust & competence of people
Understanding the basic principles of the society Seeking to apply and adjust in practice to the
in the metaphysical sense
basic principles of society
Seeking the correct answer, with (enough) time
to do it
Developing the most appropriate solution (often)
under time pressure
Learning in the classroom Learning while & Gleaning information from experts and
through doing
authoritative sources for the sake of its
genuineness
Gleaning information from any and everywhere Evaluation through written assessment
& assessing its practical usefulness
Evaluation through judgement of people and
events through direct feedback
Success in learning measured by passing of
knowledge-based examinations
Success in learning measured by solving
problems, learning from failures and providing
useful products and services to society
Source: OECD 2008, p.53
1.3.3Measuring impact of entrepreneurial education
The biggest challenge facing the field is a lack of commonly accepted metrics for success and
protocols for conducting the necessary evaluations.
Principal levels of impact measures of higher education entrepreneurship activities
discussed above are summarized in Fig. 1.3:
Fig. 1.3: Measuring impact of entrepreneurship education
23
Entrepreneurship Education – Opportunities and Challenges for Universities in Visegrad Countries
Level 1
Individual participant
Entrepreneurial orientation / intentions and possible cognitive
antecedents
(attitudes and beliefs held towards entrepreneurship and self employment)
Level 2
Entrepreneurship Education Course / Programme
Student enrolments
Reach of programme across university
(participation of departments,
participation of students /
junior or senior faculty members)
Level 3
University-wide Output Measures
direct & indirect
Number of created new business and jobs,
Patents, technology licences
(assignments, executed licenses, royalties )
Source: Volkmann et al.,
2009
1.4 Entrepreneurship
education in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe
The specific section of the OECD study is devoted to the entrepreneurship education in
Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe, relevant to V4 countries. It finds that the majority
of entrepreneurship professors are traditional academics. Most entrepreneurship courses are
still taught by the lecture method. Interactive teaching methods such as role playing, case study
discussions and simulations are used less frequently. Case studies and other interactive
pedagogy are underutilised, as is the inclusion of business people and entrepreneurs in the
classroom. Universities made little use of former entrepreneurs in teaching. This is markedly
different from the experiences of some US business schools, where practitioners and former
entrepreneurs are well represented in the classroom – as teachers, guest lecturers, or executives
in residence who counsel the faculty, students, and the administration about entrepreneurship
curricular issues.
Teachers are important role models. A positive attitude among young people in schools
toward entrepreneurship, innovation and reorientation requires that teachers have knowledge
of this. It is therefore important to focus on entrepreneurship in teacher training, and provide
24
Entrepreneurship Education – Opportunities and Challenges for Universities in Visegrad Countries
courses in competence development to working teachers. EC provides The Guide for
Educators (European Commission, 2014).
1.5 Entrepreneurship education in the EU and other related documents
Entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education is already high on the agenda in most EU
Member States. A wide variety of programmes and activities exist across Europe. However,
there is a need of promoting these initiatives more systematically. The European Commission
is committed to promoting education for entrepreneurship at all levels, from primary school
to university and beyond. Its focus on entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education is
reflected in a series of strategic documents (European Commission 2006, 2012, 2013, 2015).
The additional guidance to those issues can be found in the OECD studies
“Entrepreneurship and Higher Education” (OECD 2008) and “Entrepreneurship at a Glance
2015” (OECD, 2015).
Tab 1.4: Opportunities and challenges to entrepreneurship education in Central, Eastern and
Southeastern Europe
Dimensions
Issue
Implications
Opportunities
Young population: need for
new venture creation
(opportunity vs. need).
Start early, with foundation skills in creativity
techniques. Courses in opportunity recognition
and evaluation are also important.
Leverage contacts with business companies by
bringing in guest speakers to share experiences.
In addition to new ventures in consumer goods,
technology-based ventures would be an
excellent focus.
Need for catch-up
technologically.
Economic progress: raising
standard of living.
Excellent
math
and
engineering background.
Flow of foreign investments.
Challenges
Heritage of state ownership:
privatization creates
opportunities
Education should target well-established
companies and new ventures alike.
Incentives are lacking.
Key role of entrepreneurial education is to
create momentum for change; development
starts in small steps, as others follow and
momentum grows.
Capital/funding.
Engage local entrepreneurs as role models and
source of feedback and learning.
Lack of teacher - Retooling Create joint programs between science /
existing faculty
engineering and entrepreneurship. Joint
appointments and faculty rotations might be
important ways to achieve it.
25
Entrepreneurship Education – Opportunities and Challenges for Universities in Visegrad Countries
Entrepreneurial culture is
lacking – develop role
models, case studies, etc.
Academic institutions are
theoretical / abstract.
How to get started.
Linking science /
engineering with business
programmes.
Source: OECD 2008, p. 182
The Commission’s Communication on Fostering entrepreneurial mindsets through education
and learning (European Commission, 2006b) indicates the need to intensify actions – both on
the union and member countries level – focused on education for the entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurship is one of key competences to be promoted by lifelong learning; it supports
self-fulfilment, social integration and active citizen attitude, and also ability of
selfemployment, as defined in the Key competences for lifelong learning (European
Commission, 2006a).
1.6Recommended actions for academic institutions
To promote entrepreneurship we must create a better culture for
innovation and creativity, and to accomplish this, we must focus on our
young. Children and young people must gain confidence in their own
creative powers and the ability to see and use local resources as the
basis for developing businesses and employment. They must be given
the opportunity to see and experience how creativity, personal
confidence, drive and the ability to cooperate are vital underpinnings of
entrepreneurship and also the basis for being constructive, creative and
active at school and home, and at work and play.
Strategic Plan, Norwegian Government, 2004-2008
The Commission’s Communication on “Fostering entrepreneurial mindsets through education
and learning“ indicates the need to intensify actions – both on the general-union level and
particular member countries – focused on education for the entrepreneurship. The
entrepreneurship seems to be the ability to apply ideas in life. This includes such actions as:
creativity, innovation, ability to take risk, planning, decision-making, and management. It is a
foundation of social and commercial actions. Entrepreneurship understood in this way is one
of key competences in accordance with lifelong learning; supports self-fulfilment, social
integration and active citizen attitude, and also ability of self-employment.
Entrepreneurship, as it was mentioned above, should be included directly in curricula, since
to get familiar with the principles of the working world and entrepreneurship supports the
proper understanding of the role, which is fulfilled by entrepreneurship in society. The
document underlines the special role of education of people over 14 years of age. In most
26
Entrepreneurship Education – Opportunities and Challenges for Universities in Visegrad Countries
European countries, curricula include the entrepreneurship; however, the realization of the
goals is not of practical nature. The practical experiences are a standard element of curricula
in only small number of the EU countries. An interesting way to support the educational
initiative is active teaching methods, e.g. company management simulations.
The Communication proposes a number of recommendations for concrete action, such as:
u National and regional authorities should establish cooperation between different
departments, leading to developing a strategy covering all stages of education. u
Curricula for schools at all levels should explicitly include entrepreneurship as an
objective of education. u Schools should be given practical support and incentives to
encourage take-up of entrepreneurship programmes. u Special attention should be
given to training teachers and to raising the awareness of heads of schools. u
Cooperation between educational establishments and the local community, especially
businesses, should be encouraged.
u The use of student mini-companies at school should be further promoted.
u Higher education institutions should integrate entrepreneurship across different
courses, notably within scientific and technical studies. u Public authorities’ support is
especially needed to provide high-level training for teachers and to develop networks
that can share good practice.
WEF study (Volkmann et al., 2009) specifies a number of key success factors that enable
effective entrepreneurship education:
1.
2.
3.
4.
6.
The entrepreneurial ecosystem,
Developing effective educators,
Curriculum development,
Outreach (engagement of business), 5. Advancing innovation,
Sustainable funding.
Even when most initiatives are led by individual champions, whether inside or outside the
academic institution, a commitment is also needed from the highest levels of the school or
university.
The recommendations of this study are as follows:
Transform the Educational System
1. Engage schools and university leaders in actions to gain their commitment to reshaping the
institutional paradigm: institutional vision, policies and outcomes, structures, values and
rewards.
Build the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
1. Encourage all faculties/disciplines to develop opportunities for students at every level to
experience entrepreneurship, integrate entrepreneurship into the curriculum and build
towards a multidisciplinary learning environment:
27
Entrepreneurship Education – Opportunities and Challenges for Universities in Visegrad Countries
u Increase the number of schools offering entrepreneurship courses, programmes and
activities.
u Augment the number entrepreneurship courses, programmes and activities and make
them available to a broader group of students.
u Make entrepreneurship a required course. u
Integrate entrepreneurship across other disciplines.
u Encourage entrepreneurship across disciplines, particularly in science and
technology. u Build projects and programmes across disciplines.
2. Encourage the use of interactive teaching methods:
u Promote the application of “learning by doing” through project-based learning,
internships and consulting. u Leverage the uses of case studies for discussion based
learning.
u Develop the proper incentives, assessment, rewards and recognition to encourage
educators to try these approaches. u Involve entrepreneurs and companies in
entrepreneurship courses and activities.
3. Broaden and build a strong pipeline of entrepreneurship professors and teachers: u Hire
more professors and teachers fully dedicated to entrepreneurship. u Recruit professors and
teachers who have entrepreneurship experience.
u Support workshops and training programmes for teachers. u Provide training for
entrepreneurs, business people and other practitioners to become effective
educators. u Develop appropriate incentives and celebrate successes.
u Review regulations on the participation of entrepreneurs, business people and others
in teaching activities. u Encourage the development of specialized entrepreneurship
doctoral programmes.
4. Encourage the sharing of best practices among teachers and across institutions and
countries.
5. Support the development of course materials (books, cases, online games, videos, etc.), not
only for entrepreneurship per se, but also for leadership and personal development.
6. Engage a diverse body of students in existing offerings and provide support and facilities
allowing students to develop their own initiatives, through clubs, laboratories, etc.
7. Reach out to and engage the business community, public sector and other players in the
ecosystem.
8. Encourage the use of alumni, entrepreneurs and other practitioners in the classroom.
9. Facilitate spin-outs from technical and scientific institutions:
u Advance core research and innovation.
u Accelerate the application of science and technology to market through technology
transfer offices and/or other mechanisms. u Establish stronger links between academia,
business and entrepreneurs.
28
Entrepreneurship Education – Opportunities and Challenges for Universities in Visegrad Countries
u Facilitate the provision of direct training and/or support programmes for
entrepreneurs in the process of starting companies. u Provide the appropriate training
for staff, particularly in the area of technology transfer. u Ensure the time (sabbaticals,
if necessary) for faculty to engage in entrepreneurial activities.
29
Entrepreneurship Education – Opportunities and Challenges for Universities in Visegrad Countries
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