Educating Multi-disciplinary Student Groups in Entrepreneurship: Lessons Learned from a Practice Enterprise Project

Collan, Mikael and Kallio-Gerlander, Jaana (2006): Educating Multi-disciplinary Student Groups in Entrepreneurship: Lessons Learned from a Practice Enterprise Project. Forthcoming in: Proceedings of the FINPIN Conference 2006 (2007)

Abstract

The target audiences for entrepreneurial university studies are most often students of different fields of business studies, or economics; entrepreneurship studies are a part of their normal curriculum. Entrepreneurs, however, are not a group that consists only of business professionals, but a group of people from all walks of life. The basic procedures and laws governing the starting of a company are most often same for all companies and individuals. It is important to acknowledge these two facts, when designing curriculums for university studies: basic courses in entrepreneurship (starting a business) are important for students of all disciplines. This paper reports experiences from educating multi-disciplinary student groups in entrepreneurship, presents preliminary data about student background and attitudes towards entrepreneurship, and discusses some lessons learned from the experiences.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Institution: Institute for Advanced Management Systems Research
• Language: English
• Keywords: Entrepreneurship education; multi-disciplinary groups; lessons learned
• Subjects: M - Business Administration and Business Economics ; Marketing ; Accounting ; Personnel Economics > M1 - Business Administration > M13 - New Firms ; Startups; L - Industrial Organization > L2 - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior > L26 - Entrepreneurship; A - General Economics and Teaching > A2 - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics > A22 - Undergraduate; A - General Economics and Teaching > A2 - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics

References

Carayannis, E., Evans, D., and Hanson, M., 2003, A cross-cultural learning strategy for entrepreneurship education: outline of key concepts and lessons learned from a comparative study of entrepreneurship students in France and the US, Technovation, 23, pp. 757-771 Euroopan Komissio, 2005, Pienoisyritykset Toisen Asteen Koulutuksessa, Best-menettelyn Mukainen Hanke: Asiantuntijaryhmän Loppuraportti, Yritys ja Teollisuustoiminnan Pääosasto (report in Finnish, also available in English) Fiet, J., 2000, The Pedagogical Side of Entrepreneurship Theory, Journal of Business Venturing, 16, pp. 101-117 Heikkiniemi, S., 2004, Turku Polytechnic Case: Practice Enterprise in Kuvaja, S. and Saurio, K., Eds., Generating Knowledge-based Entrepreneurship: Pre- and Business Incubation in Finnish Polytechnics, FINPIN, pp. 29-36 Katz, J., 2003, The cronology and intellectual trajectory of American entrepreneurship education 1876-1999, Journal of Business Venturing, pp. 283-300 Okudan, G. and Rzasa, S., 2006, A project-based approach to entrepreneurial leadership education, Technovation, 26, pp. 195-210 Rasmussen, E. and Sørheim, 2006, Action-based entrepreneurship education, Technovation, 26, pp. 185-194 Sandberg, W. and Hofer, C., 1987, Improving new venture performance: the role of strategy, industry structure and the entrepreneur, Journal of Business Venturing, 2(1), pp. 151-162 Stuart, R. and Abetti, P., 1990, Impact of entrepreneurial and management experience on early performance, Journal of Business Venturing, 5, pp. 151-162 Van de Ven, A., Hudson, R., and Schroeder, D., 1984, Designing new business start-ups: entrepreneurial, organizational, and ecological considerations, Journal of Management, 10, pp. 87-107 Wang, C. and Wong, P., 2004, Entrepreneurial interest of university students in Singapore, Technovation, 24, pp. 163-172