This page focuses on the element ‘enterprise education’. It provides a description of the element, highlights its relevance, and provides examples of enterprise education in the curriculum. Description Enterprise education and building an enterprising mindset for all students, not just those that wish to set up their own business. Enterprise activities allow all students to develop creativity, leadership, innovation, negotiation, and confidence; all of these attributes are highly valued in various work contexts. Relevance for student development, employability and careers Enterprise education is distinct from entrepreneurship training. It may encapsulate entrepreneurship but importantly looks at fostering an enterprising mindset. Enterprise education develops a range of skills valuable to our students’ effectiveness and impact within and beyond their studies. Entrepreneurship support can unlock setting up a business as a specific career path. Tips and things to consider Below you will find some key tips and guidance to consider when incorporating enterprise education into curricular provision. Practical tips Entrepreneurship for some, enterprising mindset for all 'Setting up an enterprise' and 'being enterprising' are not the same thing. Not all students need to know how to create their own business, but all students can benefit from an enterprising mindset. Allowing students rich opportunities to develop creativity, cope with uncertainty, negotiate, and solve problems can develop students’ ability to be ‘enterprising’ while not requiring them to learn the ins-and-outs of starting a business. Incorporate activities that develop relevant skills Skills relevant to an enterprising mindset (see description above) can be developed in many contexts. Group work can provide opportunities for negotiation and leadership, presentations can provide opportunities for pitching, and a wide range of assessments can support creativity. An easy way to build students’ enterprising mindset is to consider the relevant characteristics when designing your courses and be explicit to your student that they are using and developing such skills. Enterprise education is characterised by 'learning by doing', problem solving, and collaboration Enterprise education often involves a shift towards active learning strategies and providing students with real-world challenges to solve. By using 'real' problems, students gain deeper insight into the context in which they their solutions must exist. Can you identify industry, societal or other challenges within your discipline that your students can work on in teams to identify potential solutions? (The sections on 'Real-world/applied learning' and 'Active teaching methods' provide further information.) Real-world/applied learning Active teaching methods Use employers or other externals for real-world challenges in the curriculum Using employers to provide challenges for students to work on can be extremely valuable in making the challenges meaningful and relevant to students, increasing their understanding of the context for problems and solutions, and building their links with externals. (See also the section on 'Employer and alumni engagement'.) Employer and alumni engagement Specialist support available The Student Enterprise team in Edinburgh Innovations offers expert advice and resources on incorporating enterprise education into the curriculum. Student enterprise website Specialist resources available Edinburgh Innovations has developed an Enterprise Toolkit, which has information, resources and enterprise courses. Enterprise Toolkit Enterprise Educators UK, the UK's leading membership body for development of enterprise education in higher education, have a similar toolkit with exercises for specific fields and subjects, complemented with real-life case studies. Enterprise Educators UK Toolkit Consider creating and running an 'Entrepreneurship in...' optional course Most disciplines will have enterprises or organisations working directly with the field; this can range from start-ups, think tanks, information services, and consulting to large organisations. One way of introducing entrepreneurship to students is to use your field as a route to explore business and entrepreneurship. This could potentially be done together with externals from business or with staff from the Business School. (This is inspired by the course 'Entrepreneurship in Mathematical Sciences' taught in the School of Mathematics with inputs from the Business School.) Examples of practice in the University of Edinburgh There is diverse practice across the University that can be used to stimulate thinking about what is possible in your setting. Below is a link to a range of relevant practice from the Teaching Matters blog. The examples come from multiple parts of the student experience and relate either partially or substantially to this element. New articles are automatically added so check back in the future to discover some of the latest practice. Teaching Matters: relevant articles Further reading and external perspectives The references below provide some background on this element as well as some of the external drivers and motivations for including it. Overview Over the last decade or so there has been a large move towards embedding enterprise and entrepreneurship education into the curriculum. The main reason enterprise education is seen as linked to employability is that the skills developed and trained in enterprise education support adaptability and creativity, which are both relevant for navigating a changing labour market, as well as attractive skills in and of themselves. Moreover, students with such skills and entrepreneurial knowledge are seen as positive contributors to the UK economy. Both higher education institutions and organisations such as QAA and Advance HE, have incorporated embedding enterprise education in the curriculum as strategic goals. Further reading Reference Description OECD (2015). Entrepreneurship in education: what, why, when, how. Report This comprehensive report defines and clarifies entrepreneurship in education. It highlights that, while knowledge of starting a business is relevant for students, the mindset of wanting to create positive change for others and entrepreneurial competencies are essential. It shows the value of effective entrepreneurship education in creating capable graduates willing to contribute positively to society and the economy. Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) (2012). Enterprise and entrepreneurship education: Guidance for UK higher education providers. This report highlights how entrepreneurial learning is best achieved through a combination of curricular, co-, and extra-curricular activities. It emphasises the significant importance of experiential learning in the process of teaching entrepreneurship, and that enterprise should not only be taught in business schools. Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) Scotland (2018). Enterprise and entrepreneurship education: Guidance for UK higher education providers. Report This updated report provides practical advice for the implementation of enterprise and entrepreneurship education in the higher education sector. It contains some of the same considerations as the previous report, however contains updated recommendations, definitions and metrics for success. It specifically states: ‘Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Education provides interventions that are focused on supporting behaviours, attributes and competencies that are likely to have a significant impact on the individual student in terms of successful careers, which in turn adds economic, social and cultural value to the UK.' (p.2). Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) Scotland (2014). Creating entrepreneurial campuses. Report This report explores pedagogical challenges in embedding enterprise education, as well as the understanding of an institution as a place for entrepreneurship. Specifically it suggests that supporting our graduates to thrive in the changing labour market 'requires universities to create entrepreneurial campuses – campuses which stimulate the entrepreneurial aspirations of students and provides them with the opportunity to develop relevant skills, knowledge and experiences and offers relevant support and resources to enable them to start their own business.' (p.2). Universities Scotland (n.d). Making it happen: enterprise & entrepreneurship education. Making it happen website or Report This webpage and report highlight the value of enterprise education to Scotland's goal of becoming a world leader in enterprise. Every university in Scotland has agreed to a strategic commitment that includes reviewing curricular activity and further embedding enterprise and entrepreneurship. Lord Young (2014). Enterprise education for all: the relevance of enterprise in education. Report In this report Lord Young explores the importance of enterprise education for all students – for their development and their ability to thrive. Specifically the report highlights: ‘All university students should have access to enterprise and entrepreneurship, including a growing ambition amongst young people to develop their interest in social enterprise. In higher education, enterprise should extend to all areas of faculty and study…' (p.6). University of Plymouth (n.d) Enterprise, creativity and self-employment. Plymouth website The University of Plymouth has a range of useful resources available on employability. On this page, the different skills and outcomes related to enterprise education are referenced along with further reading. This article was published on 2024-04-02
