Keynote presentation for HEA employability conference: 'Enhancing employability through enterprise education' held at Kings College London on 29th May 2014. Based on think piece document of the same name by Colin Mason, University of Glasgow. Found at: http://www.enhancementthemes.ac.uk/flexible-learning/enterprise-and-entrepreneurship

1. Creating Entrepreneurial Campuses
Heather Gibson
Enhancement Team
QAA Scotland

2. QAA Scotland
•Reflecting education as being a devolved responsibility of
Scottish Parliament
•Develop and operate assurance and enhancement to meet
needs of Scottish HEIs
•Enhancement Led Institutional Review
•Quality Enhancement Themes
•Flexible Learning
- Recognition of Prior Learning
- Work Based Learning
- Entrepreneurship and Enterprise

3. Quality Enhancement Themes
Way for Scottish HEIs, practitioners and students
to work together to enhance T&L
Supported by QAA Scotland
9 Past Themes including: Employability, Flexible
Delivery, Graduate attributes, Developing &
Supporting the Curriculum and new Theme:
Student Transitions

5. ‘However it is clear
that it (EEE) is most
effective where there is
distinct institutional
leadership for
enterprise and
entrepreneurship, as
shown in the concept of
'The Entrepreneurial
University‘ ‘(p. 6)

7. Colin Mason
University of Glasgow
Case studies from:
University of the Highlands & Islands
Edinburgh Napier
St Andrews
Strathclyde

8. The case for entrepreneurial campuses
• pressure from Government
• pressure from students and parents
• changes in the labour market
• changes in business environment

9. Benefits of entrepreneurial campuses
• Entrepreneurial start-ups contribute to the
local economy
• Differentiate and distinguish the University
in increasingly competitive market
• Attract potential entrepreneurial students
• Entrepreneurial alumni donate, provide
mentoring and contribute to provision

10. Objectives of entrepreneurship
education
produce graduates who are capable of
• identifying opportunities
• developing ventures through setting up new
businesses or
• developing and growing existing ventures.

11. How can these graduates be developed?
•Can entrepreneurship be taught?
•Nature v nurture
•Entrepreneurial attributes

12. How can these graduates be developed?
Entrepreneurial attributes

13. Developing an entrepreneurial campus
The curriculum strand
Key questions
• what is taught?
• how it is taught?
• who is teaching it and who is being taught?

14. Entrepreneurship education - what is
taught?
Development of entrepreneurship courses
• know what, which covers functional
management skills such as finance,
accounting and marketing
• know why, which addresses motivational
issues, developing favourable attitudes
towards entrepreneurship
• know how, which addresses soft skills such
as creativity, networking, negotiation and
selling.

15. Entrepreneurship education – how is it
taught?
Development of entrepreneurship courses
Criticised for ‘ineffectiveness’
• classroom-based focus and 'lecture teaching
methodology
• reliance on theories, content and
pedagogical approaches borrowed from
business management.
• focus on the new venture business plan

16. Entrepreneurship education – how is it
taught?
• active and experiential
• emphasis on selling – unpacks to
negiotiation, communication and
relationship skills
• Authentic, reflects/engages with real-life
• Move from transmitter to facilitator

17. Entrepreneurship education – how is it
taught?
pedagogy that encourages learning by:
• doing;
• exchange;
• copying (and learning from the experience);
• experimentation;
• risk taking and 'positive' mistake making;
• creative problem solving;
• feedback through social interaction;
• dramatisation and role playing;
• close exposure to role models; and, in particular,
interaction with the outside/adult world.

18. Entrepreneurship education – how is it
taught?
Examples of experiential learning activities
•consulting project
•business simulations
•students start a business

19. Entrepreneurship education – how is it
taught? Issues for teachers and students
•Assessment
•Reflection
• Who controls content?
•Role of the teacher
•Relationship to the disciplines

20. Entrepreneurship education – who
teaches it and who is being taught?
Institutional models
- offered by Business School
- dedicated institutional centre – ‘Enterprise
centres’
- diffuse model - presence in schools with
'enterprise champions'
-Disciplines – across, multi, within?
-How many courses?
Which is the best model for embedding it
across institution?

21. Entrepreneurship education – who
teaches it and who is being taught?
•staff are engaged with the entrepreneurial
community and have an empathy with
entrepreneurs
•guest lecturers
•pracademic (practitioner-academic)

22. Developing an entrepreneurial campus
The extra - curriculum strand
-Important for several reasons
-Unlikely all students will access to courses
-Some students may be uncertain about
taking a course
-Offer learning opportunities beyond formal
courses
-Support for entrepreneurial activity beyond
a formal course ,i.e., start-up

23. Developing an entrepreneurial campus
The extra - curriculum strand
Entrepreneurs interact with students –
entrepreneur-in-residence
Entrepreneurial activities
-Networking
-Boot-camps
-Competitions
-Societies and clubs
-Business start-up support, incubators,
hatcheries

24. Conclusions
Universities expected to make clear contribution to
national, regional and local economy
Students are changing – demographics, expectations
and interest in entrepreneurship
Need to create an supportive ‘eco-system’ that
supports E&E – in and out of the ‘curriculum’
E&E needs institutional commitment at all levels
Need for Universities to share practice & collaborate

25. Some reflective questions
•In terms of pedagogy what is the difference between EEE and
experiential learning approaches?
•How does ‘learning from failure’ square with ‘getting it right’?
•What is the role of the discipline in entrepreneurship?
•How does entrepreneurship contribute to disciplines?
•How do the disciplines contribute to entrepreneurship?
•Is entrepreneurial education about setting up enterprises? Or is
it about a wider contribution to the individual (qualities and
skills) and HEI (society and economy)?
•What is the relationship between entrepreneurship and
employability?
•How do we engage more staff and students?

26. Thank you!