Professor Pauric McGowan discusses promoting entrepreneurship across higher education institutions and the importance of staff engagement. He considers how the role of academics is changing and reviews Northern Ireland Centre for Entrepreneurship's experience embedding entrepreneurship in curriculum and extracurricular activities, reaching over 17,000 undergraduate and 1,900 postgraduate students. McGowan emphasizes that staff are critical to progress, acting as champions, supporters, gatekeepers or determined reactionaries against the agenda. Strategies to encourage staff buy-in include making entrepreneurship relevant, embedding rather than bolting it on, building awareness, identifying and rewarding champions, and developing an entrepreneurial culture.

1. Promoting the
entrepreneurship agenda
across higher education
institutes, (HEIs), and the
importance of staff
engagement
Professor Pauric
McGowan
Director
Northern Ireland Centre for
Entrepreneurship, (NICENT)

2. In this presentation I will seek:
• Consider the changing context that is redefining the
role of the academic in HEIs
• Review the experiences of the Northern Ireland
Centre for Entrepreneurship, (NICENT)
• Reflect on some of the implications of
that experience
• Consider strategies to encourage
“buy-in”
Promoting the entrepreneurship agenda
across higher education and the
importance of staff engagement

3. Promoting the entrepreneurship
agenda across higher education
Nothing less than the development of the
Entrepreneurial University or Institute of
Technology……………….

4. The advent of the
entrepreneurial university
• Like any enterprise, an entrepreneurial
university will be “entrepreneurial”
because the people in it are entrepreneurs
• Stimulation of entrepreneurial behaviour
through curriculum development,
• Exploitation of knowledge and technology,
• Engagement with business sector

5. Factors influencing the expansion
of universities mission in current
times
HEIs are increasingly under pressure:
• To be more relevant in society,
• To behave more entrepreneurially by
government, business and society generally
• To reflect the new “world of work” for which
graduates must be prepared

6. Entrepreneurship Education, its
role
““The future prosperity of society depends on all ourThe future prosperity of society depends on all our
young people, including the brightest and the best,young people, including the brightest and the best,
and their parents coming to regard the businessand their parents coming to regard the business
sector and in particular setting up their own business,sector and in particular setting up their own business,
as a valid and realistic career option”as a valid and realistic career option”
Entrepreneurship and Education Action Plan,
DETI, DE, DEL March 2003, p6

7. The new world of work
• uncertainty and complexity
• fluid organisational structures
• greater probability of self employment
• wider responsibilities in family and social life
• global pressures
–Gibb and Hannon 2006

8. NICENT’s strategic challenge
- building awareness and engagement
• Through embedding “entrepreneurship” within the
curriculum
• Through extra-curricular activity focusing on
entrepreneurial new venturing, (ENV),

9. Key outcomes for NICENT
partnership since 2000
Through Curriculum development
• >17, 000 at undergraduate
• >1900 at postgraduate
Through extra-curricular activities
• >900 students in >300 business
teams

10. From the NICENT experience
• Staff in HEIs either embrace or reject the
agenda
• Either way they have a critical impact on its
progress as ‘radical participants’ or ‘determined
reactionaries’
• As ‘participants’ their roles are as champions,
supporters, gate-keepers and role models
• As ‘reactionaries’ they are defenders
of the “status-quo”, of traditional
values

11. Basis for resistance
• Ignorance and myopia about what entrepreneurship is
and who entrepreneurial people are
• Pre-conceived notions about its associations with
starting a new business and with the profit motive
• Pre-determination that agenda poses a threat to
traditional university values
• The credibility of the subject vis-à-vis “real” academic
subjects
• Perceived as additional effort and a distraction
from proper university work

12. Challenges to an
entrepreneurial culture within a
university
For many within HEIs the concept of entrepreneurship
with its associations with business development and its
interest in the profit motive provokes,……..
“…“…an image of shady villainy, a fifth column gnawing awayan image of shady villainy, a fifth column gnawing away
at the basic values that define a university, a wolfat the basic values that define a university, a wolf
masquerading as a milch-cow”masquerading as a milch-cow”
McNay 2002, p 2

13. Entrepreneurial People:
• People who start businesses -
Entrepreneurial New Venturers
• People who grow businesses - Corporate
entrepreneurs or intrapreneurs
• People who renew communities or social
groups – Social or Community
Entrepreneurs

14. Entrepreneurial people by their
actions:
• Exploit the opportunity in innovative ideas
• Challenge the status-quo
• Make a difference
• Add value
• Display particular traits and competencies

15. Strategies to encourage
“buy-in”
• Make the entrepreneurship agenda relevant
• Embed it, don’t bolt it on
• Build awareness and encourage engagement
• Encourage ownership of the agenda, especially beyond
Business and Management faculties
• Identify, support and reward champions
• Confirm credibility of entrepreneurship in research terms
• Develop a culture for entrepreneurship through
celebrations of success and a “can-do” attitude
• Train the trainers
• Minimise the hassle-factor
• Personal selling

16. Entrepreneurial people
will save the world!
‘The reasonable man adapts himself
to the conditions that surround
him…The unreasonable man adapts
surrounding conditions to himself…
All progress depends on the
unreasonable man’
George Bernard Shaw

17. Promoting the
entrepreneurship agenda
across higher education
institutions and the
importance of staff
engagement
Professor Pauric
McGowan.
Director.
Northern Ireland Centre for
Entrepreneurship, (NICENT),