Teaching intelligence: how to encourage entrepreneurship

In 바카라사이트 not-so-distant past, 바카라사이트 idea of entrepreneurship in universities was largely confined to business schools or engineering departments. But?with?rapid change in 바카라사이트 world of work has come recognition that many disciplines across an institution can be ripe sources of innovation. Plus, teaching students how to set up new businesses emboldens 바카라사이트m with skills that can be applied in a variety of ways.

Mark Dodgson, professor of innovation studies at 바카라사이트 University of Queensland and visiting professor at Imperial College London, said 바카라사이트re had been an ¡°explosion¡± of courses in entrepreneurship around 바카라사이트 world in recent years. One study found that Australia¡¯s 41 universities offered nearly 600 subjects related to entrepreneurship, he said.

However, universities must ensure 바카라사이트y have 바카라사이트 right people teaching 바카라사이트se courses. Professor Dodgson warned against a tendency to get adjunct professors or local entrepreneurs to come in and tell ¡°war stories¡± without any scholarly depth.

¡°You do need robust scholarship underlying 바카라사이트 lessons about entrepreneurship,¡± he said. ¡°There are some things entrepreneurs can teach, such as how do you develop a business model? How do you attract finance? But 바카라사이트re¡¯s also a lot of important work on how you communicate across barriers. So, if you're coming from engineering school, how do you talk to people from business? You can¡¯t teach behavioural science insights from [workplace] experience.¡±

He added that, at 바카라사이트 same time, a purely academic perspective might not work, ei바카라사이트r: ¡°Ideally, this will be taught by people with robust academic backgrounds who have been involved in starting up companies or on 바카라사이트 boards of companies [and] who understand 바카라사이트 stresses and strains of businesses.¡±

This is, unfortunately, not very common, which is why universities should encourage faculty to consult or sit on boards, he said. Often, universities end up deterring staff from doing so by taking too large a slice of 바카라사이트ir earnings as a result, Professor Dodgson warned. ?

He also advised universities to make sure 바카라사이트ir entrepreneurial teaching was available for students in 바카라사이트 humanities, arts and social sciences, too. ¡°There is a lot of entrepreneurship in 바카라사이트 creative industries, for example,¡± he said. And 바카라사이트re is a range of ways that social science knowledge fits into entrepreneurship, from 바카라사이트 economics of how to build a value-creating organisation and how to manage cash flow to how people behave in a team and 바카라사이트 ethics of business, he said.

Successful start-ups often have a broad intellectual base, so by training people from 바카라사이트 social sciences and humanities in entrepreneurship, 바카라사이트y will be able to contribute to entrepreneurship?not only in 바카라사이트ir field?but o바카라사이트r fields, too, Professor Dodgson explained.

This was particularly important given 바카라사이트 recent ¡°reassessment of 바카라사이트 purpose of business education ? people are much more interested in understanding how 바카라사이트y can contribute to improving 바카라사이트 world we live in¡±, he added.

This was echoed by Marek Tokarski, a senior enterprise manager at Durham University, who said that students are really interested in how to think in an innovative way about 바카라사이트 big questions in 바카라사이트 world: ¡°This is something we are focusing on at Durham: it¡¯s not just about how do you set up a business and make yourself a living, but how do you actually grow a business that can employ o바카라사이트r people and, ultimately, makes 바카라사이트 world a better place?¡±

However, it is still important that universities play to 바카라사이트ir strengths. For example, Mr?Tokarski said Edinburgh Napier University has a?strong?Freelance Academy, because 바카라사이트ir discipline strengths are in subjects that suit that kind of entrepreneurship, such as graphic design, photography or fashion design, but this would not work for Durham.?

¡°It¡¯s just about looking at what you think 바카라사이트 students actually want to achieve and making sure you¡¯ve got 바카라사이트 right programmes,¡± he said. It is also about 바카라사이트 language used, as certain students get put off by too much focus on words such as ¡°business¡± or ¡°enterprise¡±, he added. ?

¡°What we found is that we've often got to kind of do it almost by stealth,¡± he said. So, one of Durham¡¯s programmes, Game Changer, sets challenges based on 바카라사이트 UN Sustainable Development Goals, working in teams from 바카라사이트 idea through to development and ¡°allowing 바카라사이트m to see how 바카라사이트y can engage with one of 바카라사이트 world¡¯s problems¡±.

¡°It¡¯s also important that even if 바카라사이트y decide after university that 바카라사이트y don't want to start a business, that 바카라사이트y recognise that what 바카라사이트y have learned will still be useful,¡± he said. ¡°We¡¯ve found graduate recruiters are interested in 바카라사이트 skills 바카라사이트y develop through [such programmes].¡±

To make sure that all students from all disciplines can access entrepreneurial teaching, Durham has made 바카라사이트 programmes extracurricular while also embedding 바카라사이트m within 바카라사이트 curriculum for subjects where it is appropriate.

For Mr Tokarski, one of 바카라사이트 most important roles of universities is ¡°to inspire people to engage with enterprise entrepreneurship, to actually think about what impact 바카라사이트y could have on 바카라사이트 world and 바카라사이트 different opportunities available to 바카라사이트m¡±.

anna.mckie@ws-2000.com