Report provides the foundations for the embedding of Entrepreneurship in higher education institutions

The European Commission report Entrepreneurship in Higher Education, especially within non-business studies is a must read for those involved in supporting entrepreneurship education in higher education institutions (HEI).

An expert group managed the project; the main objectives of which included:

• Providing an overview of the teaching of entrepreneurship in European higher education institutions
• Investigating common teaching methods and identifying best practice in the delivery of entrepreneurship in HEI 
• Identifying factors of success and barriers to entrepreneurship education
• Draw main conclusions and recommendations for policy action.

In brief the project found that the majority of entrepreneurship courses are offered in business and economic studies, with European HEI demonstrating a lack of entrepreneurship studies within non-business institutions and disciplines.  Good practice in the delivery of entrepreneurial education is highlighted and provides useful indicators for implementing effective and successful programmes. 

The report identified numerous barriers that hinder the delivery of entrepreneurship education.  A selection of which are: 

• Conflicting academic philosophies of the role of entrepreneurship in HEI
• The shortage of resources (human and financial) 
• The lack of professors of entrepreneurship
• The internal organisational structure of HEI  
• The lack of support from decision makers
• The lack of rewards, incentives, recognition for faculty or educators
• The lack of established systems for evaluating programme results.

To move forward from the current position and overcome identified barriers the report provides recommendations for action.  Recommendations to public authorities are:

• To establish a taskforce or steering group whose role would be to establish how entrepreneurship can be integrated into the education system from primary school to higher education 
• To implement legislation that supports relations between private and business universities 
• To support the development of an accreditation system to validate informal learning and practical activities that favour entrepreneurship development 
• To establish awards for entrepreneurial universities, teachers and students
• To create regional centres that would take responsibility for coordinating, organising and promoting entrepreneurship action.

Advice for institutions is to:

• Ensure they have a strategy and action plan for teaching and researching entrepreneurship
• Embed entrepreneurship in all faculties; perhaps through the creation of an entrepreneurship education department
• Offer all undergraduates in their 1st year an introduction to entrepreneurship 
• Implement an incentive system for rewarding staff involvement in entrepreneurship education 
• Develop clear institutional rules about intellectual property
• Encourage participation amongst student in entrepreneurial projects and activities and award academic credits for such involvement. 

The report offers solutions that would help embed entrepreneurship education in HEI across Europe and in turn help address the ‘entrepreneurial gap’ between Europe and other countries. 

An in-depth survey of all Member States will accompany the report and will be available in autumn 2008.  In future issues we will keep you up to date with the progress of the surveys.

To download the final report of the expert group visit ec.europa.eu/enterprise/entrepreneurship/support_measures/training_education/entr_highed.pdf