Teaching Entrepreneurship to University Students through Experiential Learning

2013 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 449-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Mason ◽  
Norin Arshed
Keyword(s):  
Experiential Learning ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Approaches To Learning ◽  
Entrepreneurial Intentions ◽  
First Year ◽  
Effective Learning ◽  
Entrepreneurial Intent ◽  
Facilitated Learning

The view that entrepreneurship education should be based on experiential approaches to learning is gaining ground. However, there is both little discussion in the literature on what form experiential education should take and a paucity of examples of experiential approaches to learning. This paper helps to fill these gaps. It provides a case study of an experiential learning assignment that formed an important part of a first-year entrepreneurship course in a Scottish university. It describes how the assignment was designed, what activities were undertaken by students and, using their learning reflections for evidence, identifies the learning outcomes and the effect on entrepreneurial intent, motivations and capabilities. The evidence suggests that the assignment was an effective learning experience for the students, complementing and reinforcing prior classroom learning through application. It facilitated learning about the real world of the entrepreneur, something which would otherwise not have been possible, and had a positive impact on entrepreneurial intentions.

A UAE case study: experiential learning through effective educational partnerships

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 304-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wasif Minhas ◽  
Jo Perret
Keyword(s):  
Experiential Learning ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Personal Development ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Learning By Doing ◽  
First Year ◽  
Educational Partnerships ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Sector Organization

Purpose One of the largest higher education institutes (HEI) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and another public sector organization (PSO) responsible for promoting heritage, history and culture in the tourism sector formed an informal partnership in 2012. The purpose of this paper is to give Emirati students an opportunity to undertake projects based on their heritage, communities and develop their skills by experiencing “learning by doing.” Design/methodology/approach Projects briefs were provided by the PSO and followed the curriculum requirements of first year bachelor programs. In February 2013, faculty from different departments within the HEI met with PSO representative to explore how both organizations could collaborate. The conversation also focused on how the PSO could take advantage of readily available resources of creativity and innovation at the HEI. An innovative, cross-discipline, joint-marketing project was developed in line with the curriculum and PSO needs. By June, 2013, all students had undertaken projects which led toward developing recommendations and materials to promote the brief from PSO of “Raising Awareness” and “Increasing Visitor Numbers.” Findings Students from different disciplines produced different elements to meet the brief; however, they all followed a similar approach of research, analysis and evaluation. Although such projects are difficult to manage, staff found they had a profound effect on students’ motivation, personal development and overall learning experience. Originality/value This case study provides an insight into how experiential learning can be fostered through educational partnerships in the UAE context and beyond. It also highlights the importance of technology and informal relationships between partnering institutions.

scholarly journals Perceived Impact of a Longitudinal Leadership Program for All Pharmacy Students

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane R. Mort ◽  
Joe D. Strain ◽  
David L. Helgeland ◽  
Teresa M. Seefeldt
Keyword(s):  
Positive Impact ◽  
Leadership Skills ◽  
Pharmacy Students ◽  
First Year ◽  
Leadership Perceptions ◽  
Leadership Program ◽  
Leadership Potential ◽  
Professional Business ◽  
Perceived Impact

Objective: To describe a longitudinal leadership program involving all students and report the perceived impact. Design: The program included a first year Leadership Interview, a third year Report of Leadership, and a fourth year Professional Business Meeting Attendance. Activities involved guided reflection. Assessment: Students (n=138) indicated the activities helped them recognize the importance of leadership and their leadership potential (e.g., 72.5% and 62.3% of students due to meeting attendance, respectively). Students participated in leadership activities that they would not have pursued otherwise, either in response to the activity (27.7% due to interview) or as a requirement of the activity (51.1% for leadership report). Students reported developing specific leadership skills through the activities. Most students planned to be involved in a district/regional (72.5%), state (84.1%), and national (51.4%) meeting in the five years following graduation. Conclusion: Students reported a positive impact on leadership perceptions and participation. The report is a preliminary step in the development and assessment of a longitudinal curricular initiative involving all pharmacy students.   Type: Case Study

scholarly journals A Case Study on Experiential Learning in a First-Year General Education Course

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Niki Weller ◽  
Julie Saam
Keyword(s):  
Experiential Learning ◽  
Student Success ◽  
General Education ◽  
High Impact ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
First Year ◽  
Learning Collaborative ◽  
Indiana University ◽  
High Impact Practices

Experiential-learning provides opportunities for students that feature a variety of high-impact practices including first-year seminars, internships, community learning, collaborative projects, and capstone seminars. To offer these high-impact practices for students, faculty from across disciplines and majors must be willing to incorporate these opportunities within their courses and degrees. Indiana University Kokomo has offered two successful programs to support these high-impact practices. One program, the Kokomo Experience and You (KEY), supports faculty in the development and implementation of events and activities to support student learning. The other, the Student Success Academy Faculty Fellows Program, provided faculty members the opportunity to examine research and concepts so that they can better promote student success in their classrooms. Building on the success of these two programs, a third initiative, the Experiential Learning Academy (ELA), was launched in 2018, funded by a Reimagining the First Years mini-grant from AASCU.

A Case Study on Hosting an Event as an Experiential Learning Experience for Event Education

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 345-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weng Si Clara Lei ◽  
Cindia Ching Chi Lam ◽  
Fernando Lourenço
Keyword(s):  
Experiential Learning ◽  
Learning Experience

scholarly journals A comparison of a first and third year UG enterprise unit: lessons from experiential learning and interdisciplinarity

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronica Sanchez-Romaguera ◽  
Robert A Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Experiential Learning ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Interdisciplinary Education ◽  
First Year ◽  
University Curriculum ◽  
Enterprise Education ◽  
Growth Of Knowledge ◽  
The University ◽  
University Of Manchester

Drawing from several years of experience, this work describes lessons learnt in designing, delivering and assessing two interdisciplinary enterprise units offered undergraduate students from any discipline studing at the University of Manchester (UK). Both units are electives (optional). One unit is delivered to first year undergrdaute students whereas the other unit is delivered to third/fourth year undergraduate students. Experiential learning and interdisciplinary cohorts are core aspects of both units. Students work on ‘real-world’ projects to develop a credible and competitive solution within a tight dead-line. In this paper, findings are drawn from data collected from staff and teaching assistants observations, students’ reflective diaries and students’ feedback. Findings showed that in general, students at both levels, year 1 and year 3/4, regarded the experience challenging at first due to the ‘unusual’ learning environment when compared to the education that most students have experienced prior to the units here discussed. However, most students highly regarded the interdisciplinary experiential learning experience. The paper contributes to the growth of knowledge and aids understanding of how experiential learning and interdisciplinarity have been effectively combined and introduced in the university curriculum. Although this works focused on enterprise education the experience-based guidance here described is also applicable to a much wider range of situations and academic areas of study. Keywords: Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Education; Employability; Experiential learning; Interdisciplinary education;

scholarly journals The impact of practical entrepreneurship project on future entrepreneurial intentions

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 67-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tshilidzi Eric Nenzhelele ◽  
Nthabiseng Violet Moraka ◽  
Kopano Kalvyn More
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Labor Market ◽  
Experiential Learning ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Jel Classification ◽  
The Body ◽  
Entrepreneurial Intentions ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Harsh Reality

The recurrent struggle of seeking employment and the saturated labor market is a harsh reality in the lives of many university students. Entrepreneurship is arguably the most effective contributor to employment and economic growth. However, very few entrepreneurship graduates start businesses immediately after graduation. Moreover, while academic institutions invest in developing entrepreneurship curriculum and extending the body of knowledge, little is invested in practical programs. There is, therefore, a need to practically teach entrepreneurship. This research was aimed at establishing the impact of practical entrepreneurship project on future entrepreneurial intentions of students. The research was quantitative in nature and a questionnaire was used to collect data from the respondents. The research found that the practical entrepreneurship project had a positive impact on the future entrepreneurial intentions of the students. The sample for the survey reported in this article included 25 participants across various career fields. Keywords: entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial intentions, experiential learning, practical entrepreneurship project, student business initiative challenge. JEL Classification: L26

Value add

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-143
Author(s):  
Sean Reid ◽  
Jason Muenzen ◽  
Rasoul Rezvanian
Keyword(s):  
Experiential Learning ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Business School ◽  
Business Schools ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Academic Institution ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Enhance Student Learning

Purpose This paper aims to provide students with a career edge, business students require more than concepts and calculations to be successful in their future career. They require professional skill sets, mentors, relationship guides and as much real industry experience as they can gather before graduation. This study sheds some light on how a small business school (SBS) in a nonprofit private academic institution (NPAI) located in an isolated rural area of the USA has been able to tap its strong alumni relationships to provide mentoring and experiential learning opportunities to students using its student-managed investment funds (SMIFs) as the vehicle. Although this study uses a small, geographically isolated institution, the authors believe that the approach taken by this particular school can be replicated by any academic institution that strives to enhance student learning experience by promoting mentorship and experiential learning. Design/methodology/approach This study starts with a brief introduction (Section 1) and a short review of literature (Section 2) to highlight the numerous benefits of alumni engagement and student mentorship. Section 2 shows institutional background on the NPAI, the SBS and the SMIF. The major part of the study starts with a discussion on the set of rules to guide in the construction of a student-alumni relationship framework that could be easily modified to the unique characteristics of the institution. Next, the role and responsibility of the investment advisory board (IAB) and its members’ engagement with students are discussed. In the last part of the study, SBS is used as a case study to show how alumni contribute to SBS and enhance students’ experiential learning by contributing as mentor, IAB member, advisors to the FMIF and career mentorship. This study concludes with a discussion on potential areas of conflict and friction for alumni involvement. Findings This study shows that SBS in a NPAI has been able to tap its strong alumni relationship to provide mentoring and experiential learning opportunities to students using its SMIF as the vehicle. The authors believe that the approach taken by this particular school can be replicated by any academic institution that strives to promote mentorship and experiential learning. Research limitations/implications This case study is focused on a SBS in a NPAI that has a strong alumni relationship and enough resources to successfully tap on its alumni. It would be interesting to learn how this approach can be used in resource-limited public institutions. Practical implications As the case study shows, any business school that values experiential learning can rely on its alumni to enhance student learning experience by properly using its alumni resources. Social implications The results of this study show that business schools’ outreach opportunities and student experiential learning experience can be enhanced and business schools’ academic qualification and ranking, which leads to improvement in student enrollment, can be improved. Overall, the major beneficiary would be the business schools’ immediate and larger community. Originality/value The authors are positive that multiple universities are properly taking advantage of using their alumni relationship.

scholarly journals How can we improve the final year dissertation? A consideration of ethics, quality, and one-to-one supervision.

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 90-96
Author(s):  
Diarmuid Verrier ◽  
Catherine Day
Keyword(s):  
Positive Impact ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Supervisory Relationship ◽  
Ethical Concerns ◽  
Potential Problems ◽  
One To One ◽  
Ethical Clearance

The final year dissertation is seen across many degrees as a capstone achievement. It is set apart from other assessments in terms of its magnitude, its requirement for originality, and the autonomy that students must show in completing it. It is also unique in that it is traditionally carried out within the context of a one-to-one supervisory relationship. However, dissertation modules are prey to a number of problems. First, the person carrying out the research may have difficulty in framing a quality, or even a feasible, research question. Second, where dissertations are based on original empirical work, ethical concerns are particularly crucial, but the ability of the student-researcher to appropriately engage with those concerns is substantially less than that of a mature researcher. Third, support comes from a single source, but the supervisory relationship may be poor, or perceived as poor relative to the supervision experienced by peers. This case study describes a suite of changes that were made to one dissertation module to ameliorate these potential problems. Specifically, supervisors create project frameworks that students work within and the responsibility for getting ethical clearance for these is a supervisor’s responsibility. In addition, a substantial programme of specialised support sessions was created to supplement supervision. We argue that these changes did not significantly undermine the autonomy and originality requirements of the module, and present evidence that suggests they had a substantial positive impact on students’ learning experience and academic achievement. Ideas for further ways in which the dissertation module could be improved are discussed.

scholarly journals Experiential Learning for First Year Engineering through Outreach with a Local Community Hospital

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abbey Desjarlais ◽  
Robert V. Fleisig
Keyword(s):  
Experiential Learning ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Community Outreach ◽  
Occupational Therapists ◽  
First Year ◽  
Practice Experience ◽  
Industry Professionals ◽  
Mcmaster University

The lecture is the staple of university learning. It can be effective in the teaching of fundamental engineering subjects such as calculus and physics. However, it offers little in bringing students to understand the role of the engineering profession and its practice. With limited budgets, time and resources, and large first year classes, creating a poignant learning experience for our students is immensely challenging. Yet the university classroom offers an unparalleled opportunity given its diverse pool of talent, skill, and ambition. With guidance our students have the ability to not only meet our high academic expectations but also make a real difference for people in their local communities. At McMaster University, our entire first year engineering cohort is contributing to their local community through interactions with medical professionals and their clients. With an increased emphasis on design, experiential learning, and community outreach we at McMaster University have developed a unique first year course that involves the design of rehabilitation devices in collaboration with occupational therapists, researchers, industry professionals, and local volunteers. The project provides students with a rich and real-world practice experience as well as benefiting those clients with unique problems. This paper describes the successful collaboration between the Hand Therapy Clinic at Hamilton General Hospital and the Engineering 1 programme at McMaster University. The occupational therapists at the clinic presented 800+ first year engineering students with a challenge: design a dynamic elbow orthosis for the unique problems faced by two of their clients. Volunteers from the local community of occupational therapists, industry professionals, and biomedical researchers worked with the students to help them design, build, and test their designs. The paper highlights the challenges of teaching the large class using experiential learning and outlines the approaches for challenging students with unique problems that demand creativity.

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