IVA 2020 Workshop for entrepreneurship educators
The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences organized two workshops on 9-10 November for entrepreneurship educators. The focus was on what is needed to improve the conditions for entrepreneurship education, i.e. how can we work to influence policymakers, decision makers and others to see the importance of entrepreneurship education and increase their support.
The first workshop focused on creating a discussion forum for different issues facing entrepreneurship education in Sweden. The first topic was the role that entrepreneurship education should play in society. In this session, the importance of the entrepreneurial mindset or attitude as an outcome of entrepreneurship education was highlighted, alongside the creation of new ventures. Another main topic was teaching practices and methods within the actual teaching situations. The third topic was stakeholders’ support of entrepreneurship education as part of interaction with the broader entrepreneurial ecosystem surrounding higher educational insitutions in general, and entrepreneurship education in particular. The last and forth topic was on how adopting digital tools and distance learning practices, due to the current Covid-19 pandemic, has affected entrepreneurship education, and in what way that effect is perceived.
The second workshop focused on identifying challenges, and potential solutions, regarding what is needed to improve the conditions for entrepreneurship education in Sweden. The discussions and presentations addressed how entrepreneurship educators, together with IVA, can work to influence policymakers, decision makers and others to see the importance of entrepreneurship education and increase support. Through breakout groups, the participants put forward an array of ideas regarding solving this important and highly relevant issue.
Major topics included in the second workshop were: Identifying different stakeholder needs in regards to entrepreneurship education, and assessing what might fulfill those needs in terms of actions, information, and metrics; The dilemma of reconciling the venture creation side of entrepreneurship education with the skills and learning focused side; The allocation of resources for entrepreneurship education nationally, and how to both leverage and augment these using collaboration with both public and private sector actors.
- My participation in the two AVI workshops on entrepreneurship education did provide me with valuable insights from a wide range of entrepreneurship educators who come from various university affiliations across Sweden. That really enhanced my understanding of, and deepened my engagement in, the field, as a researcher and educator in entrepreneurship myself, says Hani Elzoumor, PhD student at the Unit for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the School of Business, Economics and Law, University of Gothenburg.