Enterprise and Entrepreneurship in Higher Education

Enterprise can be defined as ‘the generation and application of ideas, which are set within practical situations during a project or undertaking... It combines creativity, originality, initiative, idea generation, design thinking, adaptability and reflexivity with problem identification, problem solving, innovation, expression, communication and practical action’ QAA 2018, p.7.*

Entrepreneurship education is defined as ‘the application of enterprise behaviours, attributes and competencies into the creation of cultural, social or economic value. This can, but does not exclusively, lead to venture creation’ QAA 2018, p.7.*

'Approaches to teaching and learning, by their very nature, often encompass entrepreneurial learning. Regardless of whether these are labelled as enterprise and entrepreneurship education, the enhancement of appropriate skills, knowledge, attributes and behaviours necessary for transforming creative ideas into actions are of ever increasing importance.' Advance HE, 2019, p.2.*

*See Useful resources and sites

Essential frameworks for enhancing student success: Enterprise and Entrepreneurship

Published in 2019, the Framework for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Education is comprised of four layers relating to:

• the nature of enterprise and entrepreneurship education
• the learner and their journey
• the role and value of the educator
• the institution and its culture, processes and practices.

This guide unpacks each layer in greater detail, whilst presenting a range of approaches, resources and tools to help you implement the framework.

Adding value through enterprise and entrepreneurship education in higher education

To explore the topic of what enterprise and entrepreneurship education can add to the experiences of students, the Embedding Enterprise in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences project was developed in collaboration with Advance HE, SFEDI, the UK Government recognised Sector Skills Organisation for enterprise and business support, and higher education providers across the sector. 

This collection of case studies from project participants explores how to embed enterprise and entrepreneurship education within a range of different academic disciplines.

Engaging students in entrepreneurship education

This short report sets out some of the key challenges in moving enterprise and entrepreneurship education forward, in order to ensure that it is appropriately embedded across institutions and that there is engagement in it across Departments and Faculties. 

Professor Nick Williams, University of Leeds, author of the report, introduces the report in his blog, discussing the growth in this area and how measures of impact need to improve.

Join the conversation on Advance HE Connect

Advance HE Connect now has more than 14,000 users that have come together to engage on key HE topics including equality and inclusion, teaching and learning and student success.

The aim of the Employability and Enterprise space is to enable all participants to share, connect, and collaborate with a specific focus on employability and enterprise. Over time this site will host an array of useful resources, research, guidance and case studies linked to employability, enterprise, entrepreneurial education and a variety of thematic areas that transcend this landscape (e.g. authentic assessment, flexible learning, attainment, progression, students as partners etc.). The community is specifically designed to remain flexible, evolving and developing as you help shape the future of the community.