Entrepreneurial Mindset Education is a special interest group of the Entrepreneurial Mindset Network and aims to support the use of the entrepreneurial mindset in Higher Education by students, educators, professional services staff and Higher Education leaders We provide:
Many people use the phrase “entrepreneurial mindset” but it is often used in a vague or ill-defined way. To solve this problem, the Entrepreneurial Mindset Network has created an easy to understand, common sense and practical definition of the entrepreneurial mindset based on 7 essential entrepreneurial behaviours.
What makes this definition of the entrepreneurial mindset distinctive is that is based on entrepreneurial behaviours. The focus is on helping people to think, act and behave like an entrepreneur. This definition of the entrepreneurial mindset is relevant not just to entrepreneurs but also students in every academic discipline, educators and researchers, and the leaders of academics and professional support staff.
Other definitions of the entrepreneurial mindset focus on skills. However, these definitions are often made up of generic business or transferable skills, and they fail to capture the distinct nature of entrepreneurship. Action, and therefore behaviour, is central to the concept of entrepreneurship. Skills are the abilities you have learned. Behaviour is the act of putting those skills to good use.
The advantage of our approach is that people can learn to change their behaviours and make good use of their existing knowledge and skills. People are often trained in a range of skills that they may or may not use. We describe our 7 entrepreneurial behaviours as essential not optional. Essential behaviours challenge people to make full use of their skills.
Our proposition is that HE staff often have the right skills, they just need to change their behaviours. Entrepreneurs and HE employees may work in very different contexts yet they possess similar skills. What distinguishes entrepreneurs from HE employees is how they behave, the way they apply those skills. Academics, professional support staff, managers and leaders can gain substantial benefits by adopting an entrepreneurial mindset.
Students
Students of any academic discipline can benefitfrom developing an entrepreneurial mindset.The mindset empowers them to achieve their career ambitions as entrepreneurs or employees in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. It enables them to discover how to make their unique contribution to the world.
The study of entrepreneurial ways of thinking and acting should not be confined to the business school. The entrepreneurial mindset can be found in the study of the arts, law, economics, psychology, sociology, computing, engineering, media, medicine and health. There are increasing opportunities for students to study creativity, innovation and risk taking in relation to their core subject discipline and to have opportunities to learn by doing, in applied projects and work placements.
For educators
Educators can benefit from having an entrepreneurial mindset. It helps them to teach students to develop the mindset. Educators can also use the mindset to infuse their teaching, research, administration and external engagement with greater innovation. The mindset also helps to improve productivity and achieve a healthy work/life balance.
For professional services
The learning process, in which students and educators are engaged, is supported by a wide range of professional services, including libraries, learning resources and careers. Knowledge exchange staff provide an interface to industry and society. The entrepreneurial mindset supports customer service, innovation, risk taking and financial sustainability.
For leaders
The entrepreneurial mindset enables senior staff to undertake entrepreneurial leadership, that is, leading in a way which is informed by how entrepreneurs think and act.The results are higher levels of engagement and motivation amongst employees, increased innovation and risk taking, and higher levels of productivity
Research students
Research students play a vital role in the creation of new knowledge and there is increasing emphasis in understanding and demonstrating the economic and social impact of this knowledge. The entrepreneurial mindset helps researchers to reflect on the applied nature of their research, to improve their innovation skills, to act ethically whilst also daring to take risks, to improve their productivity and to manage their career ambitions, especially given the challenges of securing permanent academic jobs.
Curriculum
The validated curriculum is the mechanism by which educators specify the knowledge, skills and attitudes that students will gain as a result of their studies. The entrepreneurial mindset goes beyond generic, transferable skills and envisions the benefits students, in any academic discipline, can gain from learning to think and act like an entrepreneur. The mindset is not just a nice-to-have. It is an essential ability needed by all students if they are going to be empowered to achieve their life and career ambitions.
Knowledge exchange
Professional services support research, knowledge exchange, and the provision of support to local small business, to industry and society. These staff use their entrepreneurial mindset to bridge the gap between education and the real-world, acting as translators, boundary-spanners, negotiators and fixers.
Organisational development
Staff in Human Resources, including Learning and Organisational Development Managers, have a crucial role to play in creating a strategy that helps individuals to develop the right mindset and builds an organisational culture that is fit-for-purpose, able to deliver excellent performance and secure long-term sustainability.
Career paths
The mindset empowers students to achieve their career ambitions not just as entrepreneurs but as employees in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. Employers want students who have the right mindset and skills such as innovation, self-efficacy and leadership. The entrepreneurial mindset is not just about securing employment and creating economic value. It encourages and emboldens students to discover how they can make their unique contribution to the world.
Teaching and assessment
The focus of the entrepreneurial mindset is on taking action and, therefore, educators need to devise approaches to teaching that are grounded in 'learning though doing' with the aim of enabling students to ultimately be able to apply their knowledge and skills to the creation of value in society. Teaching can be enriched by educators sharing the impact of their research and external engagement with students. Formative assessment is an opportunity to help students innovate, to take risks and to develop the confidence to embrace learning through failure.
Incubation
Staff in incubators help connect students and educators into the local, regional, national and international innovation ecosystems. They use their entrepreneurial mindset to support the planning and launch of new enterprises, helping people to turn their ideas into a business reality.
Learning support
Students and educators rely on the support of a variety of professional services. The staff in these services can benefit from having an entrepreneurial mindset. It helps them to bring an entrepreneurial way of thinking and acting into service design and delivery and this in turn improves customer satisfaction.
We aim to gather inspiring stories from the members of our international Network and share them on this website. You can find inspiration and reflect on your own practice. Click on an image to read or download a story. You can also share your own story, bringing your lessons and experiences to the attention of like-minded people around the world.
We aim to facilitate networking amongst an international community of people and organisations who share a commitment to using the entrepreneurial mindset to create social value and impact
Join the Network
It is quick and easy to become a member of the Network by clicking the [JOIN THE NETWORK] at the top of any page on this website. Membership is free. You have the option to add your membership to your LinkedIn profile - instructions how to do this are in your welcome message when you join.
SHINE PROJECT
The Scaling Higher Education Innovation using the Entrepreneurial Mindset Project (SHINE) is an international community of Higher Education professionals who are collaborating to create practical know-how about scaling innovation capacity in Higher Education.
Interactive webinars
We organise interactive webinars for the members of our community. What makes our webinars distinctive is the emphasis on enabling a conversation, one which allows an exchange of views between community members and the co-creation of actions that will support change. After each webinar, we produce a summary of the key lessons and make a PDF available for download.
OECD EECOLE
The Entrepreneurial Mindset Network is a member of the OECD's EECOLE (Entrepreneurship Education Collaboration and Engagement) Network.
EECOLE aims to help identify the skills bundle characterising the entrepreneurial mindset, as well as good practices and approaches to promote its development, and toenhance the connections between HEIs, businesses and other partners in their own communities to foster entrepreneurial and resilient ecosystems.
Paul Coyle
Paul Coyle is the Founder and Director of the Entrepreneurial Mindset Network. He is an expert in the entrepreneurial mindset, leadership and organisational transformation. You can view Paul's LinkedIn profile, and follow or connect with him.
Industry-academia collaboration
The Entrepreneurial Mindset Network is a member of the Community of practice on industry-academia collaboration, established by the European Commission.
Members of the community represent a broad range of research and innovation stakeholders, including universities, public and private research organisations, large companies and SMEs, technology and knowledge transfer offices, umbrella associations, multi-stakeholder partnerships, civil society organisations and national or local authorities.
Our mission is to empower our members to use the mindset so that they can make their unique contribution to the world. Use our defintion of the mindset. Find inspiration in the examples from around the world. Add new connections from our global community to your network. Register for a Master Class. Apply for E-STAR accreditation.
E-STAR Accreditation
E-STAR is an international accreditation that rewards Higher Education Institutions for their commitment to using the entrepreneurial mindset as the catalyst for higher quality and continuous improvement.
Higher Education Institutions are assessed by a group of international peer reviewers who evaluate the application of the Entrepreneurial mindset in Student education, Transfer of knowledge to business, Academic innovation and Regional impact.
E-STAR takes an entrepreneurial approach to accreditation, and, therefore, is able to reduce the time from application to award and deliver significant value for money.
Management & Science University, located in Shah Alam the state capital of Selangor in Malaysia, has become the first Higher Education Institution in the world to be awarded E-STAR Accreditation.
Workshop for PhD researchers
Research students of any academic discipline can learn how to use an entrepreneurial mindset to strengthen their research practice, output and impact, to navigate working in Higher Education and to explore their options for future career paths.
This interactive workshop is designed to help research students engage in applied research, to be more innovative, to increase their productivity and to explore their options for future career paths. It is relevant to research students of any academic discipline.
Sample Feedback inlcudes * Really thought-provoking * Very motivating * Mind opening * Learned lots * Really useful*
All participants will be awarded a certificate and given instructions so that they can add their certificate, including a unique Credential ID, to their LinkedIn profile.
Entrepreneurial leadership
The entrepreneurial mindset enables senior staff to undertake an entrepreneurial approach to every aspect of leading an educational organisation, that is, leading in a way which is informed by how entrepreneurs think and act. The results are higher levels of engagement and motivation amongst employees, increased innovation and risk taking, higher levels of productivity and improved attention to delivering quality outcomes.
Entrepreneurial leadership generates a can-do attitude amongst employees. As individuals gain an entrepreneurial mindset, the culture of the whole organisation starts to change for the better. This combination of individual mindset and organisational culture is extremely powerful. The implementation of plans for organisational transformation is accelerated, outcomes for stakeholders are improved and the organisation establishes a competitive edge.
Workshop for students
Students of any academic discipline can benefit from developing an entrepreneurial mindset.The mindset empowers them to achieve their career ambitions as entrepreneurs or employees in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. It enables them to discover how to make their unique contribution to the world. This workshop can be delivered as part of the validated curriculum for an existing module, course or award or as an extra-curricula activity. The workshop can be delivered online or in person.
Sample Feedback includes * Brilliant * Insightful * Excellent * Provoking * Very focussed * Very useful * Thanks a million *
The content of each session is adapted to each academic discipline and to every level of study: undergraduate, taught postgraduate and executive education.
[To discuss a workshop for students]
Entrepreneurial leadership Master Class
The Entrepreneurial Mindset Network provides a highly-rated master class on Entrepreneurial Leadership in Higher Education. It provides practical guidance that can be used to generate greater impact by leaders, supporting their strategic and operational responsibilities. The focus is on enabling participants to identify actions that they will be able to take as soon as they return to their desks and that will deliver real change. The Master Class can be delivered online or in person.
Sample Feedback includes: * Thought provoking * Very insightful * Great worked examples * Very helpful * Enjoyable * Helped me to critically evalaute my leadership * Gave me a lot to think about * Pushed me *
All participants will be awarded a certificate and given instructions so that they can add their certificate, including a unique Credential ID, to their LinkedIn profile.
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Email: education@entrepreneurial-mindset.network
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Mail: Entrepreneurial Mindset Network, 7 allées de Chartres, 33000 Bordeaux, France.
