Ways to develop entrepreneurial thinking among students

Fostering an entrepreneurial mindset in students is critical to promoting innovation and creativity. By introducing students to entrepreneurial concepts and opportunities, you will empower them think criticallysolve problems and take initiative. This participation not only prepares students for dynamic work, but also equips them with the skills to start their own business and create a successful future.

At Cardiff Metropolitan University, entrepreneurship is built into our curriculum. learning, teaching and student engagement strategy. All academic programs cover Cardiff met EDGEwhich exposes students to ethical, digital, global and entrepreneurial opportunities.

We define entrepreneurship using European Entrepreneurial Competence Framework (EntreComp), which identifies 15 key skills that promote an entrepreneurial mindset. All programs and activities are mapped to this framework to ensure our community of learners develops a wide range of key skills.

Attracting, empowering and equipping students

Our support is consistent with that of the Welsh Government. Youth Entrepreneurship Strategy (YES) which focuses on three topics; engage, empower and equip. We operate at every level to ensure that each person is supported appropriately at every stage of their entrepreneurial journey. ‘Engagement’ includes light engagement activities such as information booths, lectures and networking events, ‘Empowerment’ focuses on developing key entrepreneurial skills – for example through our weekly workshops, which cover topics such as finance for founders or creating small business, and ‘equipment’ level support is suitable for our students who are actively in the process of starting a business, and includes one-on-one business advice, intensive business training courses and test trading opportunities.

Alongside this, we regularly collect student feedback on what we offer, what students would like to see in the future and what topics or skills they think they could improve on, so we can ensure our offer meets their needs.

Curriculum provisions

Thanks to the academic staff involved, the Cardiff Metro Enterprise Center regularly seeks specialist support and a range of workshops that act as a ‘ready-to-go’ programme, tailored to the subject required and delivered at the appropriate academic level. Topics include developing an entrepreneurial mindset, an entrepreneurial approach to the world, a sustainable future, networking, presentation skills and more.

The success of our efforts regularly results in requests to collaborate on interactive modules to provide real-world, hands-on experience, as evidenced by Cardiff Met MSc Marketing students receiving real-life social media consultancy content from our graduate start-up network as part of their assessment. .

Enterprise and business community

Our new community of businesses and entrepreneurs brings together employees interested in further developing their knowledge of entrepreneurship education. The initiative, promoted and supported by our Quality Improvement Office, aims to support colleagues in developing the entrepreneurial capabilities and know-how of their students. Monthly events feature short presentations from scholars who are currently incorporating entrepreneurship into their programs to share best practices with others who, in turn, are beginning to consider entrepreneurship education in their teaching. This focus allows multiple colleagues to view the agenda through the lens of their discipline. The community also has a virtual channel where members can collectively share experiences, case studies, external publications and knowledge related to entrepreneurship education.

Top Tips for Developing an Entrepreneurial Mindset

• Finding the right wording is key: sometimes students see the word “entrepreneurship” and turn off because they think starting a business is not for them. We emphasize again and again that entrepreneurial skills are available to everyone, regardless of their chosen career path. For example, we run a weekly series of “Curious…” workshops that spark curiosity and investigative skills while teaching entrepreneurial skills without explicitly mentioning business or entrepreneurship.
• Make your workshops as practical and fun as possible: create interactive and fun activities This may not seem related to entrepreneurship at first, but then illustrate and explain what entrepreneurial skills they learned from them and how it benefits them.
• Try to ‘plant the seeds’ early with light activities to develop entrepreneurial skills at Level 4, and then refine them at Levels 5 and 6: consistency in delivery and reaching as many touchpoints as possible will help open students’ eyes to the potential of their newly acquired skills. entrepreneurial skills.
• Leverage collaboration: Find and connect with students and scholars who are passionate and interested in entrepreneurship to facilitate collaboration. Through these collaborations, you will be able to demonstrate your impact and spread it to the rest of the student and academic communities.

We recognize the fortunate position we are in at the Cardiff Metro Enterprise Center to have a dedicated team as well as support for our university-wide strategy. This allows us to try new things, change direction, and take risks to ensure we are always providing the best possible benefit to our students.

For those wondering how these strategies can be applied to different resources, just start somewhere and start small. Adapt and use your own entrepreneurial skills to catalyze their development in your students.

Isabelle Ford and Hannah Willis are Entrepreneurship Champions at Cardiff Metropolitan University’s Enterprise Centre.

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Cardiff Metropolitan University shortlisted for Outstanding Entrepreneurial University V Higher Education Times Awards 2024 #THEAwards. The full list of shortlisted candidates can be found found here.