Developing a scalable 'entrepreneurship eundamentals' program

The growing recognition of the importance of entrepreneurship and innovation for social and economic development, has led to a dramatic expansion in demand for entrepreneurship education and training at the tertiary (University) level. Many universities are today moving to include entrepreneurship training across a broad range of programs – with the aim of encouraging all students to consider entrepreneurial career options after their graduations. This trend creates a need for a “foundation principles” course, which can accommodate large groups of students with diverse educational backgrounds, interests, and motivation levels. There is also a need to develop educational programs which could be delivered both on-campus (as part of a conventional degree program) and incorporated into other delivery models (including distance education and as a component of “Executive Education” programs). This paper examines the approach taken by Macquarie University’s Macquarie Institute for Innovation (MII). As a newly established academic unit, MII was tasked with the mission of “…raising the spirit of entrepreneurship across the university…”, necessitating the development and delivery of a course that could be effectively delivered to all of the University’s undergraduate students without overloading the department’s limited teaching staff. After considering several alternatives, MII moved to deploy a mixed-mode program, comprising an internally developed “on-line” core (accessible through the University’s WebCT environment) complemented with highly structured tutorials/workshops, that could be delivered either in regular “on-campus” classes, or in block-mode on client site when used as part of an executive education program. The model has been successfully deployed at Macquarie for an undergraduate academic unit, and in a training program for a major, government-funded research organization. Currently it is being considered for adoption by a private Israeli educational institution. This paper takes the form of a case study, examining the design and structure of the program, and some of the student feedback from the program’s initial delivery.