A paper from the Built Environment Conference 2005.
The title of this presentation 'Developing Entrepreneurship Skills in Higher Education' refers primarily to the development of entrepreneurship skills in students through teaching and learning of and about entrepreneurship; and secondarily to the development of entrepreneurial faculties staff and universities. While different - the two activities are linked as the teaching of entrepreneurship and requisite entrepreneurial skills requires both knowledgeable staff and innovative pedagogy such as internships or business plan competitions not usually part of the standard university teaching program.
Over the last decades more than one initiative or reform movement in Higher Education provision has addressed skills requirements and actual or perceived educational deficiencies. There was - in no particular order - the key skills agenda C&IT skills transferable skills recently followed by employability and entrepreneurship skills. Academics may wonder if this latest push for the provision of entrepreneurship skills in HE is yet another attempt at downgrading higher education to training - invariably taking away time to convey subject-specific knowledge in their academic field and/or forcing them to teach something they feel not competent to do. Reversely employers and professionals may ask themselves whether this initiative (finally) will help produce more able fit-for-the-job graduates? Or they may ask whether the focus on leadership creativity innovation and financial management etc. will distract students from acquiring other professionally relevant skills?
