Feeling, Touching and Seeing Entrepreneurship at Work Colin Bottomley Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship @ Strathclyde University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland Oxford Brookes University October 20th 2006

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Feeling, Touching and Seeing
Entrepreneurship at Work Colin
BottomleyHunter Centre for Entrepreneurship _at_
StrathclydeUniversity of Strathclyde, Glasgow,
ScotlandOxford Brookes UniversityOctober
20th 2006
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Teaching Entrepreneurship _at_ Strathclyde (1)

• University of Strathclyde encourages/requires its
  undergraduate population to take elective classes
  throughout a 4 year undergraduate programme
• All 5 Faculties
• Electives can be taken from within ones own
  department or other departments

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Entrepreneurship _at_ Strathclyde (2)

• Enables HCE to offer a portfolio of classes to
  students from any academic year and any academic
  discipline
• HCE offers only elective classes
• For as opposed to about
• For entrepreneurship became part of HCE
  philosophy

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Underpinning Philosophy (1)

• HCE strives to assist its students to develop
  entrepreneurial skills that have become
  pre-requisites to future careers in both public
  and private sectors as well as establishing ones
  own business
• It is believed that the appropriate
  entrepreneurial skills will include
• Continually seeking new ideas for development
• Knowing what resources will be required to
  convert those ideas into something workable and
  knowing where to get the requisite resources
• Assessing the risk and what degree of risk is
  acceptable to the individual
• Having the persistence to see it through

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Experience of Learning
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Underpinning Philosophy

• HCE believes that entrepreneurial skills are
  best developed by Practical Entrepreneurship
• Exploration in creating new ventures
• And, importantly
• Feeling, Touching Seeing entrepreneurship at
  work by working for and with entrepreneurs.

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Feeling, Touching And Seeing Entrepreneurship _at_
Work (FTSE_at_Work)

• Two electives that are offered under this banner
• Venture Management 12 week elective
• Implementing Entrepreneurship 8 week full-time
  placement
• Students have to complete at least two other HCE
  electives to be accepted. Need to know the
  participating students.
• Students need to see entrepreneurs as clients

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Venture Management Format

• 4,5 x 2-hour interactive sessions
• Short taught inputs Focus on company growth
• Entrepreneur inputs live case studies
• Groups of 4 students formed mix of academic
  backgrounds
• 7.5 x 2hour interactions with host entrepreneur
  in his/her company
• Work on small business development project
• HCE provides one hour tutorials each week for the
  group
• Other meetings as required
• Week 12 group make formal presentation to the
  entrepreneur and present final report to host.

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Venture Management

• Benefits of cross-faculty/ cross-year/
  cross-cultural approach no first year students
• Range of disciplines brings a variety of
  experience, approaches attitudes
• Practice in working in multi-disciplines
  multi-cultural teams
• An opportunity for students to meet peers from
  other disciplines
• Simulation of real-world, post-graduate
  environment

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Organisational Issues

• Timing
• Classes have to be fitted in with other
  timetables
• Making visits - locality
• Currently 12-2 is most appropriate
• But encroachment is a problem
• Tutorial Issue
• Timings
• Formation of groups mixed groups see above
• Policing tutorial and group attendance
• Class attendance
• Compared to traditional lecture classes

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Venture Management

• Assessment
• No examinations
• Group project is major assessed work 50 of
  Marks
• Marks for the presentation
• Individual assignments
• - Company Profile
• - Reflective Learning Summaries

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Implementing Entrepreneurship

• Summer Vacation programme
• Full-time, 8 weeks of paid employment in an
  entrepreneurial business c. 5.50 per hour
• For credit focused on 3rd year going on 4th
  year students
• Focus on business development project
• Tutor support not formal as and when required
• Short Induction day
• - managing the project
• - managing entrepreneurs expectations

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Implementing Entrepreneurship

• Student normally has completed Venture Management
  beforehand must have completed two others
• Projects must be legal, moral and ethical!!
• Locality travel to work commuting distance
• When necessary host assists with travel expenses
• Focus is on the project, but, students needs to
  be part of the team subscribes to company
  rules and regulations

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Implementing Entrepreneurship

• Assessment
• Management report constitutes 50 of the total
  mark
• Final presentation is assessed presentation is
  made to entrepreneur and class leaders only
• Confidentiality by HCE and by student
• Detailed company profile 20
• Reflective Learning summaries 30

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FTSE_at_WORK

• ISSUES
• Finding projects is very time consuming though
  great fun meeting with entrepreneurs
• Projects sourced through networks, HCE databases,
  personal contacts
• Need to meet with twice as many companies as
  students to get project with right mix
• No choice for the students, limited choice for
  the entrepreneur
• Duty of care / ethics

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FTSE _at_ WORK

• Resource constraints
• Cost efficiency versus cost effectiveness for HCE
• Benefits to HCE
• ONE failure Engineering student found it
  difficult to have the freedom of making own
  decisions liked being guided by tutor in
  department

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KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER PARTNERSHIPS (KTP)

• HCE OFFERS KTP, TWO YEAR SECONDMENT PROJECTS
  WITH LOCAL SMALLER BUSINESSES
• The very topmost rung of the ladder of learning
  extended period of real secondment with tutorial
  backup
• Real benefits to student, to company and to HCE
  best where there is a really strategic business
  issue as the project.

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KTP

• Government Funded Programme 25 years
• Company and University department recruit high
  calibre graduate for 1.5 -3 year programme of
  work strategic issues
• Transfers knowledge under joint supervision
• Company-based training for recent graduate
• Stimulates/enhances business relevant training
  and research undertaken
• Increases interaction by businesses with academic
  departments enhances contributions to company
  growth

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KTP

• Small business picks up 40 of overall costs of
  project
• Graduate receives full salary for duration of
  the project
• 2004/5 77 permanent jobs created in Scotland
  for graduates completing their projects equates
  to 55 of overall graduates being recruited to
  companies - KTP Annual Report -2004/5 ( 75
  actually offered jobs)

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FTSE_at_WORK

• From all 3 programmes some common threads
• Value from experience, deep learning
• Value of team working and mixed groups and/or
• Value of individual projects
• Value of independent working in the SME
• Success of programmes judged on a mix of
• Knowledge, skills, employability, career paths
  and new business start-ups

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FTSE_at_WORK

• Implications
• All 3 Programmes are successful for the long
  term. Programmes are entirely relevant as
  stand-alone or in combination of offerings.
• Not necessarily in any order
• All provide
• Skills, benefits to a range of organisations
  through flow of students into SMEs
• Increased Graduate recruitment by SMEs
• Break down stereotypes
• Barriers?
• Resourcing programmes in house programmes