Entrepreneurship Education at Universities a Benchmark Study

Transcription

1 Background Report Entrepreneurship Education at Universities a Benchmark Study Background Report for the Entrepreneurship Index 2004 December 2004

2 Table of contents 1 Summary Introduction The structure of the report Purpose Scope Why is entrepreneurship education important? Entrepreneurial skills in Denmark Methodology Benchmark-method applied Selection of countries and universities Learning from best-practice Dimensions of entrepreneurship education Questionnaire Field trips and case description Analysis Introduction Share of students attending courses in entrepreneurship Universities Business schools Technical universities Summary Approaches to entrepreneurship education Comparing the United States, Canada and Denmark Country performance in the five dimensions of entrepreneurship education Country rankings on the five dimensions Education Scope Questions on education scope University performance Best-practice Summary Education set-up Questions on education set-up University ranking Best Practice Summary Institutional characteristics Questions on institutional characteristics University performance Best Practice Summary Outreach Questions on outreach University performance Best Practice Summary Evaluation Question on evaluation

3 University rankings on evaluation Best Practice Summary Main conclusions Main results Share of students participating in entrepreneurship education Overall prioritisation of entrepreneurship Ongoing relation with private business Resources Student involvement Education of teacher-entrepreneurs Breaking down institutions - one-dimensional universities and business schools Questionnaire Web sites

4 List of Figures Figure 5.1: University performance...21 Figure 5.2: Average ranking on the five dimensions in the United States, Canada, and Denmark - and the average ranking for the top-3 US universities Figure 5.3: Areas covered in education scope...27 Figure 5.4: Average ranking for the United States, Canada and Denmark Education scope...30 Figure 5.5: Areas covered in education set-up...35 Figure 5.6: Average ranking for the United States, Canada and Denmark Education set-up...38 Figure 5.7: Areas covered in institutional characteristics...45 Figure 5.8: Average ranking for the United States, Canada and Denmark - Institutional characteristics...47 Figure 5.9: Areas covered in outreach...54 Figure 5.10: Average ranking for the United States, Canada and Denmark - Outreach...56 Figure 5.11: Areas covered in evaluation...61 Figure 5.12: Average ranking for the United States, Canada and Denmark - Evaluation...63 Figure 7.1: Comparing one-dimensional universities and business schools...69 List of Tables Table 4.1: Selected universities in the United States, Canada, and Denmark...13 Table 5.1: Comparing universities in the United States, Canada and Denmark

5 List of Boxes Box 5.1: Entrepreneurship education at MIT...19 Box 5.2: Entrepreneurship education at Cornell University...20 Box 5.3: Babson s overall approach to entrepreneurship education...22 Box 5.4: Entrepreneurship education at HIBAT, Denmark...22 Box 5.5: Business plan courses at MIT...30 Box 5.6: The Bachelor programme at the University of Victoria, Canada...31 Box 5.7: Graduate and post-graduate level courses at Stanford...32 Box 5.8: MBAs at University of Texas and the University of California (San Diego)...33 Box 5.9: Executive education at Babson College...34 Box 5.10: Entrepreneurial research at the University of Pennsylvania...34 Box 5.11: Practitioner involvement at the University of Texas...38 Box 5.12: Teachers with an entrepreneurial background at MIT...39 Box 5.13: Entrepreneurship education training programs at Babson College and UC Berkeley...39 Box 5.14: Internships at Cornell...40 Box 5.15: Business relations at MIT...40 Box 5.16: Role models at Berkeley...41 Box 5.17: Developing student personalities at Harvard...41 Box 5.18: Experimental pedagogy at the University of Victoria and the University of Texas...42 Box 5.19: Experimental pedagogy in Denmark...43 Box 5.20: Promoting a university-wide approach to entrepreneurship at Stanford...43 Box 5.21: Incentive structures at Cornell University...48 Box 5.22: Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of Southern California...49 Box 5.23: Student involvement at UCLA...50 Box 5.24: Business involvement at Cornell...50 Box 5.25: Networking activities at Berkeley...51 Box 5.26: Interdisciplinary activities at Stanford...51 Box 5.27: Facilities at the Center for Entrepreneurship...52 Box 5.28: Transfer of credits at MIT...52 Box 5.29: Faculty involvement at Cornell...53 Box 5.30: Entrepreneurship education as part of the educational vision at Babson College...53 Box 5.31: Incubators at knowledge institutions in Copenhagen...56 Box 5.32: Incubators at Babson College...57 Box 5.33: Incubators at the University of Texas...58 Box 5.34: Mentors at Babson College...58 Box 5.35: Venture capital at Cornell...59 Box 5.36: Alumni organisations at Cornell...59 Box 5.37: IPR counsel at MIT...60 Box 5.38: Business plan competitions at the University of Texas, Austin...61 Box 5.39: Entrepreneurship replication at Cornell...63 Box 5.40: Monitoring education effects at Stanford University...64 Box 5.41: Stakeholder needs at Babson College

6 1 Summary This report benchmarks entrepreneurship education across 10 US, 10 Canadian and 7 Danish universities. The report points to a number of differences in the share of students that attend classes in entrepreneurship, and identifies diverging trends in the scope and magnitude of entrepreneurship activities across the 27 universities. American universities have the highest share of entrepreneurship students and the most extensive number of activities in entrepreneurship, followed by Canada and Denmark. Student participation in entrepreneurship education is particularly strong in US business schools. At some business schools entrepreneurship courses are mandatory, and where courses are optional, the lion s share of students attends at least one entrepreneurship course. In the United States entrepreneurship education is spilling over into traditional universities. In Denmark, entrepreneurial courses are available in higher education, but enrolment remains low. Research in entrepreneurial activities are split into five separate dimensions; education [scope], education [set-up], institutional characteristics, outreach and evaluation. As far as education scope, education set-up and institutional traits, the United States, to some extent, Canada have significantly higher activity levels compared to their Danish counterparts, while activity levels in the areas of outreach and evaluation are roughly the same across the three countries. Education scope - the report points to a number of significant differences when it comes to the range of entrepreneurial programmes offered at graduate and post graduate levels and in executive education/management training. Education set-up - the report identifies a number of differences in the way entrepreneurial courses deal with issues regarding the involvement of the business community (internships and use of role models). Institutional characteristics cover the interaction between students, the university itself, faculties and the business community. Data shows that US entrepreneurial programmes have strong ties with the university, the student body and the business community. Outreach covers the extent of support and guidance offered through entrepreneurship programmes. No distinct differences are detectable, except for alumni activities, where the United States and Canada have long-standing traditions. In terms of evaluation Danish universities generally match the records of the United States and Canada. Denmark ranks lower in extent of entrepreneurship programs being replicated by other institutions. The principal differences between Danish, Canadian and US universities can be summed up as follows: 6

7 o Prioritization of entrepreneurial activities o The amount of resources allocated to entrepreneurship activities o Extent of collaboration with the business community o Scope of student involvement o Teacher skills 2 Introduction In the report The New Economy: Beyond the Hype 1 the OECD identified four growth drivers essential to future competitiveness and wealth creation: o Entrepreneurship o Knowledge building and knowledge sharing o ICT o Human resources The area of entrepreneurship was the focus of the report: A benchmark study of entrepreneurship - what can Denmark learn? 2 The report concluded that: There is a link between policy and entrepreneurial activity. The best-performing countries also have the best framework conditions. The report identified five areas that are top priorities in the best-practice countries, areas which Denmark has failed to address. One of the areas, education, is the focus of this report. The report deals with entrepreneurship education in higher education. The availability of entrepreneurship programs at university level is important for a number of reasons: First of all, universities are instrumental in supplying relevant entrepreneurial skills. Furthermore, entrepreneurship education has a significant impact on university culture and the local community. Finally, universities that have a strong focus on entrepreneurial activities often assume an active role in regional business development. 2.1 The structure of the report The first part of the report explores the purpose of the benchmark study. This is followed by a description of the methodical approach, including the selection of countries and universities. The collected data and core analysis are presented. This section is split into two components: a run-down of selected countries and universities is followed by an indepth analysis of university performances within specific areas of entrepreneurship education. The analysis is complemented by a number of qualitative case studies that elaborates and exemplifies the quantitative analyses. 1 OECD (2001). The New Economy: Beyond the Hype The OECD Growth Project. 2 Kjeldsen, Charlotte et. al (2203). A benchmark studie of entrepreneurship What can Denmark learn? 7

8 Finally main conclusions are drawn, and areas where Denmark can learn from bestpractice universities are identified. 8

9 3 Purpose The overall objective of the report is to analyse to which extent entrepreneurship is an integral part of higher education across top-performing entrepreneurship countries (the United States and Canada) and how Denmark may draw inspiration from bestpractice initiatives. The past couple of years have witnessed a growing interest in placing entrepreneurship on the political agenda. The increased awareness has led to the drafting of two action programs: The Entrepreneurship Plan (January 2003) and A Society with Room for Free Initiative? (October 2003). Among other things the action programs address the issue of entrepreneurship education in entrepreneurship and innovation - and how Denmark can build solid entrepreneurial skills and facilitate a strong independence culture. Building on the objectives of the government action programs the report describes: 1. Best-practice in entrepreneurship education 2. The Danish approach to entrepreneurship education 3. Differences and similarities in the way entrepreneurship education is carried out in the United States, Canada and Denmark. 3.1 Scope All levels of education are important in creating a strong entrepreneurial and independent culture among youths. In primary and secondary education entrepreneurship education will not have an immediate impact on entrepreneurial activity. However project-based education and activities that promote creativity will help facilitate an independent approach to life. In higher education the effect of education on entrepreneurial activity is much stronger. Students are introduced to all aspects of entrepreneurship: screening, planning, financing, organisation, start-up, operation and growth; proficiencies essential to students that want to pursue a career as entrepreneurs and equally important for future venture capitalists, entrepreneurial advisors, intrapreneurs, concept developers and managers. 3.2 Why is entrepreneurship education important? Entrepreneurship education is important for a number of reasons: Universities as facilitators of an entrepreneurial culture - a strong focus on entrepreneurship will undoubtedly spill over to non-business students and help foster an entrepreneurial culture. Universities as mediator of skills entrepreneurship students pursuing an entrepreneurial career are equipped with a set of skills that will help them identify 9

10 viable business ideas and provide them with a practical approach to entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurial courses may complement general education for a broad range of students or serve as a specialist course for an elite group of entrepreneurship students. Universities as locomotives of regional business development - a strong political focus on entrepreneurship will likely boost university relations with other stakeholders in the entrepreneurial field and facilitate the creation of regional policies and favourable entrepreneurship infrastructures Entrepreneurial skills in Denmark A number of surveys reveal that many Danes are keen on starting their own business - and that quite a few become entrepreneurs compared to other countries. However, further analysis suggests that growth in newly-established businesses is limited. 3 It should be noted that Danish entrepreneurship skills are rated below most of its peers in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 4. The GEM suggests that focus be directed towards the further development of entrepreneurial skills, if Denmark is to successfully drive innovation and create high-growth business. The GEM highlights entrepreneurship education as one of the key elements in building a strong innovation capacity. A GEM report from 2001 criticised the structure of the Danish educational system, which was generally perceived as being overly focused on traditional wage earning jobs. The report also pointed to apparent lack of entrepreneurship programs and questioned the quality of courses offered. Benchmark studies suggest that a high level of entrepreneurial activity is closely linked to the quality of entrepreneurship education. While difficult to measure the direct impact of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurship, a number of surveys point to a positive effect on graduate careers paths: o Start-up rates are 3 times higher among graduates with an entrepreneurial background. When adjusting for demographic conditions, an entrepreneurial background will increase the probability of being actively involved in a startup by 25%. o High-technology company start-up rates are 13% higher for graduates with an entrepreneurial background. 5 Apart from the immediate impact on entrepreneurial activity 6 surveys suggest that entrepreneurship education leave students better prepared to cope with dynamic change. Thus entrepreneurial skills create value not only for entrepreneurs, but for established companies and society as a whole: 3 Benchmarking of Small and Medium size firms for 19 selected countries, National Agency for Enterprise and Construction (2004). Construction of growth indicators, Eurostat Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (2003). Denmark 2003 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, p Charney and Libecap (2000). Impact of Entrepreneurship Education 6 OECD (2004). Fostering Firm Creation and Entrepreneurship, Monitor Group (2004) Dynamic Benchmarking of Entrepreneurship Performance and Policy in Selected Countries. 10

11 o The income level in large corporations among graduates with an entrepreneurial background is 27% higher compared to other business school graduates o Growth in small firms that employ entrepreneurial graduates is 5 times higher compared to companies that employ other non-entrepreneurial business graduates 7 Given that many Danes have expressed a desire to start their own business, the lack of skills and slow growth in newly-established firms, and the fact that entrepreneurship education appear to be a vital framework condition, underlines the need for an indepth analysis of entrepreneurship education. 7 Charney and Libecap (2000). Impact of Entrepreneurship Education 11

12 4 Methodology This section describes the benchmark method applied and the fundamental hypothesis applied in building our analysis. 4.1 Benchmark-method applied The fundamental principle behind benchmarking lies in investigating the link between performance and framework conditions (the factors that determine performance). A benchmark-analysis involves a series of steps. Based on the performance data, units (universities) are ranked. This is followed by an analysis of best practice (processes and/or internal conditions that explain a high ranking). Best-practice thus becomes a benchmark for lower-ranked units. A benchmark analysis goes further than simply copying best-practice initiatives. By comparing individual units and best-practice, strengths and weaknesses are identified. It is the combination of the two that is the strong point of a benchmark analysis; it enables universities to further develop their strong areas and to address potential weak spots. University performance may be deduced from comparing entrepreneurial activity levels across universities. However no comparable data is available to measure the effects of entrepreneurial activity, such as start-up activity rates among entrepreneurial graduates, Selection of countries and universities Due to the lack of comparable data our analysis is exploratory by nature. Based on GEM data (2003), the selected countries have been ranked on the quality of entrepreneurship education at a university level. The United States, Canada and Singapore are identified as best-practice countries. While Singapore has gone through a period of rapid growth over the past two decades high productions costs have prompted a number of companies to relocate activities outside Singapore. This has led to an increased interest in promoting entrepreneurship. Singapore s cultural and educational framework differs significantly from Denmark s. Since the report focuses on knowledge-sharing we have chosen to focus our efforts exclusively on the United States and Canada. We selected the universities in the United States and Canada by consulting national and international ranking systems. For the United States, entrepreneurship rankings from the Financial Times, US News, Business Week, Entrepreneur Magazine, Success Magazine and entrepreneur.com have been applied. Rankings are based on a variety of criteria and are not homogenous. While difficult to select the indisputably best universities, we have selected 10 programs that generally receive high marks in various entrepreneurial rankings (Table 4.1). Canada does not have the same tradition for ranking entrepreneurial programs. However, a Canadian researcher has identified a range of entrepreneurial programs 12

13 that are particularly interesting or unique in the way they are set up. 8 Thus we have consulted The Report of a National Study for Entrepreneurship in selecting 10 Canadian universities to be included in our report. Entrepreneruship programs or students having received awards or distinctions also serve as input in selecting Canadian institutions. The selection of Danish universities is based on the scope of entrepreneurial programmes prevalent at Danish universities 9. The criterion for including Danish universities in our sample is that the institution offers at least one entrepreneurial course. 10 A total of 7 Danish universities have been included in the report. Table 4.1: Selected universities in the United States, Canada, and Denmark USA Canada Denmark 1. Babson College 2. University of Texas at Austin 3. Stanford University 4. University of Pennsylvania 5. Harvard University 6. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 7. University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) 8. University of California, Berkeley 9. University of Southern California 10. Cornell University 11. Saint Mary s University 12. Université Laval 13. École Des Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC) 14. McGill University 15. York University 16. Brock University 17. University of Calgary 18. University of British Colombia 19. University of Victoria 20. Université de Sherbrooke 21. Århus Business School 22. The IT University 23. The University of Southern Denmark 24. Copenhagen Business School 25. Aalborg University 26. The Danish Technical University 27. The University of Århus 4.2 Learning from best-practice The report is based on the assumption that countries can learn from each other. While this may seem trivial the position so far has been to denounce any possibility of copying initiatives due to significant differences in cultural and institutional structures. The report does not claim that differences in the cultural and institutional framework do not play an important part in the ability to copy best-practice initiatives. However, it is assumed that in a number of areas countries may be inspired by initiatives carried out in best-practice countries. 8 Menzies, Tereza og Yvon Gasse (1999). Entrepreneurship and the Canadian Universities: Report of a National Study of Entrepreneurship Education. 9 The National Agency for Enterprise and Construction, 2003: Entrepreneurial Education in the Danish Educational System. 10 Master degrees at Denmark s Pedagogical University contain elements of entrepreneurship. None of the master programs have a specific focus on entrepreneurship (DVCA 2004: Mapping Entrepreneurial Education in Denmark. Roskilde University Center offers a BA degree and undergraduate/graduate courses that address certain aspects of entrepreneurship. 13

14 4.3 Dimensions of entrepreneurship education Entrepreneurship education is a broad term in that it covers a number of activities that go beyond basic entrepreneurial programmes. The model attempts to capture the breadth of entrepreneurship by defining a number of activities that can supplement the core supply of entrepreneurship programmes. Activities are split into five dimensions: Education set-up covers academic activities, including the range of entrepreneurial courses offered at undergraduate/graduate level, entrepreneurial research, and lifelong learning. Education scope promoting the creative capacity and exposing students to real-life entrepreneurial experience. Institutional characteristics the level of formal and financial aid in supporting entrepreneurship education, as well as on-going support from stakeholders Outreach the level of on-going relations - and access - to competences and resources outside university walls. This provides an indirect measure of the accessibility of guidance and counselling in realising business opportunities Evaluation participation of students and other interested parties in evaluating entrepreneurial programmes, and the extent to which entrepreneurship programs are replicated by other universities. 4.4 Questionnaire In an attempt to further shed light on the five dimensions of entrepreneurship education a questionnaire containing 37 questions have been prepared. Both Danish and US universities have been actively involved in the drafting of the questionnaire. All questions can be answered by yes or no a positive response is credited with one point. Based on the questionnaire universities are ranked on an index ranging from 0 to 37. A high score reflects strong entrepreneurial performances. Answers have been collected by consulting university Web sites, s, phone interviews and personal interviews. A few universities have submitted written answers, while the majority have been interviewed by phone or face-to-face. To ensure a coherent image of university activities in entrepreneurship, qualitative information has been collected as well. Based on the overall score, we have benchmarked 10 US, 10 Canadian and 7 Danish entrepreneurship programs. Our analysis is based on the premise that a high entrepreneurial activity is beneficial to society as a whole. As mentioned earlier the method applied reflects the lack of consistent data on the number of entrepreneurship graduates and their subsequent success rates. 14

15 Since the questionnaire is of a yes/no nature, qualitative data has been included to verify the quantitative data. Qualitative data has also been used in drafting the best practice case stories in Chapter 5. All questions are assigned equal weights and have been drafted in co-operation with leading experts in the field of entrepreneurship education. Their input has been included in the final building of the questionnaire. The approach used in building the questionnaire implies that results should be treated with some caution. Minor discrepancies in university performance do not imply that one program is vastly superior to other programs. However, it is our belief that solid performances across all five dimensions imply a higher quality in entrepreneurial programs as compared to lower-ranked universities. Based on university scores the report has identified best-practice initiatives. In some cases differences in the cultural and political context makes it difficult to transfer best practice to other countries and institutions. In other words, best practice does not represent the ultimate recipe for success in the field of entrepreneurship education, but serves as inspiration as to how entrepreneurship may be integrated in the educational system, and help identify elements conducive to building a successful entrepreneurship program. 4.5 Field trips and case description We have consulted leading experts in the field of entrepreneurship education in Denmark and the United States: Denmark: the Copenhagen Business Schools, The IT University of Copenhagen, The University of Southern Denmark, HIBAT, Aarhus Business School and the University of Aarhus. The United States: Cornell University, University of Texas - Austin, University of California - San Diego, Berkeley, Stanford, Harvard, MIT and Babson College. Appendix C lists a number of links to important web sites that have served as inspiration to the report as a whole as well as the case studies presented. 15

16 5 Analysis 5.1 Introduction What are student participation rates in entrepreneurship education in the United States, Canada and Denmark? What is the structure of entrepreneurship education in the United States and Canada and how are Danish universities addressing the challenges of entrepreneurship education? Are there any common traits in the way entrepreneurship education is addressed? The following section will attempt to answer these questions. 5.2 Share of students attending courses in entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship courses come in various shapes and forms. Some deal exclusively with the early stages of company start-ups, how students apply creative thinking, business idea development or how to identify business opportunities. Others address the start-up phase and focus on the actual planning and launch of a company. Entrepreneurship courses may provide students with a practical approach to drafting a business plan or courses that introduce students to budgets, finances, etc. Several courses have a practical approach aimed at providing students with exposure to the real-life challenges of being an entrepreneur. It should be noted that courses not only address entrepreneurship students but also entrepreneurial advisers. Due to the effect of double-counting it has not been possible to locate data that offer accurate information on the share of entrepreneurship programmes. Furthermore, entrepreneurial courses are often spread across multiple faculties, and students may attend classes at other faculties. Another obstacle lies in the definition of entrepreneurship programmes. The approach applied in this report requires entrepreneurship to be the principal element in courses offered. However, one cannot rule out the possibility that university statements regarding the scope of entrepreneurial programs are flawed. One final factor that makes it difficult to compare entrepreneurial activity across universities lies in the way universities are structured. The report distinguishes between three types of universities: technical universities, business schools and traditional universities. One-dimensional universities, such as the DTU (the Danish Technical University), the business schools in Copenhagen and Aarhus as well as the University of Copenhagen and the University of Aarhus are not prevalent abroad. Multi-dimension universities that comprise traditional universities, technical institutions and business schools are prevalent across Canada and the United States. The University of Southern Denmark and the University of Aalborg are examples of Danish multi-dimensional universities. In general it is difficult to pin-point the exact number of students in entrepreneurial programs across multi-dimensional universities, where as business schools keep more accurate records of entrepreneurial activity. Any comparison should therefore be 16

17 treated with some caution. However, comparing universities with similar structures could provide a valid image of student participation rates Universities Cornell, Stanford and the University of Pennsylvania all comprise a university, a business school and a technical institute. Cornell and Stanford are actively pursuing a university-wide approach to entrepreneurship education beyond the boundaries of the business school. At Stanford and Cornell student participation in entrepreneurship programmes is 15 and 20%, respectively. At the University of Pennsylvania entrepreneurship courses are primarily attended by business school students. 10% of all students at the University of Pennsylvania participate in entrepreneurship education. At McGill University and the University of Calgary, 5 % of all students participate in entrepreneurship education. At Brock University the participation rate is 7 % and entrepreneurial courses are only available at undergraduate level. For other Canadian universities included in our survey student participation rates are lower. The University of Aalborg and the University of Southern Denmark are multidimensional institutions and may therefore be compared to their US and Canadian counterparts. At the University of Aalborg the share of students participating in entrepreneurship education is 2,5 %. At the University of Southern Denmark participation rates are hardly detectable. At the University of Aarhus the participation rate is less than 1 % 11. The University of Copenhagen and Roskilde University do not currently offer entrepreneurship programs Business schools In general business schools across the United States have high participation rates. 13 At Babson College, a pure business school, all MBA students and 35 % of undergraduate students attend entrepreneurial courses. Total participation rate is approximately 70%. At the Marshall School of Business (University of Southern California) the participation rate is 100, while business schools at UCLA and Stanford, where entrepreneurship education is only offered at graduate and post-graduate level, have a participation rate of 90. For the other business schools included in the analysis participation rates are lower, but student involvement in entrepreneurship education is still considerable. 11 The IT University It is also difficult to compare the Danish IT University to American and Canadian universities. The IT University is specifically focused on IT and only supply graduate courses. During interviews the IT University has disclosed that only a small fraction of the student body attends entrepreneurship classes. 12 National Agency for Enterprise and Construction (2003): Entrepreneurial Education in the Danish Educational System. DVCA (2004): Mapping Entrepreneurial Education in Denmark. 13 Pleas note that statements from the US business schools cover the share of students participating in entrepreneurship programs, whereas statements from other universities cover the share of participating students per year. 17

18 In Canada, participation rates are lower. At École Des Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC), a pure business schools, 20% of the students attend entrepreneurial courses. Participation rates at the University of Victoria and the University of British Columbia is 50 and 20%, respectively. At Copenhagen Business Scholl and Aarhus Business School the participation rate is 3% Technical universities None of the US or Canadian universities are considered pure technical universities, which makes it cumbersome to compare them with Denmark s Technical University (DTU). MIT is primarily a technical university, but also comprise a business school and a number of other faculties. 15% of all students at MIT attend entrepreneurship programs. If you deduct the share of entrepreneurial students at MIT s business school, of which quite a few are pursuing an engineering degree, total participation comes to 4 to 5%. The share of engineering students in entrepreneurship education is thus estimated to between 5 and 15%. At the Danish Technical University (DTU) the participation rate is app. 1% Summary While available data should be treated with some caution, a number of conclusions can be drawn: The United States has the highest participation rate in entrepreneurship programs, especially among business schools students. Universities are actively pushing entrepreneurship education beyond the boundaries of business schools. Participation rates in Canada are lower than in the Untied States, but still confirmable higher compared to Denmark, where participation rates are limited at best. Given the strength of entrepreneurship education in the United States and Canada, this should come as no major surprise. However, it is notable that all Danish universities included in the report are far behind their US and Canadian colleagues, when it comes to addressing entrepreneurship education. 5.3 Approaches to entrepreneurship education This section presents a conceptual framework for dividing programs into two categories: 15 In the focused approach faculty, students and staff are located exclusively in the academic area of business, while the unified approach targets non-business students outside the realms of business schools. At Harvard, entrepreneurial programs are targeted exclusively at Harvard Business School students. Others may apply, but only a limited number of students outside the Harvard Business Schools are admitted. 14 Some students attend courses where entrepreneurship constitutes a minor part of the curriculum. 15 Streeter, Jaquette and Hovis, 2002: University-wide Entrepreneurship Education. Alternative Models and Current Trends. 18

19 Over the past 10 years the trend toward university-wide entrepreneurship education in the United States has been strong and gaining momentum. Entrepreneurship is no longer perceived as a discipline available to business school and technical university students only. Examining 38 ranked entrepreneurship programs a study found that about 75% offered university-wide programs. 16 There are two version of the unified approach: In the magnet-model students are drawn from across a broad range of majors. Entrepreneurial activities are offered by a single academic entity, but attended by students from all over the university. All resources and skills are united into a single platform that helps facilitate the coordination and planning of entrepreneurial activities. This approach has been applied at MIT, where entrepreneurship programs are administered under the Sloan School of Management (Box 5.1). Box 5.1: Entrepreneurship education at MIT MIT Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the United States The MIT Entrepreneurship Centre under the Sloan School of Management was founded in the 1990s, and since then entrepreneurial activities have become highly prestigious. More than 1,600 students attend entrepreneurship courses annually. Emphasis is put on recruiting students from technical faculties to exploit the synergism between an economic/business approach and a technical approach. The benefits from the interdisciplinary approach have been confirmed by MIT surveys, which show that 80% of companies started by engineers have been forced out of business, while 80% of companies originating in MIT have survived. The stated objective of the Entrepreneurship Centre is to build networks involving the student body, alumni, entrepreneurs and employees at MIT. Networks are a prerequisite for meeting MIT goals to unite academic and practical disciplines in entrepreneurship. This is facilitated through day-to-day education and by offering internships to entrepreneurial students. In the radiant-model individual institutes and faculties are responsible for facilitating the integration and visibility of entrepreneurship activities, thereby enabling entrepreneurial activities to be adjusted to the specific structure of individual faculties. At Cornell University the teaching of entrepreneurship education is diffused throughout nine schools and colleges (Box 5.2). 19

20 Box 5.2: Entrepreneurship education at Cornell University Cornell University, the United States Entrepreneurial activities at Cornell dates back to the early 1990s. Cornell is one of the leading institutions when it comes to diffusing entrepreneurship beyond the traditional boundaries of the business school. Cornell s approach to entrepreneurship is summed up as follows: To create a diverse university-wide program that finds and fosters the entrepreneurial spirit in every Cornell participant on every college, every filed and every stage of life Cornell has applied the radiant model in entrepreneurship education. In general, entrepreneurship courses are available to all students. Cornell s approach implies that entrepreneurship programs are organised in line with the specific needs, barriers and opportunities of Cornell schools and colleges. As a result, all nine of Cornell s schools and colleges now participate in the program making entrepreneurship courses available to life sciences, hotel administration and engineering students. Courses are also offered at the S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management. Activities are coordinated by the Entrepreneurship and Personal Enterprise (EPE) Governing Board, where deans from all relevant faculties are members. The Advisory Council, which numbers 80 entrepreneurs and business leaders, establishes the overall framework for the EPE Program and supply financial support as well as general counselling. The unified model is yet be fully implemented in Denmark. The IT University of Copenhagen is presently in the preliminary stages of establishing a framework for implementing the unified approach. The IT University is smaller and more specialised than traditional universities which make it easier to diffuse entrepreneurship education to the entire student body. The distinction between the focused and the unified model provides valuable insight into how universities approach entrepreneurship education. However the distinction has no direct implication for education scope, education set-up, institutional characteristics, outreach or evaluation. Hence there will be made no distinction between the two approaches in the following sections Comparing the United States, Canada and Denmark The United States and Canada have been selected because of their high quality in entrepreneurship education. Based on national and international rankings, 10 of the top-ranked universities in each of the two countries have been selected for further analysis. Since only a limited number of universities offer entrepreneurship courses in 17 See Appendix B 20

21 Denmark, it has been possible to include all Danish universities offering at least one entrepreneurship course. The analysis is divided into 5 dimensions, covering a total of 37 questions. University replies are collated into an index for entrepreneurship performance. The core element of the index is not the actual score, but rather detectable differences in university scores, and in how universities are grouped. The universities fall into three distinctive groups as illustrated in Figure 5.1 below. The US universities are ranked in the top part of the index. Canadian universities are generally ranked in the middle section of the index, whereas Danish universities are ranked in the bottom section of the index. Figure 5.1: University performance Score på indeks Babson Uni Pennsyl Cornell Texas Stanford UCLA MIT Victoria South. Cali. Note: Blue = United States, White = Canada, Red = Denmark Brock Berkeley Laval Harvard York Calgary St. Mary's McGill Ålborg Uni Sherbrooke HEC Br. Colom. IT-Uni. Syd-dansk Århus Uni. HHA CBS DTU Babson College achieved the highest marks among all selected universities and is widely regarded as one of the premier universities in its field. US News 18, Entrepreneur Magazine and Business Week 19 have named Babson as the number one entrepreneur program in the United States. Business Week ranked Pennsylvania second and Stanford fourth. Other rankings appear to confirm the validity of the ranking presented in Figure The ranking is based on surveys sent out to deans and entrepreneurship teachers across US business schools news.ft.com;

22 Box 5.3: Babson s overall approach to entrepreneurship education Babson College, the United States The Mission of the Arthur M. Blank Centre for Entrepreneurship is to enhance entrepreneurship education and practice worldwide through the creation and development of teaching, outreach, and research initiatives that encourage and support entrepreneurs and the spirit of entrepreneurship Babson is widely regarded as the leading entrepreneurial institution in the United States. In 1967 Babson was the first US university to offer a comprehensive entrepreneurship program. Since then the school has received numerous awards for excellence in education set-up, education scope and entrepreneurial activities. Babson s philosophy is based on core belief that entrepreneurial skills are necessary for graduates to become competent managers. Entrepreneurship deals with every aspect of identifying and commercialising opportunities, and is therefore relevant for any student pursuing a business career. The Herning Institute of Business Administration and Technology (HIBAT) has made great strides in establishing a comprehensive entrepreneurial program. Input from key participants at HIBAT has been included in the preparation of the questionnaire and the overall report. Since HIBAT only offers medium-term education they fall outside the scope of the report, however we have chosen to present a case study on HIBAT as an example of a Danish educational institution that has been successful in building an entrepreneurial program (Box 5.4). Box 5.4: Entrepreneurship education at HIBAT, Denmark The Herning Institute of Business Administration and Technology In the fall of 1999 HIBAT launched the Business Development Engineer (BDE) Program. The Program is also available at the Odense University College of Engineering. The program distinguishes itself from other engineering programs in offering a different approach to pedagogy and student involvement. The BDE program is a 4½ year interdisciplinary engineering degree focused on business creation through the development of new products and ideas. The program combines core science and technical disciplines with business economics, marketing, design and personal development. The BDE Program includes a six-month internship and six-months of studying abroad. The program focuses on action-based teaching and business plan projects. Projects are often carried out in co-operation with a private company. Interdisciplinary activities involve the inclusion of business and language students from other faculties as an integral part of the program. The program has a strong focus on the development of student characters in developing entrepreneurial skills. Creative Processes 22

23 Creative processes are essential building blocks in product and concept development. The program actively promotes an environmental approach to entrepreneurship by teaching students to determine if production can be carried out in a rational end environmentally safe manner. The program focuses on teaching students to assume responsibility for their own projects including projects on company start-up, which are important elements in the BDE program. Ideas tested and evaluated throughout the BDE program may be applied in future entrepreneurial ventures. Action-based teaching The unique pedagogical approach is reflected through specific assignments that make the theoretical approach a visible part of the learning process. Results are presented in a manner that reflects the approach of the individual student. Students are encouraged to work with their own ideas that may be developed into actual production and sale. Student influence BDE students are the focal point of the program. Termed participation-based teaching students assume responsibility for the academic content. The BDE Program offers a limited schedule. 4 weeks are devoted to a broad and independent subject. Each semester consists of four sequences allowing students to thoroughly acquaint themselves with their specific topic. Personal development The BDE approach can be summed up as Personal development before academic development. In the first 6 months, students focus on co-operation, communication and creative abilities. Student motivation Student motivation is enhanced by involving guest lecturers, field trips and other activities that are frequently arranged by students themselves. This is refereed to as motivation through experience. Education scope Business creation is a core element in the BDE Program. Business creation projects provide a practical dimension to the academic content and form the backbone of the Program. Projects are structured as loops that become increasingly challenging throughout the course of the BDE program. The first loops cover business plans, needs analysis and market opportunities. As students acquire methodical and theoretical skills additional academic disciplines, such as marketing, sales, design, production are introduced to provide students with an all-embracing approach to entrepreneurship. Student selection New-firm creation and product development requires a complete set of academic skills. To become a good BDE it is equally important that you possess certain personal skills. Students should be creative, artistic, enterprising, and committed. The ability to 23

24 keep a cool head in complicated situations and the ability to structure chaos are equally important skills. HIBAT Ranking HIBAT ranked second on the overall index with a score of 32 of a possible 37. It should be noted that the majority of activities at HIBAT are only available for the 35 students that are admitted into the BDE program. The average score on the performance index highlights the strong showing of US and Canadian universities, as illustrated in Table 5.1 below. US and Canadian universities have a positive response rate of 82% and 74%, respectively, with Denmark at 54%. Table 5.1: Comparing universities in the United States, Canada and Denmark USA Canada Denmark Share of yes answers 82 % 74 % 54 % Average score 30,5 27,2 20,1 The following section will further investigate detectable differences in how the selected universities approach the five dimensions of entrepreneurship education. 5.5 Country performance in the five dimensions of entrepreneurship education This section sheds further light on the five dimensions of entrepreneurship education outlined in our introduction. Education scope focuses on the breadth of programmes offered, how courses are spread across undergraduate level and graduate and post-graduate level, and the extent to which bachelor and graduate programs are available. The dimension also covers entrepreneurial research and life-long learning. A strong commitment towards entrepreneurship education goes beyond the immediate scope of available programmes. A wide range of academic activities are essential in building strong entrepreneurship education. Among other things education set-up details the extent to which guest lecturers/practitioners are involved in entrepreneurship programs, if internship or practical experience is an integral part of the education, and the extent of private business involvement. The dimension also covers experimental teaching and culture-affecting activities including the use of role models, a strong focus on instilling an overall entrepreneurial spirit, personal development as well as promoting an experimental approach to entrepreneurship education. The dimension has been included in our analysis to capture and illustrate that entrepreneurship education goes beyond traditional lectures in entrepreneurship. Education set-up implies that universities apply a creative and innovative approach to teaching as well as promoting practical entrepreneurship skills. By combining a 24

25 theoretical, practical and experimental approach to entrepreneurship education students not only learn about entrepreneurs they become entrepreneurs! Institutional characteristics cover areas related to the interaction between faculties, the university, the student body and the business community. University management and faculties are vital in creating a framework for entrepreneurship education. Institutional characteristics deal with how entrepreneurship is prioritised, allocation of funds, rules pertaining to the transfer of credits and the presence of built-in incentives that encourage teachers to participate in entrepreneurial activities. Student participation in entrepreneurial activities and the involvement of other faculties and the business community in the management of the entrepreneurial programmes are other important elements. A close interaction between interested parties will facilitate a broad approach to entrepreneurship education. Outreach deals with the involvement of parties outside university boundaries that may provide counselling and aid to entrepreneurial students. The scope of university networks thus becomes a benchmark for the quality of university services offered to the student body. Counselling may include legal aid (patents), financial support for product development, professional guidance in marketing related areas and experience-based guidance. Among other things the level and quality of outreach activities includes access to an IPR-office 21, university co-operation with an incubator, alumni network, access to experienced practitioners, access to venture capital, as well as participation in business plan competitions. Outreach is important since the start-up of a knowledge-intensive company poses a number of complicated issues. Proper guidance and the availability of adequate venture capital are crucial elements in the successful launch of a business concept. Hence many universities offer outreach activities as a supplement to basic education. Evaluation is vital in adjusting entrepreneurship education to the needs of students and other parties. Apart from evaluating basic entrepreneurial programs, evaluation also deals with monitoring graduate career paths and the extent to which university activities are being replicated by other institutions. By breaking down university scores into five dimensions one can identify differences in the way universities have set-up their entrepreneurship programs. By plotting the top-3 on each dimension one can gain valuable insight into best-practice. Babson College, the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell University are identified as bestpractice universities and receive high rankings in all five areas. The analysis points to a number of differences. In general US universities receive high marks in all five dimensions. Canadian universities are at a level with the Untied 21 IPR: Intellectual Property Rights is a general term for right of ownership through patents, licenses, copyrights, trademarks, etc. 25

26 States when it comes to education set-up and outreach but trail in education scope and institutional characteristics. The Danish performance is lacklustre when it comes to education scope, education set-up and institutional characteristics. In the area of outreach there is a wide gap between the Danish universities and the top-3. In evaluation the Danish performance is on a level with US and Canadian universities (Figure 5.2). Figure 5.2: Average ranking on the five dimensions in the United States, Canada, and Denmark - and the average ranking for the top-3 US universities. Education scope (7) Evaluation (4) Education set-up (9) The United States Canada Denmark Top-3 Universities Outreach (7) Institutional characteristics (10) Note: The brackets show the number of question for each category. For comparison purposes the five dimensions have been converted into a scale from 1 to 10. In education scope Denmark is ranked far behind the top-3 universities, the United States and Canada. In education set-up the top-3 and the United States perform marginally better than Canada, while Denmark s performance is average. The top-3 is slightly ahead of the United States in institutional characteristics with Canada and Denmark further behind. In outreach Denmark is far behind the top-3 but almost at a level with the United States. The top-3 claim a marginally higher ranking compared to Canada, the United States and Denmark in evaluation. The analysis reveals minor differences in the average ranking for all US universities and the top-3, except for outreach, where the average ranking for the top-3 is significantly higher than the US average. Our analysis has revealed a number of different approaches to entrepreneurship education. Universities are subject to various limitations and each offers various opportunities. Thus the specific approach will be determined by the institutional context. A selection of case studies have been prepared and will hopefully serve as 26

27 inspiration to institutions that wish to embark on entrepreneurial ventures or aim at improving the quality of entrepreneurship programs. To illustrate the diversity in approaching entrepreneurship education, and given the fact that the average ranking for the top-3 is not significantly different from the US average, the following section will compare Denmark with the average for the United Sates and Canada, respectively. We detect significant differences when comparing the three countries in the areas of education set-up, education scope and institutional characteristics. In most areas the United States outperforms Danish universities. Canada also outperforms Denmark on several dimensions. The following section is devoted to identifying country differences in each of the five dimensions. 5.6 Country rankings on the five dimensions This section examines the individual dimensions and identifies country differences Education Scope The dimension covers the supply of diversified courses, the availability of BAdegrees and graduate/mba degrees in entrepreneurship, access to life-long learning, and the scope of entrepreneurial research conducted at the university. Figure 5.3: Areas covered in education scope Education Scope Business plan courses 5 courses or more at undergraduate level BA-degrees 5 courses or more at graduate/postgradua te-ate level MBA/Graduate degree Executive education Research 27

28 Questions on education scope Business planning is the foundation of start-up activities and covers business ideas, product description, market research, development plan, budgets, i.e. Business plan are also vital in attracting potential investors. Therefore universities have been asked if they offer courses in business planning. However, entrepreneurship goes further than simply drafting a business plan. Hence universities have been asked if the school offers a diversified supply of entrepreneurship courses at undergraduate level (5 or more). Entrepreneurship courses cover tool- and analytical subjects as well as creative and specialist courses (see below). A further distinction can be made between courses offered to entrepreneurial students and interdisciplinary courses available to nonentrepreneurial majors. Analytical courses cover entrepreneurial development, strategic management, interaction between entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, private equity investments, sustainability of business plans, i.e. Analytical courses are intended to supply graduates with a strategic mind-set and to provide the analytical tools necessary to make well-founded decisions. Education in creativity is frequently offered as independent classes, but may also be elements of other subjects. Students are trained in creative and innovative processes that facilitate the development of new business ideas and concepts. Creative courses nurture habitual thinking and help develop an entrepreneurial mind-set. Specialist courses may address social issues, sports, environmental issues, sustainable developments, among others. While a university may offer a variety of courses at undergraduate level, a complete BA-degree in entrepreneurship may not be available. The demand for a varied supply of courses offered is a common trait at universities, whose primary focus is on general education. The accessibility of bachelor programs serves as a proxy in determining if students are offered the possibility of pursuing an entrepreneurial degree. The number of entrepreneurship courses offered at graduate and post-graduate level (5 or more) goes further in measuring university commitment to entrepreneurship education. Entrepreneurship courses at graduate/postgraduate level cover tool- and analytical courses as well as creative and specialist courses. Courses offered at undergraduate level are often introductory by nature. Graduate and postgraduate courses tend to be highly specialised and explores in further details entrepreneurial issues taught at undergraduate level. An extensive supply of entrepreneurship courses at undergraduate level does not imply that a graduate degree or MBA in entrepreneurship is available. In Denmark it is common for students to enter a graduate program (Master of Science) upon 28

29 completion of a BA-degree. In the United States and Canada bachelors often find relevant employment within their profession and later return to their alma mater to pursue an MBA (Master of Business Administration), which often requires 2 or more years of work experience. As opposed to a Masters Degree an MBA has a much more practical approach to entrepreneurship. Executive education/management training is particularly important to entrepreneurs facing a rapidly changing business climate. In the start-up phase entrepreneurs will be engaged in raising funds, and developing and patenting the product. Later the entrepreneur will face the challenges of building as well as addressing issues related to marketing sales. The scope of entrepreneurship education builds on entrepreneurial research which aims at creating a systematic approach to the various aspects of entrepreneurship. Research is useful in generating knowledge on entrepreneurship and in developing tutorial skills, thereby improving the quality of courses offered University performance US universities receive high marks on issues related to graduate and post graduate education, research and life-long learning, whereas the US ranking in supply of entrepreneurship education (undergraduate level) is average. Overall Canadian universities perform well in the area of education scope especially in the areas of supply of courses at undergraduate level. Canada trails the United States in supply of graduate and post-graduate courses, research and life-long learning. The Danish universities are at a level with the United States and Canada in business plan courses, supply of courses at undergraduate level, and research. The Danish performance in other areas of education scope is significantly lower as compared to the United States and Canada. 29

30 Figure 5.4: Average ranking for the United States, Canada and Denmark Education scope 7. Entrepreneurial research 6. Executive education 1. Business plan courses 1 0,8 0,6 0,4 0, Supply of courses at undergraduate level 3. BA-degrees The United States Canada Denmark 5.Graduate degree/mba in entrepreneurship 4. Supply of courses at graduate/postgraduate level Note: The numbers from 1 to 7 refer to the numbering in the questionnaire (see Appendix A) Best-practice Universities across the selected countries generally score well on questions regarding business plans. Only one Danish university does not offer one or more business plan courses. MIT offers several business plan courses including New Enterprises, which is attended by app. 170 students annually (Box 5.5) Box 5.5: Business plan courses at MIT New Enterprises, MIT, the United States In New Enterprises students not only study entrepreneurs they become entrepreneurs. Students are asked to create a technology -based enterprise and all the essential parts of a business plan. Students work in teams to launch companies, working through issues of market analysis, technology viability assessment, competitive positioning, team-building, product life-cycle planning, marketing strategy, and sales channel analysis, New Enterprises map the practical steps of organisation and legal issues associated with forming a new company, and address the strategic considerations for creating companies that can quickly define and dominate a new category or disruptive technology. The course features a prestigious line-up of guest speakers and mentors who have deep and recent experience starting and building companies. 30

31 In terms of entrepreneurship courses offered at undergraduate level all three countries perform well with Canada slightly ahead of the United States and Denmark. The lion s share of Canadian universities offer a BA-degree in entrepreneurship while Danish and US universities, despite an abundance of entrepreneurship classes being offered at undergraduate level, do not offer BA-degrees in entrepreneurship. Established in 1997, the bachelor programme at the University of Victoria is widely regarded as one of the top-entrepreneurship educations in Canada (Box 5.6). Box 5.6: The Bachelor programme at the University of Victoria, Canada The University of Victoria, Canada The University of Victoria offers 4 areas of concentration for business students. One area of concentration is entrepreneurship, which is not limited to teaching in entrepreneurship - students are taught to become successful entrepreneurs. Applying an integrated design to entrepreneurship education, Victoria offers a five-course concentration that chronologically goes through the different stages of the entrepreneurial life-cycle. The goal is not for everyone to be involved in start-up of a company. Students are taught the principles of sustainable growth whether as entrepreneurs or in providing guidance and counselling to other entrepreneurs. The programme is regarded as one of the best in Canada and has received numerous distinctions for excellence in entrepreneurship education. The MBA Program in entrepreneurship was voted best in the country by Canadian Business Magazine. As far as the number of courses offered at graduate/postgraduate level the United States are far ahead of Danish and Canadian universities. All US universities offer a least 5 courses in entrepreneurship, in Canada the share is approximately two thirds and. In Denmark only one university offers a minimum of five entrepreneurial courses. Overall the ability to offer a wide range of entrepreneurial courses at graduate and post-graduate level appears to be a high priority among US institutions. Located on the outskirts of Silicon Valley Stanford University has been the driving force behind Internet icons Yahoo! and Google. Stanford is widely regarded as on of the world s leading entrepreneurial institutions and offers a variety of entrepreneurial activities at both graduate and postgraduate level (Box 5.7). 31

32 Box 5.7: Graduate and post-graduate level courses at Stanford Stanford University, the United States At Stanford University entrepreneurship courses are offered by the interdisciplinary Stanford Entrepreneurship Network as well as the Graduate School of Business. Evaluating Entrepreneurial Opportunities focuses on the tasks and processes that are required to turn an idea into a sound business opportunity. The course is organized around a project where 4 to 5 students apply for admission. At least one member of the group must belong to a faculty outside the business school. External students are picked based on how their academic skills may contribute to the overall success of the course. Strategy in Entrepreneurial Ventures focuses on strategic challenges faced by entrepreneurial companies, and explores issues relevant to entrepreneurial companies that want to turn an idea into a viable business opportunity. Emphasis is put on strategic decisions relevant to both entrepreneurs and companies and also addresses company financing (venture capital). The course draws on national and international case studies, practical exercises and an entrepreneurship game that simulates the individual stages of a company start-up. Social Entrepreneurship deals with the efforts of private citizens and organisations to create effective responses to social needs and innovative solutions to social problems. Traditionally entrepreneurship is regarded as a tool for creating wealth for entrepreneurs and their collaborators. Social entrepreneurs identify opportunities, looks for alternative approaches to entrepreneurship, engage in extensive travelling and focus resources to build organisations that create social value for the most vulnerable section of society. Social entrepreneurship focuses on individual entrepreneurial initiatives and introduces students to successful practices of social entrepreneurship. Experienced guest lecturers that have been involved in social entrepreneurship projects contribute with valuable input. Personal creativity in business Creativity is essential to happiness, health, and success in your personal life and in your business ventures. The course focuses on applying creativity in the decision-making process. All US universities offer graduate programs/mbas in entrepreneurship. In Canada the share is approximately two-third, while Denmark s record is lack lustre. In the United States only a few universities offer a BA-degree in entrepreneurship. However, a large number of courses are offered at graduate or postgraduate level, and universities generally offer an MBA or graduate program in entrepreneurship. In contrast, the majority of universities in Canada offer a BA-degree, while only a limited number of schools offer a broad supply of courses at graduate/postgraduate level. Most Danish universities offer undergraduate entrepreneurship courses, but do not offer a BA-degree. 32

33 The University of Texas has made great strides in setting up an entrepreneurial program. Entrepreneurship course are offered by the Herb Kelleher Center for Entrepreneurship at the Red McCombs School of Business (Box 5.8) Box 5.8: MBAs at University of Texas and the University of California (San Diego) University of Texas at Austin, the United States The McCombs School of Business MBA in Entrepreneurship is monitored by an advisory board whose members include entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, alumni and teachers. The center is devoted to introducing entrepreneurial activities to all faculties including performing arts, engineering, business and medicine The core curriculum includes six courses, any five of which constitute a specialization in entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurial Management provides an overview of the life-cycle of an entrepreneurial firm. Opportunity Identification and Analysis teach students how to identify and analyze business opportunities. Gathering Resources and Launch teaches how to turn an idea into a real business. Students also gain "hands-on" experience working with real ventures in launch mode at the Austin Technology Incubator. Managing Entrepreneurial Growth maps out what it takes to grow a fledgling business to its full potential. Harvest, Finance and Negotiation charts the stages of renewal and harvest in a mature business with a focus on value drivers and business valuation. MOOT CORP New Venture Creation: involves creating and presenting a plan for a new venture. In the Fall Semester, it culminates in the MOOT CORP Competition, and the winner receives a $100,000 investment to facilitate launching the venture. University of California San Diego, the United States In the fall of 2004 The Rady School of Management will launch an interdisciplinary MBA in entrepreneurship. The interdisciplinary focus and the fact that the MBA is tailored to students with a technical or creative background have attracted a great deal of attention nation-wide. UC San Diego is one of 15 US universities to receive a 5 million USD grant from the Kauffman Foundation, which is earmarked for interdisciplinary entrepreneurial activities. As far as executive education and management training the United States and Canada perform well with the United States holding a slim lead over Canada. Only one Danish school offers executive education/management training to entrepreneurs. 33

34 Executive education and management training is an important source of income for many US universities. At Babson College, the School of Executive Education offers at wide range executive courses for managers and companies alike. Entrepreneurial Strategies for Innovation and Growth is the most prolific course offered at Babson (Box 5.9) Box 5.9: Executive education at Babson College Babson College, Massachusetts, the United States Entrepreneurial Strategies for Innovation and Growth is a three-day interactive learning intensive that helps organizations and their leaders revitalise the engines of innovation that enabled them to grow and flourish in a competitive marketplace. As organizations mature, creative, adventurous, open-minded thinking often gives way to increasingly bureaucratic systems, shareholder demand for bottom-line focus, and the growth of a risk-averse culture. The course offers a blend of learning techniques that includes case studies, guest lecturers, group problem solving, and role playing. The program is relevant for individuals from diverse professional backgrounds, including marketing, finance, manufacturing, and strategic planning. The program is designed for mid- and senior level executives across a wide range of disciplines. The majority of the selected universities receive high marks in activities related to entrepreneurial research. The United States is slightly ahead of Canada and Denmark. Questions related to research do not address the number of researchers employed, but aims to uncover if entrepreneurial research is in fact a part of the university program. Most Canadian and US universities have centers that are devoted entirely to entrepreneurial research. In 1973, the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania became the first institution to offer a complete entrepreneurship program. Today, activities are organised through Wharton Entrepreneurial Programs engaged in research, teaching and outreach activities (Box 5.10). Box 5.10: Entrepreneurial research at the University of Pennsylvania Soc C. Snider Entrepreneurial Research Center, University of Pennsylvania, the United States The home of research for Wharton Entrepreneurial Programs, the Sol C. Snider Entrepreneurial Research Center is the first and largest center dedicated to the study of entrepreneurship. Working around the world to advance understanding of entrepreneurship and global wealth creation, the Center is also home to The Journal of Business Venturing, widely regarded as one of the most influential publications in its field. 34

35 Summary Overall the analysis points to significant country differences as far as the supply of classes offered (undergraduate and graduate /post graduate level). Canadian universities receive high marks in supply of courses offered at undergraduate level, while US universities have the most extensive range of courses at graduate/postgraduate level. As far as business plans and the supply of course at undergraduate level Denmark is at a level with the United States and Canada. While entrepreneurship research is performed at most Danish universities available data fails to grasp the scope of entrepreneurial research being conducted. In comparing the United States, Canada and Denmark the reports points to significant gaps in the number of courses offered at postgraduate level, the availability of BAdegrees and life-long learning Education set-up Education set-up covers a wide range of issues pertaining to the structure of entrepreneurship education including; building an entrepreneurial mind-set, the use of guest lecturers, education training of teacher-entrepreneurs, the availability of internships or practical experience, ongoing relations with the business community, the use of role models, the development of student personalities, experimental approach to education, and the extent to which teachers have an entrepreneurial background. Figure 5.5: Areas covered in education set-up Education set-up Practitioner involvement Teachers with entrepreneurial record Education training of teacherentrepreneurs Internships Ongoing business relation Role models Developing student personalities Experimental pedagogy Entrepreneurial vision 35

36 Often teachers are subject to institutional requirements but may exert some degree of influence on day-to-day teaching. Thus teachers included in the survey have a greater influence on questions related to education set-up as compared to the other dimensions Questions on education set-up The involvement of practitioners is important in making practical experience available to students and in introducing students to experienced practitioners. The use of guest lecturers will undoubtedly help students embrace learning by doing. The use of guest lecturers may be supplemented by involving teachers with an entrepreneurial record. This will also help facilitate the involvement of guest lectures since teachers with an entrepreneurial background often have extensive networks. Practitioners may lack the pedagogical and theoretical prerequisites necessary to become good teachers. Thus universities have been asked if education training for teacher-entrepreneurs is available. Practitioners are equipped with relevant communication techniques and pedagogical education principles enabling them to apply their own practical experience in a broader context. Termed from war stories to case studies, practitioners are equipped with the tools necessary to deduct general knowledge from their practical background. Universities are asked if internships and practical experience is an integral part of the entrepreneurship program. Internships allow students to participate in the daily routines of a small or medium sized business and provide an excellent opportunity in testing the theoretical framework, thereby introducing students to the practices of entrepreneurship. The level of ongoing relations with the business community is critical in providing students with hands-on experience. This may be facilitated by courses where students are physically located in a company on a regular basis, or courses where business employees bring real-life experience to the class room. It may also involve business representatives that offer valuable counsel, or students being engaged in analysing marketing activities, organisational framework, i.e. for a local company. The use of role models in entrepreneurship education is vital in fostering an entrepreneurial mind set. Role models may be promoted through lectures and awards and is important in supporting an entrepreneurial culture. Role models are instrumental in instilling a positive image of entrepreneurs among all students. In addition to theoretical competences personal skills are important prerequisites for the entrepreneurial student. Universities are asked if the personality of students is developed by exposing them to real-life entrepreneurship issues. Motivation, creative abilities, management skills, negotiation skills, and the ability to handle unforeseen challenges are tools necessary to become a successful entrepreneur. Students facing real-life issues through role plays, group projects, involvement of business leaders and venture capitalists, will be exposed to the challenges of being an entrepreneur. 36

37 Traditional pedagogy focuses on core academic skills. To promote innovative behaviour, self-assessment and an entrepreneurial spirit, experimental teaching is often a part of the teaching process. 22 Experimental teaching emphasises creativity and reflexive processes, and often involves an unorthodox approach to examinations. As mentioned earlier universities have different approaches to entrepreneurship education. The extents to which students embrace an entrepreneurial way of thinking serve as a meaningful indication of the overall approach to entrepreneurship. While entrepreneurship education may be perceived by some to be a unique discipline for entrepreneurship students only, the majority of the leading entrepreneurial institutions regard entrepreneurship as a generic tool that teaches students to identify opportunities and develop management skills regardless of their educational background University ranking Denmark s record in education set-up is markedly lower as compared to the United States and Canada. US universities receive high marks in all but one of the areas of education set up (embracing an entrepreneurial way of thinking). A limited number of US universities do not provide education training for teacher-entrepreneurs and maintains a low focus on providing students with an entrepreneurial way-of-thinking. Canadian universities receive high marks in areas related to the practical approach to entrepreneurship, the use of role models, experimental approach to teaching and developing student personalities. A significant share of Canadian institutions is not engaged in education training of teacher-entrepreneurs, internships, and developing an entrepreneurial mind set. Danish universities are among the best when it comes to guest lecturers and the use of experimental teaching. Approximately half of the universities interviewed offer internships, have ongoing relation with the business community, or involve role models. Only a few are engaged in developing student personalities, education training of teacher-entrepreneurs, and embracing an entrepreneurial way of thinking (Figure 5.6) 22 Blenker, Dreilser, Færgemann and Kjeldsen (2004): Entrepreneurship Education and University Context. 37

38 Figure 5.6: Average ranking for the United States, Canada and Denmark Education set-up 16. Entrepreneurial way of thinking 15. Experimental teaching 8. Practitioner involvement 1 0,8 0,6 0,4 0, Teachers with entrepreneurial record The United States Canda Denmark 10. Education training for teacher-entrepreneurs 14. Student personalities 11. Internships 13. Role models 12. Company relations Note: The numbers refer to the numbering in the questionnaire (see Appendix A) Best Practice The fact that all 37 universities use practitioners is a testament to the importance of involving practitioners in entrepreneurship education. The majority of US universities maintain a strong focus on flexible work schemes. This implies that teachers are allowed to work part-time in a private business while members of the business community are offered the possibility of teaching part-time. The entrepreneurship program at the University of Texas is actively engaged in bringing guest teachers to the class room (Box 5.11). Box 5.11: Practitioner involvement at the University of Texas. University of Texas Austin, the United States The Herb Kelleher Center at the McCombs Schools of Business has strong relations with both former and existing entrepreneurs in the Austin area. Practitioners are involved as guest lecturers to expose students to real-life entrepreneurial issues and to supplement the theoretical framework. Entrepreneurs is an important knowledge source for the Herb Kelleher Center. Their primary role is to influence student culture by promoting the idea that anyone can become a successful entrepreneur. In addition to that, Austin has made a concerted 38

39 effort in educating practitioners to become inspiring teachers, who can communicate success stories in a pedagogical manner. Collectively the United States, Canada and Denmark perform well in the area of supply of teachers with an entrepreneurial background. At MIT entrepreneurial background and basic academic skills are equally important criteria when employing teachers (Box 5.12) Box 5.12: Teachers with an entrepreneurial background at MIT MIT, Massachusetts, the United States The faculty at MIT s Entrepreneurship Center is comprised of 15 tenured professors and associate professors who have made significant contributions to the academic dimensions of entrepreneurship. They are complemented by an additional 15 senior lecturers/practitioners that are proven entrepreneurs. Some have a background in venture capital, while others have held managerial positions. In addition the group comprises former consultants, lawyers, salesmen, marketing managers, i.e. Their close ties to the new-venture community provide students with excellent networking opportunities. 8 of 10 US universities offer training programs for teacher-entrepreneurs while Canada and Denmark are far behind their US colleagues. Most US universities have dedicated centers or programs that not only provide training for university teacher-entrepreneurs, but also attract teacher-entrepreneurs from other universities. Babson College is one of the pioneers in entrepreneurship education training. Since 1984 Babson has coached guest lecturers from more than 30 countries. Other universities have a much simpler scheme for training teacherentrepreneurs (Box 5.13). Box 5.13: Entrepreneurship education training programs at Babson College and UC Berkeley Babson College, the United States Under the PriceBabson program the effectiveness of teacher-entrepreneurs is enhanced by training them in teaching techniques. The program is aimed at providing entrepreneurship education training programs that ensure the practical and intellectual collision between the academic and business worlds. Through our programs, they are committed to helping colleges and universities develop creative and innovative entrepreneurship curricula, to increasing teaching effectiveness, and to developing the teaching skills of entrepreneurs who are interested in engaging in full- or part-time teaching. Berkeley, the United States 39

40 The Lester Center at UC Berkeley is devoted to training teacher-entrepreneurs and maintains a strong focus on transforming war stories to case studies. Teacherentrepreneurs are recruited among former MBA entrepreneurship students or among Berkeley s extensive alumni network. Long-term internships are offered at most US universities, while the prevalence of internships in Canada is average. In Denmark roughly 25% of the universities offer internship programs. Cornell has put great effort into building and maintaining paid internships in the local business community. Practical experience is a cornerstone of entrepreneurship education at Cornell and academic activities are scheduled to allow for students to participate in summer internships (Box 5.14) Box 5.14: Internships at Cornell Cornell University, the United States Cornell conducts an active summer internship program for 30 students. Since 1987, the EPE Internship Program has placed more than 350 students in small to mid-sized businesses. Students from any of the nine participating schools and colleges at Cornell are placed throughout the U.S. and abroad. The program is designed to help prepare the next generation of business leaders, innovators, creators, and entrepreneurs. Internships are often supplemented by ongoing relations with private companies. Through the MIT Entrepreneurship Society, the Entrepreneurship Center at MIT has access to an extensive entrepreneurial support network that facilitates the collaboration between MIT and the business community, and the Center is instrumental in bringing teacher-entrepreneurs to MIT (Box 5.15). Box 5.15: Business relations at MIT Entrepreneurship Lab, MIT, the United States One of the most innovative course offerings at MIT Sloan is the Entrepreneurship Lab (E-Lab), where students work one day a week in a start-up company. Teams of science, engineering, and management students participate actively one day a week on-site with the top management of high-tech start-ups in order to gain handson experience in starting and running a new venture. Student projects focus in one urgent aspect of the start-up such as marketing plans, choice of initial market, approach to initial customers, communicating the value of the product, etc. High-tech companies are recruited from the Boston/Route 128 region. More than 350 start-ups have participated in the Entrepreneurship Lab program, and the supply of participating companies offering internships is three times the number of student teams. Role models are commonly used at US and Canadian universities, while only half of the Danish universities use role models as part of their entrepreneurship programs. 40

41 In the United States role models are used in a number of ways. In general US universities have strong relations with their alumni and frequently engage successful alumni as role models for entrepreneurship students. Many universities apply a systematic approach in promoting role models at entrepreneurial events. Lifetime Achievement Award at Berkeley recognizes the accomplishments of local entrepreneurs (Box 5.16). Box 5.16: Role models at Berkeley Berkeley, the United States Beginning in the Lester Center has designated selected entrepreneurs as Fellows in Entrepreneurships. They act as leader, mentors and educators for Haas school of Business students, holding scheduled office hours, during their one-year appointment and are involved in other entrepreneurial activities. The Lifetime Achievement award was created to recognize accomplishments of people who have created a track record of innovative entrepreneurial success. Through this award the Lester Center seek to identify exemplars of entrepreneurship whose success can teach future generations by the example they set. Further, it allows the center to bring outstanding practitioners to the Berkeley campus, creating opportunities for exchanges of ideas with faculty and students. By enhancing the interaction among academics, entrepreneurs, scientists and faculty, pragmatists and idealists, the Lester Center help foster entrepreneurial success for individuals and the community as a whole. As far as development of student personalities in relation to entrepreneurial issues, there is a large gap between the Danish record as compared to the United States and Canada. Less than half of the Danish universities actively work to develop student personalities. Harvard is renowned for placing great emphasis on applicant personalities and is focused on promoting student personalities throughout their academic careers. MBA students are encouraged to participate in summer internship programs. The targeted approach explains why the majority of Harvard students at some point in their academic career are engaged in entrepreneurial activities (Box 5.17). Box 5.17: Developing student personalities at Harvard Harvard University, the United States Approximately 40 % of Harvard MBA graduates pursue an entrepreneurial career either as entrepreneurs, venture capitalist or as entrepreneurial advisers. Harvard s excellent record lies in a strong focus on entrepreneurship, a dedicated and experienced teaching staff as well as a careful screening process that emphasizes leadership potential, intellectual capacity and personal drive. Apart from the careful selection of candidates, Harvard upholds a strong focus on fostering entrepreneurial skills at an academic and psychological level. 41

42 Experimental teaching is an integral part of entrepreneurship education across the three countries with the United States holding a slim lead over Canada and Denmark. The University of Victoria have received numerous distinctions for their experimental approach to entrepreneurship. The approach is based on a psychologically-based approach to learning, and a strong focus on interpersonal transactions (Box 5.18). Box 5.18: Experimental pedagogy at the University of Victoria and the University of Texas University of Victoria, Canada The entrepreneurial program at the University of Victoria has won recognition for teaching students how to become successful entrepreneurs. Experimental pedagogy is a key element. The education caters for students that wish to become entrepreneurs, students pursuing a career in innovative organisations and students that want to develop an entrepreneurial mind set. Entrepreneurship is regarded as a creative behaviour rooted in a specific mentality that allows students to identify opportunities. Thus entrepreneurship is relevant to everyone regardless of their academic background. Entrepreneurship is a five-course concentration followed by an eight-month practicum and then either a specialty academic term or international exchange. The program is based on the concepts of cognitive development rather than on marks, and the program is designed to reflect that. The program was awarded the Academy of Management s Innovation in Entrepreneurship Pedagogy Award (1999) and the US Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship Award for Best Undergraduate Program (2000). Texas University at Austin The Herb Kelleher Center at the University of Texas, Austin, is committed to promoting entrepreneurial activity as well as fostering student entrepreneurial skills within existing companies. The Center upholds a strong focus on experimental pedagogy in entrepreneurship education. The approach is based on the assumption students can acquire creativity and an entrepreneurial way of thinking. Entrepreneurship education is not limited to sharpening practical and analytical skills, but also addresses the challenges of turning an idea into a sound business proposition. As mentioned earlier Danish universities perform well in the area of experimental pedagogy. A group of scientists from Aarhus Business School have carried out research in the application of experimental pedagogy in entrepreneurship education. The study suggests that Denmark s record in experimental education may not be as solid as indicated in our ranking (Box 5.19). 42

43 Box 5.19: Experimental pedagogy in Denmark PILE group Pedagogical Innovation in Entrepreneurship Teaching, Denmark The PILE research project comprises scientists form the Aarhus Business School, the University of Aarhus and the Centre for Entrepreneurship. The PILE Group has compiled a comprehensive analysis on the availability of pedagogy and teaching methods aimed at promoting an entrepreneurial and innovative way of thinking. The analysis focuses on how various educational and pedagogical methods apply to specific goals and target groups. The project group believes that an entrepreneurship education draws on a pedagogical approach that is distinctively different from traditional teaching methods. In promoting entrepreneurial individuals teaching should be based on learning rather than teaching, and students should assume an active role in the learning process. This implies that student are trained in self reflection, that focus be directed towards the development of personal skills, that practical learning is an integral part of the program, and that students are active participants. The project group concludes that Danish universities lack the fundamental pedagogical tools in offering successful entrepreneurship programs and that Danish institutions are incapable of developing the motivation, skills and competencies needed to build entrepreneurial individuals. Roughly half of the US universities interviewed gave a positive reply to questions related to promoting an entrepreneurial way of thinking. In Canada and Denmark, respectively, only one university provided a positive response. Stanford University has made great strides in promoting entrepreneurship to nonbusiness areas such as engineering, medicine and law. The combination of experienced practitioners and a tenured faculty has created a strong entrepreneurial culture (Box 5.20). Box 5.20: Promoting a university-wide approach to entrepreneurship at Stanford Stanford University, the United States The Stanford Entrepreneurship Network (SEN) is a forum for communication and collaboration among 22 entrepreneurship-related programs at Stanford University. Most entrepreneurial activities at the Graduate School of Business are available to business-students only while other entrepreneurship programs are offered to nonbusiness students. One optional course unites students from several faculties in developing and commercializing new technologies. 43

44 Summary A limited supply of internships and courses that facilitates strong relations with private business explains why Danish entrepreneurship students have limited relations with the business community. In the United States and Canada private business relations, internships and role models are key elements in the educational set-up, allowing students to test their skills and to insert their influence on university culture. As opposed to Canada and Denmark, the United States applies a systematic approach in tying practitioners to entrepreneurship programs, by providing education training for teacher-entrepreneurs. Overall the evidence suggests that Denmark performs well in less sophisticated areas. Since entrepreneurship education is a new discipline in Denmark this should hardly come as a surprise. Danish universities are actively engaged in improving entrepreneurial activities and during interviews some have disclosed that more advanced activities are in the pipeline. Studies show that a number of Canadian universities have successfully replicated entrepreneurship programs from tenured entrepreneurial institutions. 23 The University of Victoria is a prominent example. Denmark performs well in the areas of practitioner involvement and teachers with an entrepreneurial background, while the Danish record in experimental educations is somewhat blurred. The Danish educational system is founded on a pedagogical approach that promotes the development of independent individuals with a critical approach to problemsolving. A strong independent culture and a critical approach are closely related to the innovative behaviour and independence culture that are often the focus of entrepreneurial pedagogy. Thus Denmark is well positioned to reap the benefits of our unique pedagogical approach to entrepreneurship education Institutional characteristics Institutional characteristics covers teacher incentives, the availability of funding, student involvement in setting-up entrepreneurial activities, the involvement of business and other faculties in the management of the entrepreneurship program, network activities, interdisciplinary activities, study labs where students can exchange ideas, rules pertaining to transfer of credits, and the extent to which entrepreneurship is a part of the overall educational approach. 23 Menzies, Tereza and Yvon Gasse (1999). Entrepreneurship and the Canadian Universities: Report of a National Study of Entrepreneurship Education. 44

45 Figure 5.7: Areas covered in institutional characteristics Institutional characteristics Incentives Financial resources Student involvement Business involved in management Networking activities Interdisciplinary activities Facilities Transfer of credits Other faculties involved in management Entrepreneurship part of overall approach to education Institutional characteristics deals with aspects of entrepreneurship education that may be influenced by teachers but that are ultimately laid out by institutions, faculties or by the university itself. Thus the dimension determines whether entrepreneurship is a top priority for the relevant faculties and for the university as a whole. If the quality of institutional characteristics is sub-standard, teachers will find it difficult to address issues related to educational scope and educational set-up Questions on institutional characteristics Entrepreneurship education is often time-consuming especially in newly established programs that involve guest lecturers, co-operation with private business, internships, i.e. Teachers may be compensated by relieving them of other duties or by providing financial incentives. Incentives may be offered at universities where entrepreneurship is a low-status area. Universities have been asked if the school offers incentive structures that encourage teachers to engage in entrepreneurial activities. Financial resources are an important parameter for the scope of activities offered. Universities are asked if entrepreneurship budgets allows for the creation of new activities. A positive reply serve as a proxy in determining the overall size of the budget since funding for new projects will often be granted only if budgets are sizable. Students are widely regarded as valuable resources in driving activities related to entrepreneurship. Not only will the entrepreneurial program benefit from student involvement but will also boost student commitment. Universities are therefore asked if students are actively involved in student-run entrepreneurship activities (venturing, networking, seminars) that help expose entrepreneurship to a wider audience. Most universities foster close relations with the business community. Universities are asked if private representatives are represented on the governing boards of the entrepreneurship program. The involvement of private business serves two purposes: to utilise the knowledge and insight of practitioners in planning and developing entrepreneurial programs and in creating high-profiled networks. 45

46 The exchange of ideas and viewpoints among entrepreneurial students is valuable in facilitating discussions on complicated or technical matters. Universities are asked if any formal or informal interaction between entrepreneurship students through seminars, conferences or speeches is available. More and more universities are embracing a philosophy that entrepreneurship is relevant to students outside the boundaries of the business school. Business school students may be equipped with skills pertaining to business-related issues but product development is spread across several faculties. To realise the full potential of entrepreneurial activities other faculties must be involved in the entrepreneurial process. This can be facilitated in setting up interdisciplinary student bodies or by offering activities that are relevant to students across faculties. Thus universities are asked if any interdisciplinary activities are available. Entrepreneurship programs are frequently attached to an entrepreneurship center that co-ordinate all entrepreneurial activities. An entrepreneurship center will often offer facilities (computer rooms, cafes, canteens, i.e.) where entrepreneurship students can discuss and exchange ideas. Universities are asked if the entrepreneurship centre offers such facilities. A lenient approach to the transfer of credits between faculties transfer will undoubtedly drive student participation in entrepreneurial programs and increase the number of courses available. As mentioned earlier there are different approaches to entrepreneurship education. In the unified model focus is on coordinating activities. In the magnet model students with different academic backgrounds attend the same entrepreneurial courses, underlining the need for coordinating course objectives to make them relevant to all students. In the radiant-model a wide range of parties are involved in entrepreneurship which requires that knowledge is accumulated to build critical mass. Thus universities have been asked if other institutions or faculties are represented on the board of the entrepreneurship education or are involved in the planning and coordination of entrepreneurship courses. The extent to which entrepreneurship is an integrated part of the university s overall approach to education details university prioritisation of entrepreneurial activities (research, education, i.e.). This does not imply that the universality has made a written commitment to entrepreneurship but rather that management has a strong focus on entrepreneurship and establishes overall objectives that consider entrepreneurship. 46

47 University performance While US universities received high marks in almost all areas of education scope and education set-up, we detected a greater variation in performances within the area of institutional characteristics. Collectively the United States is the highest scoring country and receives high marks in available funds, student involvement, networking activities and the inclusion of private business in the management of entrepreneurial programs. Canadian schools are at a level with their US colleagues when it comes to student involvement, involvement of private business, teacher incentives and the accessibility of meeting places for entrepreneurial students. On the other hand, Canada s performance in embracing entrepreneurship as an integrated part of the university's approach, available resources for entrepreneurial activities, networking activities and rules pertaining to the transfer of credits is below the US level. Denmark s performance is well below average for all but one of the areas (transfer of credits). Figure 5.8: Average ranking for the United States, Canada and Denmark - Institutional characteristics 26. Overall approach to entrepreneurship. Other faculties part of the management 24. Transfer of credits 17. Teacher incentives 1 0,8 0,6 0,4 0, Financial resources 19. Student involvement The United States Canada Denmark 20. Private representatives part of management 23. Facilities 21. Network activities 22. Interdisciplinary activities Note: The numbers refer to the numbering in the questionnaire (see Appendix A) 47

48 Best Practice The presence of incentives conducive to teacher commitment to entrepreneurship is the lowest ranked area in institutional characteristics. In the United States and Canada 4 of 10 universities offer entrepreneurial incentives, while no Danish university offers such incentives. Some US universities offer scholarships, grants or professorships to teachers that want to pursue a career in entrepreneurship education. At Babson College, entrepreneurship is regarded as a highly prestigious discipline, and no incentive schemes are deemed necessary in attracting tenured teachers. Cornell University provides professorships to foster the creation of entrepreneurship courses, outreach activities and initiatives. (Box 5.21). Box 5.21: Incentive structures at Cornell University Cornell University, the United States Two former Cornell students created a fund in 1992 to provide for the establishment of Clark Professorships. Since then 17 professors from 7 faculties and institutes have held Clark professorships. Professorships are awarded every year and runs are limited term appointments. To be eligible for a professorship one must be devoted to developing entrepreneurial activities under the EPE program. In 2003 four faculty members were named Clark professors in entrepreneurship. The program fosters participation in the creation of entrepreneurship courses, outreach activities and initiatives that are beneficial to Cornell Entrepreneruship students. There is a strong focus on extending entrepreneurship to students not typically reached, including engineering, design, law, arts and natural sciences i.e. The question related to budget allocations for building entrepreneurial activities reveal that all US universities have funds available for such activities. In Canada and Denmark the share is two-thirds and one-third, respectively. Most US programs are financed by private donations or foundations. Some universities cover the fixed expenses of entrepreneurship centers/programs while variable costs are covered by private donations. Other entrepreneurship programs/centers are 100% privately funded. The Lester Center at Berkeley is privately funded, while Berkeley is a publicly funded university. Successful entrepreneurs often make extensive donations to their alma mater. The Lloyd Greif Center at the University of Southern California was founded through a large donation from a USC alumnus (Box 5.22). 48

49 Box 5.22: Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of Southern California University of Southern California, USA Lloyd Greif, president and CEO of the Los Angeles investment banking firm Greif & Co., has pledged $5 million to the Marshall School of Business to establish the Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. Greif earned an MBA from the Marshall School in In 1987, he was recognized by the Entrepreneur Program as Outstanding Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year and serves as chairman of the Advisory Council of the School's Entrepreneur Program. Greif's gift is the first naming gift ever made to a major entrepreneur program by a graduate of that program. Only one student has donated an amount equal to that of Greif s before the age of 50. The establishment of the Lloyd Greif Center coincides with the 25th anniversary of the Marshall School's Entrepreneur Program. At both US and Canadian universities students are actively involved in student-run entrepreneurship activities. All 20 universities in the United States and Canada have some level of student involvement while only one third of the Danish entrepreneurship students are involved in entrepreneurial activities. Along with the availability of funding, student involvement is an area where the report detects remarkable differences between Denmark and the US and Canada. US universities regard students as valuable resources. Kenneth Morse, Managing Director, MIT s Entrepreneurship Center and Senior Lecturer, MIT Sloan School of Management, says: when something really important needs to be carried out we leave it to our students to get the job done and get it done right!. 24 At Babson students work as idea generators by organising lectures, networking activities, business plan competitions and summer camps for students from other schools that typically do not have available funds for such activities. At several US universities students are motivated by taking active part in student clubs. The Harold Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at UCLA has been successful in building strong student participation (Box 5.23). 24 Mandag Morgen, 2003, # 42 49

50 Box 5.23: Student involvement at UCLA UCLA, the United States The Entrepreneur Association (EA) is the largest student organization at The Anderson School of Management at UCLA. EA offers its 500+ members a wide range of entrepreneur-related activities with main emphasis on mentor networks and experience-based learning. More than 30 programs are scheduled throughout the year to encourage and inspire members to start their own business, and are devoted to building an entrepreneurial mindset. EA programs and events are designed to convey to students the skills and contacts necessary in the pursuit of an entrepreneurial career. The Danish institutions rank lower than their US and Canadian colleagues in terms of the representation of private business on the boards of entrepreneurial programs. In the US and Canada, respectively, 9 of 10 universities address this issue while in Denmark only half of the universities have involved private business in the management of entrepreneurial programs. The participation of private representatives may be fostered by establishing a Board of Directors or by forming advisory boards (Box 5.24) Box 5.24: Business involvement at Cornell Cornell University, the United States The EPE Advisory Council at Cornell s Entrepreneurship and Personal Enterprise Program consists of a diverse group of 100 Cornell alumni who are entrepreneurs or business leaders. The Council provides active leadership to the Program by helping to establish goals and provide guidance, support, and financial resources. Members also participate in courses, business plan judging, sponsoring student interns, and drawing other alumni back to Cornell. All US universities facilitate student networking activities. This is less prevalent in Canada, while roughly half of the Danish universities addresses student networking activities. Networking events include informal get-togethers or events that involve alumni or other resourceful individuals that may provide valuable input to the entrepreneurial student. At Berkeley both students and the university are engaged in setting-up networking activities. Situated on the outskirts of Silicon Valley, entrepreneurial activity is generally strong in the Berkeley area (Box 5.25) 50

51 Box 5.25: Networking activities at Berkeley Berkeley, the United States The Entrepreneurship Association (EA) and the Entrepreneurs Forum actively work to develop and participate in networks and the social context typical of the San Francisco area. One third of the MBA students are members of EA. EA are involved in a range of activities aimed at promoting networking and entrepreneurial skills. Activities include entrepreneur and business leader guest speakers as well as facilitating internships for MBA students in start-up companies. The Entrepreneurs Forum meets monthly during the academic year. It works actively to facilitate the networking process and brings together investors, lawyers, accountants, students and researches. In terms of the availability of interdisciplinary activities the United States is ranked first, followed closely by Canada and Denmark. There is a growing belief that interdisciplinary activities are essential in driving student participation. However, few comes close to matching Stanford s focused approach to interdisciplinary activities (Box 5.26) Box 5.26: Interdisciplinary activities at Stanford Stanford University, the United States The Stanford Entrepreneurship Network (SEN) creates a forum for communication and collaboration among 20+ entrepreneurship-related programs at Stanford University. The Stanford Entrepreneurship Network hosts bi-monthly meetings in which each group reports on new initiatives and activities, a web portal for all entrepreneurship activities at Stanford, and quarterly educational and networking events for the entire entrepreneurship community In terms of offering a physical meeting place for entrepreneurial students Canadian and Danish universities perform well while US universities are somewhat behind. In Aarhus the Center for Entrepreneurship coordinates a range of entrepreneurial activities. The Center was founded in close collaboration between the Architect School, The Danish School of Journalism, Aarhus Business Scholl, The Aarhus School of Engineering and Aarhus University (Box 5.27). 51

52 Box 5.27: Facilities at the Center for Entrepreneurship Center for Entrepreneurship, Denmark The Center for Entrepreneurship hosts a wide range of entrepreneurial activities. The Center has a strong focus on supporting and developing an innovative entrepreneurial culture in participating institutions. The Center is dedicated to supporting initiatives that will increase the share of knowledge-based entrepreneurs. The Center facilitates a strong co-operation between participating institutions in entrepreneurship education, development and research, and hosts a wide range of networking activities including entrepreneurship courses, lectures, and seminars. While only two-thirds of the Canadian universities have a policy regarding the transfer of credits, all Danish and US universities allow for the transfer of credits. There are different approaches to the transfer of credits. In Denmark all courses are potentially transferable. Several stakeholders from the Danish universities state that it may be difficult to grant a transfer of credit since some of the courses offered are based on practical experience rather than a theoretical approach. Some universities also remain sceptical towards courses that offer an experimental approach to teaching. In the United States policies may dictate that all entrepreneurial courses may be transferred (Box 5.28). Box 5.28: Transfer of credits at MIT MIT, the United States At MIT entrepreneurship programs are governed by the Sloan School of Management but are available to all students. MIT policies stipulate that all students at undergraduate/graduate level (given certain requirements) can attend any available course offered at MIT. As far as the inclusion of other faculties/institutes in managing entrepreneurship programs two-thirds of the US universities gave a positive reply, while the share in Canada and Denmark was app. 50%. The participation of faculties in managing entrepreneurship program is highly relevant in the unified model, as entrepreneurship education in the focused model primarily is targeted at business school students. At Stanford 22 stakeholders are involved in coordinating activities though the Stanford Entrepreneurship Network. Cornell has also applied a formal approach in coordinating entrepreneurial activities (Box 5.29) 52

53 Box 5.29: Faculty involvement at Cornell Cornell University, the United States Cornell s Entrepreneurship and Personal Enterprise Program is governed by the EPE Governing Board. The deans of the nine participating colleges and schools comprise the Governing Board. The chair of the board rotates on two-year terms between the deans of the founding colleges, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the S. C. Johnson School of Management. The Board is focused on ensuring that all participating faculties and institutes are dedicated to the promotion of entrepreneurship throughout Cornell. Individual activities are also coordinated by the Governing Board. At roughly 75% of the US universities entrepreneurship is part of the school s overall approach to education. In Canada the share is app. 50% while no Danish university has a coherent approach to entrepreneurship education. At the University of Texas management is devoted to diffusing entrepreneurship to non-business areas including music, communication, human biology and engineering. At Cornell the President is a member of Cornell Entrepreneur Network. However, no university comes close to matching Babson s all-embracing approach to entrepreneurship education. Box 5.30: Entrepreneurship education as part of the educational vision at Babson College Babson College, the United States Babson distinguishes itself in integrating entrepreneurship in every aspect of education. Conventional wisdom dictates that entrepreneurship is all about starting and running a business. Babson s view is that entrepreneurial skills are essential to the success of any company be it large or small, private or public, local or global. The all-embracing approach implies that teachers and professors in some form or another make entrepreneurship a part of any course offered. Babson s unique approach is best summed up by the following statement: More than at any other university Babson has an institutional commitment to entrepreneurship. We teach business through the lens of entrepreneurship Summary In general Denmark s ranking reflects the lack of prestige associated with entrepreneurship education. This includes the presence of teacher incentives, available funds for new initiatives, student involvement and the overall approach to entrepreneurship. The United States rank higher as compared to their Danish colleagues. Overall Canada ranks second behind the United States. It should be emphasized that Danish entrepreneurship programs are working hard to improve institutional characteristics and new initiatives have surfaced recently. In 53

54 Aarhus the Center for Entrepreneruship was launched, and the University of Aalborg has initiated kick start to help organise a variety of activities for entrepreneurship students. The imminent launch of the Danish Entrepreneurship Academy will further fuel and improve Denmark s institutional characteristics Outreach Outreach deals with the prevalence of networks and the extent of co-operation with parties outside university boundaries that provide counsel and aid to entrepreneurial students. Specifically outreach covers access to incubator, the extent to which incubators are a part of the university setting, vocational guidance (mentor), venture capital or Business Angels, alumni networks, IPR support and business plan competitions (Figure 5.9). Figure 5.9: Areas covered in outreach Outreach Incubator attached to university Incubator part of university environment Mentor schemes/vocational guidance Venture capital Alumni organisations IPR counsel Business plan competitions Questions on outreach Even for skilled entrepreneurship graduates business start-up is a complicated affair. Therefore universities often provide a number of support functions that supply counsel and guidance to help students in their entrepreneurial careers. Universities may support students by involving incubator as part of the entrepreneurial set-up. An incubator is a unit, or hatchery, where individuals engaged in start-up activities may seek professional guidance. Start-ups may take lodgings with professional advisers or run their business in close collaboration with advisers. Guidance will typically be focused on start-up funding, providing access to relevant networks and providing intensive strategic guidance on sales, marketing as well as technical and financial development. Incubators come in various forms and shapes. If the incubator is an integral part of the university environment it is assumed that the incubator is closely connected to the university. Incubators located on the university campus serve as playgrounds, where students have access to affordable work space and are allowed to test and further develop their business ideas. Incubators may also provide first-class guidance in fostering the creation of high-growth start-ups. Mentor schemes (vocational guidance) provide valuable guidance to entrepreneurial students. Mentor schemes constitute a partnership between experienced business professionals and entrepreneurship students. The business professional will guide and instruct students in the areas of business start-up and career paths but may also cover 54

55 other non-entrepreneurial issues. Universities have been asked if mentor schemes/vocational guidance are part of the entrepreneurial program. Venture capital is vital in the business start-up phase. Venture capital is typically made available through a network of venture capitalists or business angels. Especially for high-tech companies engaged in time- and resource consuming product development access to substantial funding is critical. Universities have been asked if venture capital is available. Alumni networks are often engaged in entrepreneurial activities and serve an important role in maintaining close ties between the university and alumni. Alumni act as fundraisers; provide internships, serves as guest lecturers, mentors and role models. IPR, Intellectual Property Right, covers patents, copyrights, trademarks, licenses, i.e. or other ownership rights that allow holders to capitalise on an invention or a product within a specified period of time. To apply for ownership rights may be a complicated and prolonged affair. Some universities have established IPR-offices that offer counsel for students or teacher on IPR-related issues. The last question addresses university participation in business plan competitions. Business plans are an essential part of the entrepreneurial curriculum and it may be useful for students to test their business plans before a panel of skilled business professionals University performance Collectively the United States head the ranking, slightly ahead of Canada and Denmark. US performance is solid in the areas of vocational training, alumni networks and venture capital but lower in IPR counsel, business plan competitions and access to incubators. Canada receives high marks in vocational training, alumni networks and business plan competitions. In the areas of access to incubators, venture capital and IPR counsel Canadian ranking is mediocre. Denmark ranks at the top in the areas access to incubators, IPR counsel and business plan competitions. Apart from alumni networks Denmark is at a level with the United States in other areas related to outreach activities. 55

56 Figure 5.10: Average ranking for the United States, Canada and Denmark - Outreach 3. Business plan competitions 32. IPR counsel 27. Incubators attached 1 0,8 0,6 0,4 0,2 0 The United States Canada Denmark 28. Incubator part of university environment 29. Mentor schemes 31. Alumni networks 30. Venture capital Note: The numbers refer to the numbering in the questionnaire (see Appendix A) Best Practice Denmark and Canada are leading the ranking in terms of having access to an incubator. In Denmark 5 of 7 universities have formal ties with incubators. In Canada and the United States 50 and 70%, respectively, of the universities included have formal relation with an incubator. In Denmark the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation has appointed a number of innovation incubators with strong ties to one or more knowledge institutions. A number of Copenhagen knowledge institutions are attached to incubators though the Symbion Science Park (Box 5.31) Box 5.31: Incubators at knowledge institutions in Copenhagen Symbion Science Park, Denmark In the early 1980s six Copenhagen-based scientists created the Symbion Science Park for local research institutions and companies. The science park was to create synergy between the different companies in the science park, and add knowledge to them from universities, advisers and the established business life. In 1998 Symbion was for the first time chosen by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation to be an approved innovation incubator. This means that each year Symbion gets a bag with money from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation which will be spent on investments in the developments of new 56

57 research based projects, ideas and companies. Through CAT-Symbion, Symbion is an approved incubator for Local universities and knowledge institutions include the University of Copenhagen, the Danish Pharmaceutical University, the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, the IT University of Copenhagen and hospitals in the greater Copenhagen area. In the United States government involvement is not prevalent, but several universities have launched their own incubators (Box 5.32) Box 5.32: Incubators at Babson College Babson College, the United States Babson has two so-called hatcheries at both graduate and undergraduate level. The Hatchery offers student businesses a professional workspace where they can run their business. The Hatchery creates an atmosphere that is conducive to sharing of ideas and information among student teams and faculty, as well as executives-in-residence and visiting entrepreneurs. To be awarded Hatchery space, teams must submit an Executive Summary or Business Plan, complete a Statement of Intent which provides evidence of their commitment and ability to actually implement a new venture, and have a Faculty Sponsor that feels that the team has or will work in a dedicated and sophisticated manner to move the venture forward. Since the program's inception in the summer of 1998, 60 Babson teams have taken advantage of the Hatchery program, and 24 ventures have actually been launched. From that group, 14 are still currently operational, and 3 businesses have been acquired. The United States is the leading country in terms of making incubators a part of the educational environment. Incubators have different purposes and ambitions. The incubator at The Lester Center for Entrepreneurship at Berkeley is limited in scope and only available to Berkeley students. Since 1989 the University of Texas has been the driving force behind the Austin Technology Incubator (ATI), one of the most extensive incubators in the United States (Box 5.33). 57

58 Box 5.33: Incubators at the University of Texas University of Texas Austin, the United States Austin University is co-founder of the Austin Technology Incubator (ATI), one of the most successful incubators in the United States. The non-profit program is a strategic partnership of local industry, government, and The University of Texas at Austin. ATI provides guidance for early-stage, high-tech companies in the areas of strategy, marketing, financing, human resources and networking. ATI has graduated 65 companies of which 5 have gone public. ATI graduate companies have generated more than 1,2 billion USD in revenue and have created close to 3,000 jobs. 9 of 10 universities in the Untied States and Canada provide vocational guidance relevant to entrepreneurship students. Danish universities also involve mentors in entrepreneurship education. In the United States mentor schemes and business counsel are facilitated by student organisations or via databases that help bring students and business professionals together. The Entrepreneur in Residence program at the University of Pennsylvania allows student to tap the expertise of successful entrepreneurs. Participating students are provided one-on-one 30 minute sessions with the Entrepreneur in Residence to discuss business ideas and other entrepreneurial issues. Box 5.34: Mentors at Babson College Babson College, the United States The Babson Brain Trust is a select group of talented and experienced individuals who have agreed to actively mentor top student entrepreneurs. Members of the Brain Trust include entrepreneurs, CEOs, venture capitalists, Business Angels, board members, lawyers, accountants and leaders from the Boston business community. The core purpose of the Brain Trust is to create networking opportunities with the world beyond Babson College. Mentors serve as sounding boards, offering advice and counsel and assisting students with the evolution of ideas, business models and strategies. Perhaps more importantly the mentor serves as a connection to additional resources or individuals who can guide the student. The United States head the ranking (9 of 10) in access to venture capital, followed closely by Denmark and Canada. All Danish incubators have access to seed-capital. At US universities venture capital access may be organised in a number of ways. Often universities or student organisations arrange networking events for students, venture capitalists and Business Angels. Formal networks or databases are also used in bringing student and venture capitalists together. 58

59 At Cornell University, BR ventures (an investment fund) is managed by second-year students (Box 5.35). Box 5.35: Venture capital at Cornell Cornell University, the United States BR Ventures at Cornell University is focused on early-stage high-growth companies and provides seed capital, typically ranging between 50,000 and 200,000 dollars. BR Ventures is funded by donations to the university; fund returns are returned to the Johnson School to create a growing pool of investment capital and build the endowment. BR Ventures exemplifies Cornell s tradition of combining business training with hands-on practice. BR fund managers are second-year MBA students and have participated in programs in entrepreneurship and private equity, among others. As far as of alumni networks involving entrepreneurial activities, the analysis shows a large spread in scores among the three countries. All US universities and 9 of 10 Canadian universities have alumni networks. Despite dedicated efforts in building or expanding existing alumni networks only one Danish university has an alumni network that involve entrepreneurial activities. Alumni organisations focused on entrepreneurship are prevalent at most US universities. Members include entrepreneurship graduates that have expressed an interest in maintaining close relation with their alma mater and participate in networking activities with other alumni. Some alumni programs are organised around informal meetings, while others actively promote national and international student networks (Box 5.36). Box 5.36: Alumni organisations at Cornell Cornell University, the United States The Cornell Entrepreneur Network (CEN) brings together Cornell alumni. The goal of CEN is linking Cornellians to foster career success. CEN is the national network of Cornell alumni that combines regional events and virtual networks in bringing Cornell alumni together. Events feature lectures, discussion groups, black-tie dinners and other networking activities. Cornell Silicon Valley (CSV) is a network for Cornell alumni working in the technology field in the Bay Area of California. CSV offers outreach for Cornell alumni to Cornell faculty and students and to research breakthroughs in technology taking place at Cornell. Alumni connect with each other, as well, to exchange ideas and discuss issues affecting the technology industry. Denmark and Canada rank marginally higher as compared to the United States in the area of IPR counsel. For all three countries roughly two-thirds of universities offer IPR resources. 59

60 As a technical university MIT is often engaged in advising students on intellectual property rights. MIT has made a virtue of applying a flat organisation with minimum control and controlled chaos. MIT maintains a strong approach, and today MIT takes out the highest number of patents among all technical universities in the United States. Box 5.37: IPR counsel at MIT MIT, the United States MIT's Technology Licensing Office serves as an educational resource on intellectual property and licensing matters. The office has six full-time employees. The Technology Licensing Office manages the patenting, licensing, trade marking and copyrighting of intellectual property developed at MIT, but also invites companies outside MIT seeking to license an invention. On average TLO handles 2 inventions per day and submit 3 to 5 patent applications weekly. TLO is in charge of marketing inventions and software developed at MIT. Since 1988 TLO, working with local venture capitalist and business angels, have been involved in the start-up of more than 100 companies. All Danish universities participate in Business plan competitions. In Canada the share is 9 of 10, and in the United States 8 of 10. The perfect Danish score can be attributed to the Venture Cup, a Nordic business plan competition with a first prize of 250,000 DKK available to all Danish university students. In the United States most universities have their own business plan competition and there is at least one business plan competition per state. Surveys indicate that the seven largest US business plan competitions have generated 72 new enterprises since One of the largest business plan competitions is the Moot Corp Competition at the University of Texas where the winner receives a 100,000 USD grant. 25 Stowe, Charles (2003): Entrepreneurship Education in the United States. 60

61 Box 5.38: Business plan competitions at the University of Texas, Austin The University of Texas Austin, the United States On of the most prestigious business plan competitions in the Untied States is the annual MOOT CORP competition held at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas. In 1984 the University of Texas held the inaugural competition and it has since grown in prestige, prize money and participants. Contestants present their business plan to a panel of investors and the winner receives a $100,000 investment to facilitate launching the venture Summary Except for alumni activities the Danish performance in outreach is solid. All US universities have alumni networks that help bring practitioners to the class room, promote the use of role models, supply internships, network with private business, arrange for vocational training, establish relations to venture capitalist and business angels and act as fundraisers. While attempts have been made to organise alumni activities in Denmark a lot of work needs to be done in matching the quality of US alumni-networks. It should be noted that the qualitative data collected suggest that the quantitative data fails to grasp differences in outreach activities in Denmark and the Untied States. Often outreach activities are more extensive in the United States as compared to Denmark Evaluation Evaluation covers university evaluation of entrepreneurial activities, stakeholder influence on education scope, monitoring career paths of entrepreneurship graduates and the extent to which activities are being replicated by other institutions. Figure 5.11: Areas covered in evaluation Evaluation Model replicated Evaluation Monitoring Stakeholder needs 61

62 Question on evaluation Universities have been questioned on the extent to which the educational model is being replicated by other schools be it the overall approach to entrepreneurship education, one or more entrepreneurship courses, specific activities or the entire educational program. This is based on the premise that education that has been partially or completely replicated has created a well-designed entrepreneurship education or instigated the creation of new courses or activities. It should be noted that university replies may be affected by the fact that it is easier to replicate Englishspeaking universities. The scope of student and faculty evaluation of entrepreneurship education is a core element in evaluation. Universities have been asked if the schools monitor the effect of entrepreneurship education on graduate career paths. Issues related to share of entrepreneurs among entrepreneurial graduates, employment opportunities and income levels vis-à-vis nonentrepreneurship graduates. Stakeholder influence on the content of entrepreneurship programs may be deduced by analysing if student skills match the competencies needed by future employers University rankings on evaluation US universities receive high marks in the extent to which education is replicated, student and faculty evaluation and stakeholder needs. The United States fails to match Denmark in questions related to the monitoring of student career paths. Canadian scores are almost on a level with their US colleagues. Canada receive high marks in the extent to which education is replicated, student/faculty evaluation and stakeholder needs, but are ranked behind the Untied States and Denmark in monitoring effects of education on student career paths. Denmark is equal to Canada and the US in 3 of the 4 areas. Danish universities are leaders in terms of evaluation and monitoring and perform well in stakeholder involvement. 62

63 Figure 5.12: Average ranking for the United States, Canada and Denmark - Evaluation 37. Stakeholder needs 34. Model replicated 1 0,8 0,6 0,4 0,2 0 The United States Canada Denmark 35. Evaluation 36. Monitoring Note: The numbers refer to the numbering in the questionnaire (see Appendix A) Best Practice At 9 of 10 US universities entrepreneurship education has been replicated by other institutions, in Canada the share is 7 of 10 and in Denmark 2 of 7. Single elements, specific courses and the entire program may be replicated by other institutions. The Kauffman Foundation actively works to promote a unique approach to entrepreneurship education to other universities (Box 5.39). Box 5.39: Entrepreneurship replication at Cornell Cornell University, the United States The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation works to encourage entrepreneurship education across the United States. In 2000 the foundation had an asset based of more than 2 billion USD and made grants in the excess of 100 million UDS in The foundation has chosen Cornell s Entrepreneurship and Personal Enterprise (EPE) program as a role model for its work in entrepreneurship. The foundation is actively engaged in making Cornell s radiant approach to entrepreneurship education available to other universities. As part of this strategy the foundation has made a substantial grant to Cornell. Cornell will assist the Kauffman Foundation in selecting and evaluating entrepreneurial initiatives as well as providing guidance and counsel to Kauffman Fellows. 63

64 Evaluation is the only question that has received a positive reply from all of the 37 universities covered. Some schools have university-wide guidelines as to how evaluation of courses and faculty is to be conducted. Some entrepreneurship programs conduct evaluation themselves. 4 of 7 Danish universities monitor future career paths, while the share in United States and Canada, is 4 of 10 and 3 of 10, respectively. The difficulties in assessing entrepreneurial activity among entrepreneurship graduates are substantial since most graduates do not engage in a business start-up immediately following graduation. Most take regular jobs and later move to a smaller company or become entrepreneurs. The Graduate School of Business at Stanford established a unit that monitors future career paths of all Stanford graduates. Thus it is not possible to make a distinction between entrepreneurial and non entrepreneurial students. Box 5.40: Monitoring education effects at Stanford University Stanford University, the United States The MBA Career Management Center at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University monitors graduate career paths. This includes employment report statistics such as top employers, employers by industry, compensation and job location. The CMC reports that 10% of MBA graduates (year 2000) started their own business upon graduation and that 23% were employed in businesses with less than 25 employees. US universities perform slightly better than their Danish and Canadian counterparts when it comes to analysing stakeholder needs. The majority of the US universities continuously gather information from alumni, entrepreneurs and business leaders to help refine entrepreneurial activities. (Box 5.41). Box 5.41: Stakeholder needs at Babson College Babson College, the United States Founder s Day is an annual celebration acknowledging the significant achievements of top-class entrepreneurs. Two to four entrepreneurs are inducting annually in the Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs who have been inducted into the Academy are originators of rapid-growth, market-leading businesses. Founder s Day activities include seminars and lectures for Academy members, entrepreneurs and Babson faculty, providing en excellent opportunity to receive valuable input for future activities and the overall entrepreneurship program. 64

65 Summary The fact that Danish entrepreneurial program are not replicated by other institutions confirms Denmark s overall position in entrepreneurship education. However, the efforts made in strengthening evaluation suggest that Denmark is dedicated to promote entrepreneurship education. While there is still room for improvement in some areas, Denmark s overall position in evaluation is solid. 65

66 6 Main conclusions The following section highlights main conclusions and details 6 areas where detectable differences have been identified. 6.1 Main results The report shows that Danish entrepreneurial skills are low compared to most other countries. Furthermore the report documents that entrepreneurial activity at Danish universities is significantly lower as compared with the United States and Canada. The entrepreneurial spirit in the United States is highly evident at educational institutions, where entrepreneurship remains a reputable discipline. It involves a great deal of work and resources to establish a comprehensive entrepreneurship program that covers all aspects of entrepreneurship, but multiple universities in the United States have been successful in embracing entrepreneurship. While the overall approach may differ there are a number of common characteristics in program designs including activities, support functions and guidance, activities that are not prevalent at Danish universities Share of students participating in entrepreneurship education The report shows that the share of entrepreneurial students at leading universities in Canada and the United States is much higher compared to Denmark. Student participation is particularly high in US business schools. Still there is a growing interest among non-business students to engage in entrepreneurial programs. At Stanford and Cornell participation rates are 15-20%. Participation rates in Denmark are much lower. At the top-ranked universities participation rates are 3%, and roughly 1% at other institutions. Canada does not match the record of the United States but still has a higher participation rate compared to Denmark. The high level of student participation should come as no surprise as all US universities are considered best-practice universities Overall prioritisation of entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship education in the Untied States dates back to the 1960s. Since then activities have flourished. Entrepreneurship is a highly valued activity in the American society and remains a highly prestigious discipline in higher education. Danish entrepreneurship programs trail their US counterparts in areas such as teacher incentives, funding for new activities, integrating entrepreneurship in the overall approach to educations and students embracing an entrepreneurial way of thinking. 66

67 Still entrepreneurship is a growing area in the Danish educational system. The Entrepreneurship Academy is a high profile initiative and other activities are currently being promoted to boost entrepreneurship education Ongoing relation with private business US universities have a practice-oriented approach to entrepreneurship education and frequently involve business stakeholders in the entrepreneurship programs. Business leaders are often involved through alumni networks. Some Danish teachers have an entrepreneurial background and practitioners are involved on a day-to-day basis but in the remaining areas the United States is far ahead of Denmark. Alumni networks is an area that Denmark will have to address. Alumni networks are the single most important life-line to the business community for the majority of US universities Resources Most US universities fund entrepreneurship programs trough donations from foundations or individuals. This is especially prevalent within entrepreneurship programs. Entrepreneurship programs engage the business community and alumni in raising capital for entrepreneurial activities. The financial gains from entrepreneurship ventures are often astronomical. Some universities have received multi-million dollar donations from successful graduates. In addition American universities often comprise entrepreneurship centres that organise all entrepreneurial activities. Some have 30 to 40 teachers Student involvement The report shows that US universities attach great importance to student involvement. Often student networks are involved in planning and carrying out academic and social events. Entrepreneurship teaching is a time-consuming discipline and faculty may not have the resources available to organise entrepreneurship-related activities Education of teacher-entrepreneurs Last but not least the report shows that practitioner involvement is approached differently. In the United States practitioner involvement is carried out in a systematic manner. Education training is conducted prior to practitioner involvement. In that was practitioners are able to go beyond the scope of their own entrepreneurship background and supply students with valuable insight. Supplementary training is often available for staff teachers that wish to pursue a teaching career in the field of entrepreneurship. Education training of practitioners is virtually non-existent in Denmark and as far as we know, staff teachers are not offered supplementary training in entrepreneurial disciplines. 67

68 7 Breaking down institutions - one-dimensional universities and business schools A benchmark study requires that units are comparable. As mentioned earlier we detect significant variation in education systems in Denmark, the United States and Canada. The primary difference lies in the fact that Canadian and American universities often comprise business schools and technical universities. This corresponds to the structure found at Aalborg University and the University of Southern Denmark. One-dimensional universities in Denmark include Aarhus University (traditional university), the business schools in Copenhagen and Aarhus (business schools) and DTU (technical university). What are the implications for the main conclusions presented in the report? Danish and American universities have been divided into two categories: Multidimensional universities and business schools. Multidimensional universities offer entrepreneurship courses for the entire student body. Compared to for example Aarhus University, American institutions have business schools attached but both universities work actively to promote a university-wide approach to entrepreneurship education. As mentioned previously Cornell and Stanford apply a university-wide approach. The University of Texas which is devoted to integrating entrepreneurship education across academic boundaries has also been selected as a multi-dimensional university. Among the Danish universities Aarhus University, Aalborg University and the IT University have been selected for further analysis. Business schools at Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, Berkeley, and Babson College are included in our analysis. Babson is a pure business school. Harvard, Pennsylvania and Berkeley have answered questions from a business school point of view. The Danish business schools in Aarhus and Copenhagen and the University of Southern Denmark are selected for further analysis. Results are presented in the form of spider webs: 68

69 Figure 7.1: Comparing one-dimensional universities and business schools Multidimensional Universities Business Schools 7. Entrepreneurial research 6. Executive education 1. Business plan courses 1 0,8 0,6 0,4 0, Supply of courses at undergraduate level 3. BA-degrees USA Denmark 7. Entrepreneurial research 6. Executive education 1. Business plan courses 1 0,8 0,6 0,4 0, Supply of courses at undergraduate level 3. BA-degrees USA Denmark 5.Graduate degree/mba in entrepreneurship 4. Supply of courses at graduate/postgraduate level 5.Graduate degree/mba in entrepreneurship 4. Supply of courses at graduate/postgraduate level 16. Entrepreneurial way of thinking 15. Experimental teaching 8. Practitioner involvement 1 0,8 0,6 0,4 0, Teachers with entrepreneurial record USA Denmark 10. Education training for teacher-entrepreneurs 16. Entrepreneurial way of thinking 15. Experimental teaching 8. Practitioner involvement 1 0,8 0,6 0,4 0, Teachers with entrepreneurial record USA Denmark 10. Education training for teacher-entrepreneurs 14. Student personalities 11. Internships 14. Student personalities 11. Internships 13. Role models 12. Company relations 13. Role models 12. Company relations 26. Overall approach to entrepreneurship Other faculties part of the management 24. Transfer of credits USA 17. Teacher incentives Denmark 1 0,8 18. Financial resources 0,6 0,4 19. Student involvement 0, Private representative part of management 26. Overall approach to entrepreneurship 5. Other faculties part of the management 24. Transfer of credits 23. Facilities 17. Teacher incentives 1 0,8 0,6 0,4 0, Financial resources 19. Student involvement 20. Private representatives part of management 21. Network activities USA Denmark 23. Facilities 21. Network activities 22. Interdisciplinary activities 22. Interdisciplinary activities 33. Business plan competitions 32. IPR counsel 27. Incubators attached 1 0,8 0,6 0,4 0,2 0 USA Denma 28. Incubator part of univer environment 29. Mentor schemes 33. Business plan competitions 32. IPR counsel 27. Incubators attached 1 0,8 0,6 0,4 0,2 0 USA Denmark 28. Incubator part of university environment 29. Mentor schemes 31. Alumni networks 30. Venture capital 31. Alumni networks 30. Venture capital 69

70 37. Stakeholder needs 34. Model replicated 1 0,8 0,6 0,4 0,2 0 USA 35. Evaluation Denmark 37. Stakeholder needs 34. Model replicated 1 0,8 0,6 0,4 0, Evaluation USA Denmark 36. Monitoring 36. Monitoring The figure shows a remarkable resemblance to the findings presented in section 5, where all 27 universities were analysed together. Universities may differ in terms of limitations and opportunities, but this has no influence on overall results. The reason that US universities perform particularly well lies in the fact that they all have business schools attached. Danish business schools and Danish universities that have a business school attached do not perform better compared to pure universities. This leads us to conclude that the performance of Danish universities would not have been significantly higher had there been business schools attached. The 37 questions measure the university performance in absolute terms. Such a distinction would normally favour larger units. Does this influence the overall findings of the report? Probably not. Babson College is one of the smallest units in the study. Yet Babson ranks first in terms of university performance. Correspondingly MIT, with more than 10,000 students, performs equally well. Universities dedicated to the advancement of entrepreneurship perform well regardless of size. One final thought: The Danish IT University only offers graduate and postgraduate education. This implies that they have answered no to questions regarding courses at undergraduate level. UCLA only offers entrepreneurship at an MBA level. Still UCLA ranks among the best on the overall index indicating that the lack of courses at undergraduate level is no obstacle to land a healthy ranking. 70

71 8 Questionnaire The numbering used below corresponds to the numbering applied in the spider webs (Chapter 5). In general questions have been asked in the order presented below. However some questions have been swapped to facilitate the figures applied in Chapter 5. Education Scope 1. Does the school offer courses in Business Planning? 2. Does the school have a diversified supply of entrepreneurship courses at undergraduate level (5 or more)? 3. Does the school offer a BA-degree in entrepreneurship? 4. Does the school have a diversified supply of entrepreneurship courses at graduate and postgraduate level (5 or more)? 5. Does the school offer a graduate degree/mba in entrepreneurship? 6. Is executive education/management training relevant for entrepreneurs offered? 7. Is research on entrepreneurship-issues being conducted? Education set-up 8. Are guest lecturers/practitioners with practical experience used in entrepreneurship classes? 9. Do some of the lecturers have entrepreneurship background themselves? 10. Are guest lecturers/practitioners coached to be teachers? 11. Is a longer lasting internship or practical experience part of the education? 12. Are the entrepreneurship students in ongoing contact with a private company? 13. Does the university communicate role models? 14. Is the personality of the students developed by exposing them to real life entrepreneurship problems (development of not only theoretical skills but also personal and practical entrepreneurship skills)? 15. Is experimental teaching used as part of the teaching (focus on learning and reflexive processes. Involves action based learning)? 16. Does the university teach the majority of the students at the university to think entrepreneurial? Institutional characteristics 17. Do incentives at the university encourage lecturers to take (new) initiatives relevant for entrepreneurship students (less teaching, higher salary, a grant/fellowship, prizes, etc.)? 18. Does the budget allow new entrepreneurship related initiatives? 19. Are students actively involved in student run entrepreneurship activities - venturing, networking, seminars? 20. Are private representatives represented on the board of the entrepreneurshipeducation/involved in planning and coordinating the entrepreneurship courses/education? 21. Are there frequent informal/formal interaction between entrepreneurship students through seminar series, conferences, speeches 22. Are there cross-disciplinary entrepreneurship activities? 23. Does a centre or a similar physical space exist where entrepreneurship students can meet (reading room, computer room, café or the like)? 24. Can students from other faculties take entrepreneurship courses and have them credited to their education at other faculties within the same university? 71

72 25. Are different institutions/faculties represented on the board of the entrepreneurship-education/involved in planning and coordinating the entrepreneurship courses/education? 26. Is entrepreneurship an integrated part of the university s overall approach to education? Outreach 27. Does the school have ties to an incubator? 28. Is an incubator part of the environment at the school? 29. Is vocational guidance/a mentor scheme affiliated to the entrepreneurial activities? 30. Is venture capital/ Business Angels attached to the school? 31. Does an organized network involving entrepreneurship activity exist (i.e. alumni)? 32. Is support regarding IPR (intellectual property rights) issues offered? 33. Do business plan competitions take place? Evaluation 34. Is the educational model or part of it being copied by other schools? 35. Does evaluation of the education take place? 36. Is the effect of the education on the student s career pattern being monitored? 37. Does examination of stakeholder needs (former students, representatives of corporate business, etc.) take place? 72

73 9 Web sites Babson College: Babson College: The Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship at Babson College: Babson Symposia for Entrepreneurship Educators SEE: Price Babson: Entrepreneurial Strategies for Innovation and Growth: Undergraduate Hatcheries: Graduate Hatcheries Brain Trust: Founder s Day: University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business: Herb Kelleher Center for entrepreneurship: MBA med specialisering i iværksætteri: Austin Technology Incubator - ATI: The IC 2 Institute: Moot Corp Competition: Stanford University Stanford Graduate School of Business: Center for entrepreneurial Studies ved Stanford Graduate School of Business: Iværksætterfag ved Stanford på overbygningsuddannelsen: Stanford Entrepreneurship Network (SEN): MBA Career Management Center ved Graduate School of Business: 73

74 University of Pennsylvania The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania: Entrepreneurship at Wharton: Sol C Snider entrepreneurial Research Center: Harvard University The Harvard Business School: Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship: MBA Student Clubs relevante for studerende der studerer iværksætteri: Summer Fellowships: Iværksætterkurser og programmer: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) MIT Sloan School of Management: MIT Entrepreneurship Center: Iværksætterfag ved MIT: Executive Education: Entrepreneurship lab Technology Licensing Office (TLO) University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) UCLA Anderson School of Management: Harold Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies: The Entrepreneur Association (EA) University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Business: Lester Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Entrepreneurs Association (EA) 74

75 Fellowships and Internships: Fellows in Entrepreneurship: Lifetime Achievement Award: University of Southern California Marshall School of Business: Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies: Lloyd Greifs donation: The Advisory Council: Fag i iværksætteri: Cornell University Cornell Entrepreneurship and Personal Enterprise Program EPE: EPE Advisory Council BR Ventures BR Incubators: Cornell Entrepreneur Network (CEN) Cornell Silicon Valley (CSV) University-wide Entrepreneurship Education: Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation Saint Mary s University Business Development Centre: Université Laval Entrepreneuriat Laval: École Des Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC) Centre D Entrepreneurship: 75

76 McGill University Entrepreneurship at McGill: York University Schulich school of Business: Entrepreneurial Studies: Brock University Faculty of Business: Reports on entrepreneurship in Canada: University of Calgary Haskayne School of Business: Entrepreneurship & Innovation (ENTI) comm/enti/index.html/view University of British Colombia Sauder School of Business: W. Maurice Young Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Research Centre University of Victoria Faculty of Business: Entrepreneurship Programme: Entrepreneurship Speciality: Handelshøjskolen i Århus Institut for Organisation og Ledelse. Research on entrepreneurship and SMEs - RESME IT-Universitetet Syddansk Universitet Center for Småvirksomhedsforskning - CESFO: 76

77 Københavns Handelshøjskole Institut for ledelse, politik og filosofi: Aalborg Universitet Kickstart: Danmarks Tekniske Universitet Center for Technology, Economics and Management Århus Universitet Institut for Økonomi, Department of Management: Handels og IngeniørHøjskolen i Herning (HiH) Business Development Engineer: Center for Entrepreneurship Symbion Science Park 77