Improving the Learning Experience and Outcomes in Entrepreneurial Courses

Abstract: Entrepreneurship has been gaining momentum is Europe over the last years as a way to reduce unemployment levels, and in line with the take-off of the digital economy in the world. Entrepreneurship education is still an open research area, with many courses being launched in almost all universities. We describe our experience in running a summer school and mentoring the teams created in the context of the EU-XCeL project, and ICT focused project funded by European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme. From this experience, we extract some conclusions and recommendations for preparing better courses and learning experiences, and we also advocate for courses mixing students from different Degrees studies, mainly Engineering and Business, for improving the experience and the course outcomes, especially for students of Engineering Degrees.This work has been developed in the context of the EUXCeL project, funded by European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No 644801. It has been partially supported by the “Research Programme for Groups of Scientific Excellence at Region of Murcia" of the Seneca Foundation (Agency for Science and Technology of the Region of Murcia – 19895/GERM/15). Diego Alonso thanks the Spanish Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte, Subprograma Estatal de Movilidad, Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2013-2016 for grant CAS14/00238

PANDANGAN FILSAFAT PENDIDIKAN HUMANISME TERHADAP MERDEKA BELAJAR DAN KAMPUS MERDEKA

The Minister of Education and Culture's policy on Merdeka Belajar and Merdeka Campus aims to encourage students to master various sciences to enter the world of work. In accordance with Permendikbud Number 3 of 2020 concerning the Merdeka Belajar-Kampus Merdeka Policy regarding the National Higher Education Standards. In the view of humanism, independent learning provides opportunities for students to learn autonomously or independently and take responsibility for themselves. Students have the right to participate in off-campus and off-campus learning in various activities such as student exchanges, internships / work practices, teaching assistance in educational units, research, humanitarian projects, entrepreneurial activities, independent studies / projects, and building villages / Thematic Real Work Lectures (KKNT). The involvement of students in these activities can provide learning experiences (experience learning) as a provision for facing life and life in the future. To realize this learning experience, universities must build cooperation with business / industry and government. Cooperation is based on the framework of improving the professionalism of the academic community. This framework will affect the formulation of the curriculum in determining learning outcomes and the placement of courses outside the university. The quality of learning and the meaningfulness of learning can be achieved by applying humanistic learning principles, namely learning how to lear

CPLD based controller for single phase inverters

The DC-AC converter, also known as inverter, converts DC power to AC power at desired output voltage and frequency. The DC power input to the inverter is obtained from an existing power supply. Nowadays inverters use high power switching transistors either IGBT's and/or MOSFETs. In addition, the voltage and frequency of the source can be adjustable. These single phase inverters and their operating principles are analyzed in detail. In this project, a full-bridge, single phase inverter that uses a digital Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) to control the power switches at 18 kHz was constructed. The concept of PWM with different strategies for inverters is described. A type of filter is used to improve the distortion in the output waveform. A design and implementation of PWM by using complex programmable logic device (CPLD) from Altera MaxPlus II is constructed and programmed. The involved software, hardware, and suitable algorithm to implement and generate the PWM are developed in details. To verify the significant of this single phase inverter, the output voltage will be tested with resistive load and inductive load

The development of the secondary vocational curriculum in a northern local authority in England

This paper reports on the findings from the evaluation of two projects directed at improving the vocational provision in a Northern Local Authority in England during 2006. The two projects are: Pathways to Success - partly funded by the European Social Fund and Rotherham Ready - with the evaluation funded by the Regional Development Agency, Yorkshire Forward. The evaluation of the two projects had different but overlapping intentions that reflect each project's contribution to the development of the vocational curriculum 14-16 in the local authority. Rotherham Ready has been characterised as a Learning-oriented evaluation whereas Pathways to Success has followed a more traditional evaluation model with more attention given to outputs and the achievements of pupils. However ultimately both investigate the change in culture within schools as they promote a more vocational curriculum for 14-16 year old students</p

International entrepreneurship education: postgraduate business students experiences of entrepreneurship education

Objectives The study aims to enhance understanding of the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education in meeting the expectations and motivations of international postgraduate students participating in UK business & management education. Specifically, it explores within sample groups of learners: RQ1. What is the typical profile of the international students’ prior education and work experience? RQ2. What do students expect from studying an entrepreneurship PG course in the UK? RQ3. What are their experiences of, and learning outcomes from, the entrepreneurship course? RQ4. What benefits regarding their skills and knowledge do they perceive result from participation? Prior Work International Postgraduate education has grown substantially in the last decade (UUK, 2010). There has been significant growth in international postgraduate student participation in UK business related subjects, involving both MBA and other Masters’ programmes such as MSc in Management and a range of specialist awards, which increasingly offer Entrepreneurship as a core or option. Prior research focuses on transnational comparisons between France, Germany and Poland (Packham et al, 2010) USA, Spain and China (Pruett et al, 2009) Africa and Europe (Davey et al, 2011) China (Millman et al, 2010) and Poland (Jones, et al, 2011) with relatively little research specifically addressing entrepreneurship for international students on postgraduate courses in the UK (Hall and Sung, 2009, Liu, 2010). Approach This article originates in the authors’ experiences in running postgraduate entrepreneurship modules for international students in UK Business Schools. They found that students often experienced concerns about a ‘mismatch’ between their expectations of UK business and management education and their actual experiences, with experiences of cultural tensions between prior learning experiences and their acculturation to the requirements and norms of UK business education. The study is a microcosm of a wider issue as these concerns are shared more generally by international Postgraduate students. Results The results confirmed that career development was a major motivator for international study in the UK. Interest in entrepreneurship is increasing but there are tensions between the expectations of the postgraduate experience and the experienced reality. Entrepreneurship was in some cases seen as a distinctive ‘peak experience’, but cultural factors, learning effectiveness and linguistic capability need to be addressed in designing learning programmes. Implications The study contributes new evidence and ideas to the debate on entrepreneurship education in meeting the career expectations and motivations of international postgraduate students participating in entrepreneurship education, especially in the light of new curricular guidance (QAA, 2012) and UK government regulation. Value It offers suggestions for educators on the effective design and delivery of entrepreneurship for international students in the rapidly changing and competitive postgraduate market

Entrepreneurial becoming: an educational pathway out of poverty

This paper reports a longitudinal analysis of 20 necessity driven micro-entrepreneurs operating in Beira, Central Mozambique, who received funding and training from the same NGO to establish or grow their business activities and reports the development of these entrepreneurs in terms of their acquired entrepreneurial potential for long-term success. The results indicate there is a process of entrepreneurial becoming that is not just about access to finance but especially learning and, when successful, this process supports the transformation of survival micro-enterprises into entrepreneurial micro-businesses. The concept of ‘becoming’ contains an implicit temporal dimension. Becoming suggests a transformation over time: a change from what one is already. In this study, we witness a significant change in understanding how a business needs to operate, in recognizing opportunities, thinking more creatively, and building self-confidence

Entrepreneurship in American Higher Education

Presents recommendations by the Kauffman Panel on Entrepreneurship Curriculum in Higher Education on making entrepreneurship a key element in the curriculum, co-curriculum activities, and university management. Includes profiles of innovative programs