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

How does enterprise & entrepreneurship education influence postgraduate students’ career intentions in the new era economy?

Purpose Enterprise & Entrepreneurship Education (EEE) is seen as a major contributor to economic growth and development in the post-2008 environment we term the ‘New Era’. The role of EEE in enabling graduates to develop entrepreneurial intentions and career plans is therefore of major importance. This paper explores how EEE can influence postgraduate entrepreneurship and career initiation in the context of the New Era economy at an international level. Methodology/Approach The paper explores the learning experiences of a group of 60 postgraduate international students who completed an Entrepreneurship programme at the University of Lincoln which included the development of personal learning narratives and career plans. The students were exposed to the Opportunity-centred entrepreneurship approach and the ‘Entrepreneurial Effectiveness’ model in the QAA guidelines (2012). Their narratives were analysed to assess: - Prior career intentions - Proposed career intentions resulting from the EEE programme - Application of learning arising from the EEE programme - A survey of students was used to validate the narratives Findings EEE has a wider influence on personal development and career planning than simply the intention to create new ventures. This paper builds on a prior study of international postgraduate students’ orientation to entrepreneurship education in their expectations of UK Higher Education, which confirmed that career development is a major motivator for international study in the UK (Rae & Woodier-Harris, 2012). The paper contributes new understanding of the relationships between EEE and graduate career intentions, especially at PG and international levels. The paper explores personal growth, confidence and identity development, formation of new career intentions and the application of learning. The international dimension is considerable and this is discussed. Implications The paper has implications for the marketing, design and delivery of EEE at international and HE institutional levels, as well as for the practices of educators in designing, validating and delivering programmes for entrepreneurial career development, at national and international levels. Originality/Value The paper contributes new understanding to the role of EEE in postgraduate career initiation at international level in a period of significant and complex economic transformation

An exploration of students entrepreneurial experiences pursuing start-up intentions at university

Digitised version available at EThOS: British Library Electronic Theses Online Servic