As an entrepreneurship educator I'm often faced with the question "Can we teach entrepreneurship?". I prepared this presentation to share my thoughts on it at Global Entrepreneurship Week 2016 in Qatar.
7. ENTREPRENEURSHIP
COURSES
In the past 40 years …
104
600
5,000+
Universities that have
entrepreneur courses in 1975
Schools that have entrepreneur
courses in 1986
Courses in entrepreneurship
offered at 2,600 schools by
2013
www.topcollegeonline.org
21. WHO
is teaching
• Do entrepreneurship educators have
entrepreneurial experience?
• Can they teach and inspire?
• Are they relatable to local aspiring
entrepreneurs?
• Are they actively involved in the
entrepreneurship ecosystem?
23. WHAT
is being taught
• What information are we teaching our
students?
(i.e. business concepts & theory)
• What skills are we teaching our
students?
(i.e. writing a business plan,
negotiate, pitch ideas)
• What can’t we teach our students?
(i.e. be creative, take risk, have a
vison)
25. Divergent Thinking
(Using Imagination)
Convergent Thinking
(Using logic)
Lateral Thinking
(Using both)
IDEA IDEA
IDEA
IDEA
IDEA
IDEA
ANSWERQUESTION
FACT FACT
FACT
FACT
FACT
FACT
DEVELOP LATERAL THINKING
INSTEAD OF TRADITIONAL THINKING
27. HOW
it is being taught
• Are we applying best practices &
using latest entrepreneurship tools?
• Are we emphasizing practice or
theory?
• Are we localizing our teaching
approach or just copying others?
• Are we evaluating our performance
and improving our approach?
28. “ What we have to learn to do,
we learn by doing ”
- Aristotle
32. SUCCESS STORIES
UNIQUE ECOSYSTEMS
• Berkeley offers incubator
support to startups
• MIT allows independent
activity periods for hands-on
experience across campus
• Cornell combines courses
across disciplines containing
entrepreneurship content to
create degree
• Harvard offers MBAs
34. WHO
is learning it
• Who are interested in learning
entrepreneurship?
(students, entrepreneurs,
employees, educators …etc.
• What are their demographics?
• What are their skills?
Any previous startup experience?
• What are their motivations & goals?
35. “ It’s not whether we can
teach entrepreneurship, of
course we can do that. It’s
who you can teach it to ”
Steve Blank
Silicon Valley serial-entrepreneur
42. THE WAY FORWARD
1. DEVELOP OUR ENTREPRENEURIAL EDUCATION
• Who is teaching it?
• What is being taught?
• How it’s being taught?
• Who is learning it?
• How to build the ecosystem?
2. MEASURE SUCCESS DIFFERENTLY
• Entrepreneurial Mindset not just number of startups
3. HIGHLIGHT & SUPPORT LOCAL ENTREPRENEURS
4. SET REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS ABOUT ENTREPRENEURSHIP
• Building a successful entrepreneurial ecosystem takes time