How can the gap between educations and student incubators be bridged at higher educational institutes?

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Abstract

Student incubators in various shapes and forms are found at many higher educational institutes, they are becoming an increasingly important part of solving the challenges of educating entrepreneurial graduates that has arisen in the wake of the second academic revolution (Etzkowitz, 2003).
It is in the DNA of some educational institutes like Babson and in some educational programs like the business degrees to work with entrepreneurship. But it comes natural for a minority of the total student body to see them self as entrepreneurs and act as such. At some educations and educational institutes entrepreneurship is student incubators is considered a privilege for carefully selected students, though reality is that for most other educations, students enrol in the education with an image of becoming employees. This foster a mind-set where problems are given and the sensitivity towards spotting opportunities are not naturally cultivated. At these educations and for these students there is a large gap between their education and the opportunity of becoming an entrepreneur or intrapreneur (a person who spots opportunities in existing organisations and act on them resulting in value creation), manifesting itself in a lack of applicants for the student incubators. Does this mean that there is no need for student incubators at these institutions? Arguably not, it is merely a symptom of the fact that for some students the path to developing an entrepreneurial mind-set is longer and the gap are wider advocating the need of building bridges between the educations and the student incubators.
With this contribution we wish to exemplify to educators and decision makers involved in student incubators, how students, also from non-business background, can be introduced to entrepreneurship enabling them to spot their own entrepreneurial opportunities and as an extension of this clarify to the students the purpose and relevance of the student incubators increasing the likelihood of students joining them and getting support in acting on their entrepreneurial opportunities.
Translated title of the contributionHvordan kan man bygge bro mellem uddsnnelserne og studentervæksthusene på højere uddannelsesinstitutioner
Original languageEnglish
Publication dateJan 2015
Number of pages9
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2015

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