Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the status of entrepreneurship education (EE) in Australia, replicating and expanding a similar study in 2015. The aim is to review neoteric global best practice EE initiatives, enabling the examination and embedding of EE offerings and initiatives at all 40 higher education institutions (HEIs) in Australia. Design/methodology/approach The authors introduce a review of prominent and recent global EE scholarship, enabling an iterative and emergent inquiry perspective aligned to inductive and nascent multi-method empirical research associated with theoretical underpinnings of symbolic and substantive management theory. Findings This paper highlights the sparse and inconsistent distribution of EE programs and initiatives across all 40 Australian HEIs, particularly against the backdrop of rapidly expanding start-up and entrepreneurship ecosystems. Furthermore, outcomes provide best practice EE initiatives, which included staff mobility and transferability of skills. HEIs in Australia are experiencing a moderate EE boom, albeit marginally down on global EE transformation initiatives. Research limitations/implications Limitation of the data is subject to availability and accuracy of online documents and material resources, although implications have been mitigated using multi-method research design. Practical implications The findings provide critical grounding for researchers, practitioners and HEIs wishing to enhance EE within ever-expanding entrepreneurship ecosystems. Originality/value This study is the first multi-methods inquiry into the status of EE in Australia, consisting of quantitative, qualitative and algorithmic methods.

Public infrastructures to support innovative entrepreneurship are among the instruments that governments deploy to strengthen entrepreneurship and innovation (OECD 2011). Such infrastructures act as intermediaries (Chatterji, Glaeser, and Kerr 2013), and their principal mission consists of providing services that aim to boost one or more phases of innovative activity in the fields of knowledge and technology creation and acquisition. Public infrastructures also prepare companies to produce and commercialize their products or services" Roig-Tierno, Alcázar, and Ribeiro-Navarrete (2015, 2291-92, emphasis added). "More generally, infrastructure is found to be positively associated with start-up activity. However, the association is apparently specific to both the particular type of infrastructure, as well as the particular industry context…" Audretsch, Heger, and Veith (2015, 226, emphasis added).

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to address the role of accelerators as authentic learning-based entrepreneurial training programs. Accelerators facilitate the development and assessment of entrepreneurial competencies in nascent entrepreneurs through the process of creating a start-up venture.Design/methodology/approach -Survey data from applicants and participants of four startaccelerators are used to explore the linkages between accelerators and the elements of authentic learning. Authentic learning processes are then mapped onto the start-up processes that occur within the accelerators.Findings -Accelerators take in nascent entrepreneurs and work to create start-ups. This activity develops the participants' entrepreneurial competencies and facilitates authentic selfreflection. Research limitations/implications -This study explores how accelerators can be useful as authentic learning platforms for the development of entrepreneurial competencies. Limitations include perceptual measures and the inability to conduct paired sampling.Practical implications -Entrepreneurship training is studied through the lens of authentic learning activities that occur within an accelerator. Participants develop and assess their mastery of and interest in entrepreneurship through tasks, exposure to experts and mentors, peer learning, and assessments such as pitching to investors at Demo Day.Originality/value -This paper reports on the authentic learning processes and its usefulness in competency development and self-appraisal by accelerators participants. The opportunity for competency development and self-appraisal by nascent entrepreneurs before escalating their commitment to a start-up may be an accelerator's raison d'être.

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Entrepreneurs have two key aims in managing their ego-networks: extending reach to valuable resources and facilitating resource acquisition. This study provides a synthesis of the brokerage, cohesion, and embeddedness literatures to develop and present a multilevel theoretical framework and analytical model that treat both aims jointly. It makes three contributions. First, it highlights a trade-off that entrepreneurs face in allocating their available networking time and energy while pursuing these two aims. Second, it explores the central role of two types of embeddedness-relational and structural-in resolving this trade-off. Third, it helps entrepreneurs decide when to embed a particular dyadic connection relationally or structurally. We show that entrepreneurs can better balance their dual aim by structurally embedding some ties rather than trying to relationally embed all. The resultant network is one that meshes characteristics of brokerage and cohesive ego-network structures.

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