Uncoupling innovation and entrepreneurship to improve undergraduate education

Abstract

Purpose When it comes to undergraduate education, the terms “innovation” and “entrepreneurship” are often used interchangeably with respect to curricular practices and their associated learning and developmental outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to chart a course through the vast and growing multidisciplinary literature covering both topics to argue that innovation and entrepreneurship are not only different concepts, but they also play out in postsecondary institutional contexts in different and important ways. Design/methodology/approach Based on these differences, the authors propose that developing innovators must precede teaching future entrepreneurs and that the home of innovation education is not necessarily in the business school at all. Ideally, the authors believe innovation should be taught separately from any one disciplinary context. To illustrate the concept, the authors point to an existing program where professors and students from different disciplines work together on actual problems provided by external clients from both the public and private sectors. Findings Based on the authors’ rationale and approach, the authors propose an agenda that would allow for a deep analysis of the interaction between organizational behaviors and student outcomes, providing insight into effective practices and strategies for mobilizing institutional efforts aimed at teaching innovation and better aligning innovation with entrepreneurship education. Originality/value The authors provide a clear rationale for separating innovation and entrepreneurship pedagogy in higher education, terms that have been conflated in literature and in practice for nearly a century. The authors do this in an original way by pairing a theoretical framework with a short case study of an education program that has developed innovation pedagogy at the undergraduate level.

Equitably Linking Integrative Learning and Students’ Innovation Capacities

“…For students to truly engage in forms of synthesis that generate impact, rather than simply attempt to address what are perceived as 'common problems', all sources of experiences, social networks, culture, and identities must be valued and cultivated. Incorporating the perspectives of Barber (2020) and Swayne et al (2019), we speculate that one approach to achieving this reality in practice is to decouple innovation from entrepreneurship (thereby expanding access) while recoupling learning and the learner (Baxter Magolda, 2004), thereby centering prior knowledge and ongoing development. This approach, when institutionally supported, may well have the effect of overcoming previous limitations and ensuring enhanced equity in these spaces.…”

“…As Selznick ( 2019 ) notes: “[Such] innovation-related efforts – with their introduction of wicked problems and contextual benefit – are perhaps uniquely suited to maximize synergistic partnerships that connect students and faculty across disciplines, campuses to communities, and persistent challenges to new opportunities” (p. 87). In the language of integrative learning, we might consider the importance of inter-/multi-/and trans-disciplinary spaces in promoting innovation through their structured focus on combining knowledge streams to generate novel insights and solutions that could not have possibly emerged from a single discipline (Swayne et al, 2019 ); we might also consider curricular practices such as double majors as more than simply additive, but instead as opportunities which may foster students integration and innovation (Mayhew & Selznick, 2018 ).…”

Program Inkubasi Bisnis Solusi Pemberdayaan Perempuan Prasejahtera

“…Hal ini dikarenakan, pendapatan seorang kepala keluarga saja belum cukup memenuhi kebutuhan keluarga. Salah satu jenis pemberdayaan yang dapat dilakukan adalah dengan melakukan inkubasi usaha mikro, yaitu suatu bentuk kegiatan untuk mendukung, memelihara, dan mengembangkan sektor-sektor usaha kecil dan menengah bahkan membentuk embrio-embrio baru untuk berkembang menjadi bentuk usaha yang mapan (Adegbite, 2001;Aernoudt, 2004;Fiegenbaum, 2015;Neumeyer & Santos, 2018;Swayne, Mccarthy, & Fisher, 2019). Tujuan program inkubasi adalah untuk meningkatkan bakat kewirausahaan.…”

“…Tujuan program inkubasi adalah untuk meningkatkan bakat kewirausahaan. Pendorong perusahaan bisnis baru bukan hanya tergantung pada ketersediaan dana, fasilitas dan teknologi saja, melainkan pada pelaku usaha (Galvão, Marques, & Ferreira, 2018;Markowska, 2018;Neumeyer & Santos, 2018;Suharto & Sugito, 2019;Swayne et al, 2019;Xu, 2010). Dalam meningkatkan pendapatan rumah tangga mereka, diperlukan motivasi dan usaha yang keras, sehinga tidak hanya keinginan saja tapi juga kemampuan, motivasi dan niat yang kuat didukung oleh modal yang cukup (Andrian et al, 2015;Ciptosari, Prabawa, & Antonius, 2019).…”

“…Namun dengan kesabaran mentor dan ketekunan para peserta maka manfaat pelatihan soft skill ini dapat diterima dengan baik. Program inkubasi terbukti dapat meningkatkan bakat kewirausahaan sebagai faktor terpenting dalam pembentukan bisnis baru (Galvão et al, 2018;Kitagawa & Robertson, 2015;Markowska, 2018;Neumeyer & Santos, 2018;Swayne et al, 2019).…”