Cultural and Outcomes-Related Issues in Implementing an Interdisciplinary Cross-Campus Entrepreneurship Education Program

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present an interdisciplinary entrepreneurship education program (EEP) and to illustrate the potential learning objectives and the appropriate pedagogical methods of such a program. We also use it to illustrate issues in implementing cross-campus EEPs, which we classify into two categories: “cultural” and outcomes-related issues. The cultural issues are related to the problems inherent to interdisciplinarity, to the scientific legitimacy of entrepreneurship and to the fact that universities are oriented towards large, established firms. Potential solutions include developing short awareness-raising programs, making research more visible within one’s own university and rewarding interdisciplinary initiatives. Outcomes-related issues consist of delayed effects in the impact of an EEP, selection processes biases and, sometimes, technology requirements excluding low-technology projects. To overcome these issues, the objectives of an EEP should not only be centered on the number of short-term business creations, but also on entrepreneurial activities, intentions and attitudes in their widest sense.