Teaching entrepreneurship to university students through experiential learning

The view that entrepreneurship education should be based on
experiential approaches to learning is gaining ground. However, there is
both little discussion in the literature on what form experiential education
should take and a paucity of examples of experiential approaches to
learning. This paper helps to fill these gaps. It provides a case study of an
experiential learning assignment that formed an important part of a
first-year entrepreneurship course in a Scottish university. It describes
how the assignment was designed, what activities were undertaken by
students and, using their learning reflections for evidence, identifies the
learning outcomes and the effect on entrepreneurial intent, motivations
and capabilities. The evidence suggests that the assignment was an
effective learning experience for the students, complementing and
reinforcing prior classroom learning through application. It facilitated
learning about the real world of the entrepreneur, something which would
otherwise not have been possible, and had a positive impact on
entrepreneurial intentions.