Theme(s): Tasks and characteristics of higher education (role of theoretical understanding); cooperation with third parties in the accreditation of learning demonstrated in some other manner (participation in the activities of entrepreneurship ecosystems)
Background
Higher education institutions and the entrepreneurship ecosystem surrounding them carry out a wide range of activities that accumulate the students’ entrepreneurship competence and knowledge. The Entrepreneurship Passport is a tool for integrating entrepreneurship events in the area into studies and through which students can meet other students and entrepreneurs interested in the same topics.
The Entrepreneurship Passport is based on the students’ own interests and the opportunity to plan the methods of how to complete their studies. This opportunity to make choices is expected to increase the students’ motivation to study.
The Entrepreneurship Passport has been in use in higher education institutions in the Turku region. The business incubator Creve of Humak University of Applied Sciences and the BusinessAcademy of Turku University of Applied Sciences launched an Entrepreneurship Passport experiment in autumn 2017. In addition, the University of Turku is one of the higher education institutions involved. The starting points for using the Entrepreneurship Passport are the same in all higher education institutions, although the methods of implementation vary.
Implementation method
Students accumulate competence by participating in various entrepreneurship events, such as open events, training (other than degree education) and other events organised by local development companies, start-up centres, accelerators, student-led start-up communities (in Turku, BoostTurku), higher education institutions and other actors. Students compile evidence of event participation in an Entrepreneurial Passport.
Process of recognising (prior) learning / accrediting learning demonstrated in some other manner
The completion of an Entrepreneurship Passport includes participation in events, and usually some written, reflective work. ECTS credits cannot be obtained from participation alone. There are differences in the use of the Entrepreneurship Passport between higher education institutions:
- At Humak and Turku University of Applied Sciences, students use the Entrepreneurship Passport to independently draw up a plan for completing their studies, and get the plan approved by the teacher in charge or teacher tutor before participating in the events. In addition to local events, students can take part in international webinars (including open teaching offered by other higher education institutions or open educational content provided by other parties).
The Entrepreneurship Passport can be linked with different courses (such as innovation, management, productisation, marketing). The student has to internalise the learning objectives of the course in question and implement a realistic plan that makes it possible to achieve these objectives. The Entrepreneurship Passport allows students to have access to targeted content that supports their own business activities.
Instead of attending a course in which the case studies are not relevant to the students, they can apply for events that offer cases of more relevance to the students’ personal interests or business activities. Students have the opportunity to propose an alternative method of course completion instead of a written report.
Alternative methods can include, for example, as a learning journal, a video journal, an article or a group article on a specific topic, an essay, thesis or analysis, a development project or application of a theme, experiments and piloting based on a theme, reporting on experiments or using events as source material for projects and theses. - At the University of Turku, the Entrepreneurship Passport is a 2 ECTS credit course that students complete independently. In the course, students use the EntreComp framework to determine which area of entrepreneurship competence they wish to develop, and they participate in 3–6 events with a total duration of at least 6 hours.
After participating in the events, students demonstrate their competence in a learning diary. The length of the learning diary is approximately 5–6 pages / 3,000 words. The students must describe briefly in the learning diary which event(s) they have participated in and how their entrepreneurial competence has developed.
The aim is that the course helps students acquire competence in the entrepreneurship area of their choice, expands their understanding of entrepreneurship events in the region, and develops their reporting skills.
Assessment
- At Humak and Turku University of Applied Sciences, the assessment is carried out in accordance with the learning objectives and criteria of the course to be completed (numerical assessment or pass/fail depending on the course).
- At the University of Turku, the student’s performance is assessed on the basis of a report: the description of the event(s) has been completed, the selected entrepreneurship competence has been justified, and the student has sufficiently reflected on the development of the competence on the basis of the events. The report has been written in a clear and understandable manner. Course completion on the scale of pass/fail.
Further information
- EntreComp framework: https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/entrecomp
