Page 111 - guidance-supporting-europe-s-aspiring-entrepreneurs-policy-and-practice-to-harness-future-potential

Guidance supporting Europe’s aspiring entrepreneurs
Policy and practice to harness future potential

Example 20. Laurea University of Applied Sciences, Finland

Laurea University of Applied Sciences is a Finnish ( ) vocationally oriented higher education institution located
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near the capital city, Helsinki ( ). A key principle in Laurea’s teaching philosophy is learning through working on
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real-life business projects. Laurea aims to prepare students for employment by promoting entrepreneurship
through professional advice and support to students in developing their own business ideas.

Peer-to-peer teaching method
A central pedagogical tool for this entrepreneurial model is a peer-to-peer (P2P) teaching method. Laurea has
been using a P2P teaching method on its bachelor degree on business management (Tradenomi) since 2008.
Previously, the method has been used in internationally renowned universities like Harvard and MIT to teach
languages, mathematics and physics. On the P2P stream, students learn by working in groups on real life
business projects with public and private sector organisations. Students get to experience how projects are run
in real life businesses, and apply their newly acquired knowledge to solve real life problems. The cornerstones
of the approach are experience, partnership, creativity, authenticity, and research orientation.
All project work on the P2P stream is undertaken in groups of four to five students. There are no lectures
and the only individual project is the final year thesis. Projects usually last around half a year, so students
typically work on four projects a year; two are international projects which require students to carry out their
assignment in English.
The P2P method relies heavily on self-management and independent work. Students start each project
by constructing a mind-map that defines what they should study and what steps they should take to be able to
solve the problem. Teams develop a project plan, setting roles for each team member, defining the process and
the sources of information that need to be found, as well as agreeing on milestones and deadlines. P2P
projects are always authentic assignments for companies and organisations, enabling students to experience
how real-life projects are run. Projects involve a range of topics and tasks, such as developing a marketing
plan, undertaking a competitor analysis, and analysing strengths and weaknesses of businesses or business
ideas.
The role of the teacher on a P2P course is markedly different from that of a teacher on a ‘normal’ course.
Teachers assume the role of ‘older colleague’ or ‘facilitator’, and they have to be flexible and multi-task.

Outcomes
The course has been received well by all parties. On average, student satisfaction on the P2P course is higher
than on the ‘traditional’ Tradenomi course. Students feel positive about the practicality of the course, and the
way it meets the demands of real companies and workplaces. Students like testing and trying things
themselves, rather than learning about topics through lectures. The interaction and working with other students
and employers receives positive feedback. Students stress that they have learned to work more independently
and take responsibility for their own learning. Students must also be able to handle uncertainty and to be able to
work from often nebulous and unclear information. One of the teachers describes this as ‘packaging initial
chaos into order’.
Because most of the students on the course are just out of school, many starters are too young to have
real, ‘set-in-stone’ career aspirations. But the process of learning through project work with companies and
other students helps to clarify their career direction and work areas and processes in which they enjoy working.
Teachers report that companies have been positively surprised by the results, and have gained much
from participating in the programme. As many small companies operate with squeezed resources, they do not
often have time to develop new initiatives or systems themselves. For instance, a small translation company
that participated on P2P now has a marketing plan, a brand strategy, internet pages in several languages, as
well as a logo. The company owner reports that working with students made him think about things that he has
never had time for, such as strengthening his marketing methods.
Despite encountering some resistance in the beginning from other staff members, the course has begun
to influence ways of teaching and working in the university, and is today seen as Laurea’s own development
project. The model will soon be used to teach the health and social services degree.

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( ) Available from Internet: http://www.laurea.fi/ [cited 26.05.2010].
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( ) Laurea is one of the Finnish polytechnics (ammattikorkeakoulu). The Finnish higher education
system consists of two complementary sectors: polytechnics and universities.

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