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

reaching out to the wider student population, and several universities are looking
further into this form of recruitment. Some online-based guidance platforms have
been created for students and aspiring entrepreneurs to assist networking, and to
provide support. However, the case studies demonstrate that there is immense
value in real person-to-person interaction; while online services within VET/HE
can support entrepreneurial activities, they cannot replace one-to-one support.
Role models and mentors underpin most successful guidance-oriented
entrepreneurship programmes; students want to see, and get to know, those who
have success stories to tell. The involvement of entrepreneurs themselves is also
critical.
There has also been an increase in entrepreneurial publicity campaigns and
TV/radio programmes attracting mass audiences. Such items present ordinary
people pursuing entrepreneurial goals. Despite there being numerous criticisms
due to a lack of assessment of their methods or educational value, these
activities have a significant symbolic value in fostering people’s aspirations,
raising awareness about entrepreneurship, showing ‘ordinary’ people that
everyone has the potential of being an entrepreneur and also presenting lessons
about entrepreneurship.
Extracurricular activities can serve a dual purpose and are useful where
entrepreneurship is not embedded in curricula as follows:
• raising awareness about entrepreneurship as a career choice and about
entrepreneurship learning opportunities;
• strengthening students’ transversal skills for entrepreneurship, e.g. innovation,
creativity, problem-solving and adaptability, and entrepreneurial competences,
e.g. business planning, market awareness, understanding of regulation and
legislation.
However, the focus should shift from extra-curricular ‘add-ons’ to a model of
education in which entrepreneurship is embedded in the curriculum.
Different engagement methods are needed. For example, evidence from the
HE sector suggests that students with business and economics backgrounds are
more easily attracted to entrepreneurship learning than students with technical,
social or science backgrounds. This said, the recruitment of technology and
science students is particularly important if the HE education sector is to pay
particular attention to the high-growth business agenda and the
commercialisation of research.

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