Education for enhancingtechnologyentrepreneurshipEducation for enhancingtechnologyentrepreneurship
Presentation made by Prof. Jerzy Cieslik
Leon Kozminski Academy of Entrepreneurship and Management
For UNIDO, Vienna, 29 January 2008
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Personal introductionPersonal introduction
1976 - 1989 Professor of the Warsaw School of Economics
1983 – 1989 UNIDO consultant and short-term staff (technology transfer) –Vienna office and numerous field missions in Africa and Asia
1990 – 2003 – founder, senior partner and CEO of Ernst & Young Poland(accounting, tax and consultancy services)
2004 retired from business and re-joined academic community as„pracademic” in the Leon Kozminski Academy of Entrepreneurship andManagement
Founder of the „Dynamic Entrepreneurship” Programme addressed to theacademic community, particularly non-business studies in Poland. Bottom-up„social entrepreneurship” undertaking with some government support.
Expert of the European Commission - European project „Entrepreneurship inhigher education, especially within non-business studies”.
Supervisory Board Member of the Warsaw Technology Park Initiative
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Technology entrepreneurship – a practitioners perspectiveTechnology entrepreneurship – a practitioners perspective
Dynamic, high-potential (including technology-based) entrepreneurship is adistinct segment from traditional small business sector
Technology entrepreneurship (based on product and/or process innovations)is much broader concept than just high-tech ventures. It includes alsosuccessful „replicative entrepreneurs”
Technical background is essential for success but only if combined withsound business and marketing expertise of technology entrepreneurs
Expanding the supply of motivated and skilful candidates for technologyentrepreneurs is critical for innovation process
Among various support measures entrepreneurship training proved to be veryeffective particularly in combination with other support measures(coaching, financial support)
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Key lessons from the accumulated experiences inteaching entrepreneurship at the university levelKey lessons from the accumulated experiences inteaching entrepreneurship at the university level
Entrepreneurship is not only about natural traits. It can be taught andteaching may contribute to shaping entrepreneurial attitudes and skills
Entrepreneurs are different than managers and shall be trained differently –holistic rather than functional approach
Entrepreneurship is not only for business but also for non-businessstudents (engineering, hard sciences, medical, arts, etc)
Students who take part in the business start-up process ( even if it is onlya didactic game) where they have to make some decisions or even set up areal business will learn much more than those attending traditional classroomlectures
Mixed methods in teaching entrepreneurship proved to be most effective.Direct contact in the classroom combined with the web-based tools andsupporting materials.
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Implications for catching-up developing and transition economiesImplications for catching-up developing and transition economies
„Latecomer advantage” (T. Veblen, 1915) is a valid concept particularly underICT revolution
Lower cost of implementation by the followers
Benefiting from the accumulated operating experiences
Role of ICT technologies
Easier and faster access to best practices
Open access” trend in leading universities
„ …neoclassical theory sees economic development largely driven byaccumulation – investments in physical and human capital. In contrast, weargue that the key driving force of catch-up is assimilation, learning to doeffectively what countries have been doing, often for some time.”
Richard R. Nelson (2006)
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Technology entrepreneurship education and coaching at theuniversity level – a broader perspectiveTechnology entrepreneurship education and coaching at theuniversity level – a broader perspective
BusinessStartDecision
YES
NO
Entrepreneurship training andbusiness development funnel
Incubation, Coaching
Financial Support
Basic Entrepreneurship Training
Advanced Training and Coaching
InitialBusinessIdeas
BusinessPlan
BusinessConcept
Launching Operations
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Key success factors in the university levelentrepreneurship trainingKey success factors in the university levelentrepreneurship training
„Entrepreneurial”Rectors andEducators
Financialsupport andcoaching forbest projects
Networking
(web-based)
among
educators
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Some implementation experiencesSome implementation experiences
Attitudes of hard sciences academic community towards entrepreneurshipand management disciplines
Encouraging engineering, agricultural, hard sciences students to chooseentrepreneurial career path
necessity versus opportunity entrepreneurship
Cooperation among participating educators and coaches
exchange of experiences, online support, etc
Knowledge management (database of cases, tools, materials, etc.)
Combining traditional classroom methods with the web-based tools proved veryeffective
Dedicated portal
Some financial support for best projects essential!
Example: Regional programme (Warsaw area) for 120 students envisaged financialsupport for 12 new ventures (5,000 euro each). Training component completed by 65students out of which 25 started their own business.
Available resources and experiencesAvailable resources and experiences
Detailed methodologies and content for technologyentrepreneurship courses at various levels
Didactic aids, tools, etc.
Experiences in designing and running a dedicated portal forteaching and networking
Networking experiences among entrepreneurship educators
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Launching technology business – training programme outlineLaunching technology business – training programme outline
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Dynamicentrepreneurship
Portal
Platform fortailoredprograms
Textbook
Teaching programsin higher educationinstitutions
Dynamic Business Club
Support and networkingplatform for start-ups
Promotion
Media contacts
Additional teaching,materials,
tools
for students
Networking platformfor lecturers
Technicalinfrastructure
Databases – teaching materials,users, companies, etc.
European Commission Project
„Entrepreneurship in higher education, especially within non-business studies”.
Started in 2006
Initial phase – gathering experiences and best practices accumulated byhigher educational institutions across Europe
Report to be ready in April 2008
Future initiatives shall focus on
deploying best practices to countries with limited experiences intechnology entrepreneurship
supporting international co-operation projects among Europeanuniversities
UNIDO perspective?
Technology + Entrepreneurship + Higher education - a veryimportant field in the context of sustainable industrialdevelopment and catching-up
Potential to contribute to private sector development, especiallySMEs sector
Development of local industries based on close links betweenhigher educational institutions and the local business community(industrial and technology parks, technology centres, businessincubators)
Strengthening capabilities of technical, agricultural highereducation institutions in technology transfer by shapingentrepreneurial attitudes of university graduates, creatingnecessary infrastructure (entrepreneurial centres, technologytransfer offices)
Q & A
Discussion
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Contact detailsContact details
Prof. Jerzy Cieslik
Leon Kozminski Academy of Entrepreneurship and Management
Jagiellonska 59, 03-301 Warsaw, Poland
E-mail: jerzy@cieslik.edu.pl
Tel. +48 502 030 030
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