Engage – Centre for Engaged Education through Entrepreneurship has been a Centre of Excellence in Education since 2017. The Norwegian Centres for Excellence in Education (SFU) is a national initiative to recognize and stimulate excellence in Norwegian higher education. The initiative was established in 2010 and is funded by the Ministry of Education and Research. There are currently tvelve centres. The initiative is administered by Diku.
Midterm Evaluation 2020 Engage was going trough a midterm evaluation in 2020. An expert panel with excellent knowledge, and interest in, educational development in higher education was doing the evaluation. You can read the Diku comitee report here (Engage evaluation starts at page 16) Some of our feedback from the comitee:
“Our panel’s review… led us to the conclusion that Engage has become a world-leading centre for entrepreneurship education.”
Review comitee
“Our panel’s unanimous evaluation is that Engage has achieved the stated goals for its first five years…”
Review comitee
“Engage is a role model for other current and future centres of excellence in Norway and around the world which seek to blend teaching, research, and practice, and through a multi-disciplinary set of stakeholders across faculty, students, staff, industry, and other partners”
The world is constantly changing, with increasing pace and intensity. These changes have profound consequences for human life – for the climate and environment, technological opportunities, business practices, public policy, safety, education, and society as a whole.
This complex environment calls for citizens who have the ability to identify challenges, the will to act upon these challenges, the knowledge to acquire the resources and skills needed and the confidence to be the driving force for change, regardless of resistance. These people are the agents of change, the entrepreneurs, willing and able to make changes, engaging challenges with creativity and fearlessness.
The ambition of Engage is to develop students’ entrepreneurial skills at the higher education level to become change agents in all contexts.
Engage ambitions
Engage ambitions is to ensure that the ability to identify new opportunities, the will to act upon these opportunities, and the knowledge to acquire the resources and skills needed to innovate for the better, becomes fundamental elements in all disciplines at the higher education level.
We call for a change in how universities educate students in entrepreneurial skills that can prepare them for important roles as change agents in business and society.
Engage develops education methods and materials on entrepreneurship, advises on the implementation of entrepreneurship in all disciplines at the higher education level and facilitates cooperation and networking. Student engagement is key for developing a centre for excellence in education, and the students are involved in designing and testing new teaching methods in various contexts.
Engage has a strong research group connected to the centre, including ten PhD candidates. Through research, Engage seeks to generate new knowledge about how to teach entrepreneurial skills in various disciplines.
Engage organization
Engage is a consortium consisting of the NTNU School of Entrepreneurship, Nord University Business School, NTNU Experts in Teamwork, and Spark NTNU.
Together these five partners contribute with variations in action-based, challenge-based and experience-based learning models as a basis for interdisciplinary interactions and complementary skills and approaches. This is a strong foundation for developing entrepreneurial skills among students in different disciplines. The centre host is NTNU faculty of economics and management.
Managment group
Torgeir Aadland, Centre Director, NTNU Marianne Arntzen-Nordqvist, Project manager, Nord University Lars Reyes-Gjølme, Head of student engagement, NTNU Sølvi Solvoll, Head of research, Nord University Elli Verhulst, Head of Eduation, NTNU Håvard Engen, Coordinator, NTNU
Iselin Kristine Mauseth Steira, Project manager, Nord University (on parental leave)
Core team students
Lars Reyes-Gjølme, NTNU Line Karlsen, Nord University Dag Håkon Haneberg, NTNU Ellinor Ida Jensen Kirkfjell, Nord universitet Mukesh Hasirumane Venkatesh, NTNU Ragnhild Fauchald, NTNU Simon Sætre Borchgrevink, NTNU Vivek Sinha, NTNU Vårin Vaskinn, NTNU
Core team educators
Elli Verhulst, NTNU Marianne Arntzen-Nordquist, Nord University Gunhild Marie Roald, NTNU Gunn-Berit Neergård, NTNU Håvard Engen, NTNU Maiken Nilsen Stensaker, Nord University Jicky Isabell Lullies, NTNU Fufen Jin, NTNU
Core team research
Lise Aaboen, NTNU Dag Håkon Haneberg, NTNU Einar Agur Rasmussen, Nord University Fufen Jin, NTNU Gunhild Marie Roald, NTNU Jicky Isabell Lullies, NTNU Lidia K. Lindelid, Nord University Maiken Nilsen Stensaker, Nord University Mariel Hjelle, NTNU Mukesh Hasirumane Venkatesh, NTNU Ragnhild Nordeng Fauchald, NTNU Roger Sørheim, NTNU Sara Maryami, NTNU Trine Åsheim Bernhardsen, Nord University Vårin Vaskinn, NTNU Ann Elida Eide, NTNU
Iselin Kristine Mauseth Steira, Nord University (on parental leave)
Steering committee
Monica Rolfsen, Leader of the steering committee, Dean and professor, Faculty of Economics and Management, NTNU Marit Reitan, Pro-Rector for Education, NTNU Levi Gårseth-Nesbakk, Pro-Rector for Education, Nord University Gry Agnete Alsos, Dean, Nord Business school, Nord University Marielle Christiansen, Head of Department, Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management, NTNU Sven Marius Hofgaard, Student representative, NTNU Lene Øy, Student representative, Nord
Torgeir Aadland is Co-Director at engage and Associate Professor at NTNU. The focus of Torgeir’s PhD is on assessment of entrepreneurship educations. Torgeir is also responsible for finances at engage.
Line is a Project manager at engage and Nord University. Line graduated in 2019 with a Master of Science in Business. She specialized in innovation and entrepreneurship in her degree.
The focus of Line’s work in Engage is student innovation, social media and administrative work.
Dag Håkon Haneberg is an Associate Professor at NTNU. He teaches entrepreneurship at the NTNU School of Entrepreneurship and at the SHIFT programme at the University of Agder. Dag Håkon works with several externally financed projects related to development of higher education and entrepreneurship ecosystems, such as SUPER, ENHANCE and FABRIC. Ha has also conducted research related to student entrepreneurship and venture creation programmes. Dag Håkon has been involved in student entrepreneurship initiatives such as Spark, FRAM and DRIV.
Ragnhild Nordeng Fauchald
PhD Candidate
Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management (IØT), NTNU
“Experiential learning in the university entrepreneurial ecosystem”. The purpose is to investigate how actors in the university entrepreneurial ecosystem engage in students learning processes, and how the university entrepreneurship ecosystem can develop by using students experiences.
Ingrid Berg Sivertsen is a project manager at Engage, Nord university. The focus of Ingrid’s work in Engage is extra curricular activities that involves student innovation. Ingrid also mentors and lectures in courses and projects at Nord. Ingrids bakckground is a BA in Industrial Design from AHO, and a MBA from Nord University. Shes the CEO and founder of the company Ingrid Oline(since 2017).
Elli is associate professor at NTNU. In Engage, she leads the focus area Educators. Within Educators, she also leads the development of the Engage Resource Hub and related initiatives. Her academic interests include design, innovation and entrepreneurship for sustainability.
Marianne is an Associate Professor at Nord University Business School. Her academic interests include entrepreneurial finance, innovation and entrepreneurship education. Marianne`s work within Engage include teaching, research and development within innovation and entrepreneurship education.
Gunhild works as a researcher at Engage, with a particular interest in how educators from different disciplines can contribute to educating change agents for the better in their respective contexts. With a background in counselling, she is also interested in relational dynamics in entrepreneurship education, particularly in teamwork.
Gunn-Berit Neergård is a researcher at Engage. She is leading the train-the-trainer initiatives of Engage, and is developing various teaching initiatives for students and educators. Her academic interests include entrepreneurship education for non-business students, nurse entrepreneurship, ethics and qualitative methods.
Maiken is leader of Engage Nord and of the train-the-trainer focus at engage and project leader for the entrepreneurship ecosystem at Nord University. Maiken is also working on establishing a Master of Entrepreneurship (VCP) at Nord University. She has graduated with a Master of Science in Business at Nord University Business School in 2017 with a specialization in innovation and entrepreneurship.
Fufen Jin is a researcher in Engage. Prior to joining Engage, Fufen had undertaken numerous research projects ranging from child language and literacy development to STEM education. She has extensive experience in collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data. Fufen holds a PhD in Linguistics from NTNU.
Sølvi Solvoll is a Researcher and a Associate Professor at Nord University. Sølvi`s main research interest is the new venture creation process, as well as entrepreneurs’ decision making, learning and ecosystem. Her PhD explored new venture creation in the tourism industry through the theoretical lenses of effectuation and causation.
Lise is a Researcher at Engage and a Professor at NTNU School of Entrepreneurship. Her research interests include incubators, entrepreneurship education and early customer relationships. In Engage, she has primarily organized courses and seminars for the PhD students as well as book-projects, special issues and conferences.
Roger Sørheim is a researcher in engage and a Professor at NTNU and Adjunct Professor at Nord University Business School. His main research interests include entrepreneurial finance and entrepreneurship education. Roger is one of the founders of the NTNU School of Entrepreneurship.
Iselin Steira is the leader of Engage Nord and an Associate Professor at Nord University Business School. She teaches entrepreneurship and teamwork at the master level at Nord University Business School. She conduct research related to new venture teams, learning processes and entrepreneurship education. Her Phd is on new venture team processes in venture creation programs.
Trine is a PhD fellow at ENGAGE and Nord University. She has an academic background from Nord university and NTNU, holding a Bachelor in export marketing and a MBA. Her prior work experience spans from a technology start-up, via software testing, to student advising. Her research interests include innovation and entrepreneurship education, sustainability, team work, learning, mindset and the regional role of the universities in educating change agents.
The title of her Ph.D. thesis was ”Team entrepreneurial passion and its influence on team performance, opportunity recognition, opportunity exploitation, and well-being”. The purpose was to explore how experiencing collective passion among entrepreneurial teams affects team performance and entrepreneurial outcomes in the early stage of entrepreneurship.
Her research interests include entrepreneurial teams, entrepreneurial passion, emotions, as well as the psychosocial aspects of individual and team levels in entrepreneurship and their influence on entrepreneurial behavior and outcomes.
Lidia’s main research interest is entrepreneurs’ bonds to their careers and targets, as well as entrepreneurship education,
entrepreneurs’ and their business(es)’ performance, entry modes into business ownership, and learning. Her PhD explored
alternative entry modes of business ownership associations with the characteristics of entrepreneurs and their businesses,
as well as with business owners’ subsequent entrepreneurial careers.
Project: “Entrepreneurship Education’s Effects on Students’ Career Targets and Trajectories”
The objective of the project is to establish a bridge between the world of entrepreneurship education and its graduates’
career decisions and trajectories. Purpose: To acquire a fine-grained understanding of how students make decisions
about their careers and how entrepreneurship education affects their choices and trajectories.
Mariel Hjelle
PhD Candidate
Department of Industrial Economics anTechnology Management (IØT), NTNU
“The Role of Metacompetencies in Entrepreneurial Learning and Decision Making”
Purpose is to examine how metacognition and meta-affection intervene in the entrepreneurial learning process and to increase our knowledge of the entrepreneurial mindset.
Project: “Entrepreneurial Intuition and Novel Trailblazing: Incompatible Contrasts or Complementary Assets?”. Purpose: investigate connections between two contrasting processes in entrepreneurship – the decision making tool of intuition, relying on experience; and the creation of entirely new knowledge paths (‘blazing’ new trails).
Øystein Widding is Professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and Adjunct Professor at Nord University Business School. Øystein is one of the founders of the NTNU School of Entrepreneurship. Øystein has a sabbatical leave until mid 2025.
Title of the research project is “Entrepreneurship education and mental health”. Purpose is to explore the link between entrepreneurship and mental disorders, and how entrepreneurship education can harness the positive aspects of such symptoms.
Marta is an associate professor and researcher at Nord University Business School, where she is also responsible for the Master’s program in Entrepreneurship and Business Development. Her research interests include entrepreneurial financing, gender and inclusive entrepreneurship and the role of cultural/contextual factors for entrepreneurship.
“Challenges in action-based entrepreneurship education from a student perspective” is the title of the research project. The urpose is to explore the team processes when students face challenges to increase our knowledge of the learning process in action-based education.
Einar Rasmussen is leader of the core team for research in Engage. He conducts research in entrepreneurship and innovation and has published extensively in the area of academic entrepreneurship and university-industry technology transfer. His research interests includes entrepreneurial skills and mindset.
Ingebjørg Vestrum is a Researcher and an Associate Professor at Nord University, Business School. Ingebjørg’s main research interests are social-, community-, and public entrepreneurship. Her PhD was about the resource mobilization process of community ventures in the context of music festivals. In Engage she works on developing new courses and teaching methods on entrepreneurship and sustainability.
