Engage

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.

Background

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.

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.

“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.”

Review comitee

You can read the Diku comitee report here (Engage evaluation starts at page 16).

Ambition

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.

Organisation

Engage is a consortium consisting of the NTNU School of Entrepreneurship, Nord University Business School, NTNU Experts in Teamwork, and Spark NTNU.

Together these four 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.

Team

Managment group

Torgeir Aadland, Centre Director, NTNU
Iselin Kristine Mauseth Steira, Project manager, Nord University
Gunhild Marie Roald, Head of Education, NTNU
Lars Reyes-Gjølme, Head of Student Engagement, NTNU
Lise Aaboen, Head of Research, NTNU
Line Karlsen, Coordinator, Nord University
Håvard Engen, Coordinator, NTNU

Core team students

Lars Reyes-Gjølme, NTNU
Line Karlsen, Nord University
Dag Håkon Haneberg, NTNU
Ellinor Ida Jensen Kirkfjell, Nord University
Malin Toften Mangersnes, NTNU
Elise Hamnes Høvik, NTNU
Mukesh Hasirumane Venkatesh, NTNU
Ragnhild Fauchald, NTNU
Vivek Sinha, NTNU

Core team education

Gunhild Marie Roald, NTNU
Eleni Georgiadou, Nord University
Gunhild Marie Roald, NTNU
Gunn-Berit Neergård, NTNU
Jicky Isabell Lullies, NTNU
Fufen Jin, NTNU
Maiken Nilsen Stensaker, Nord University
Marianne Arntzen-Nordquist, Nord University

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
Nils Magne Killingberg, NTNU
Ragnhild Nordeng Fauchald, NTNU
Roger Sørheim, NTNU
Sara Maryami, NTNU
Trine Åsheim Bernhardsen, Nord University
Vårin Vaskinn, NTNU
Iselin Kristine Mauseth Steira, Nord University (on parental leave)

Steering committee

Marielle Christiansen, Leader of the steering committee, Dean and professor, Faculty of Economics and Management, NTNU
Levi Gårseth-Nesbakk, Pro-Rector for Education, Nord University
Gry Agnete Alsos, Dean, Nord Business school, Nord University
Elsebeth Holmen, Head of Department, Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management, NTNU
Emilie Vistung, Student Representative, Nord
Stephanie Z. Solbakken, Student Representative, Nord
Filiz Emirli, Student Representative, NTNU
Nora Solhøi Tvete, Student Representative, NTNU

Advisory board

Diamanto Politis, Professor, Lund University
Hans Landström, Professor, Lund University
Candida Brush, Professor, Babson College
Andrew Corbett, Professor, Babson College
Ulla Hytti, Professor, University of Turku
Riccardo Fini, Associate Professor, University of Bologna

People

  • Torgeir Aadland

    Director

    Department of Industrial Economics anTechnology Management (IØT), NTNU

    +47 957 73 628

    torgeir.aadland@ntnu.no

    About

    Director at Engage and Associate Professor at NTNU. Torgeir has a PhD from NTNU focusing on assessment of entrepreneurship education. 

  • Iselin Kristine Mauseth

    Associate Professor

    Nord University Business School


    +47 75 51 76 02

    iselin.k.mauseth@nord.no

    About

    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.

  • Håvard Engen

    Centre Coordinator

    Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management (IØT), NTNU

    +47 48 044 088

    havard.engen@ntnu.no

    About

  • Line Mathilde Karlsen

    Higher executive officer

    Nord University Business School


    +47 7551 7006

    line.m.karlsen@nord.no

    About

    Project manager at Engage and Nord University, focusing in student innovation and social media and administrative work. Line graduated in 2019 with a Master of Science in Business, specializing in innovation and entrepreneurship.

  • Lars Reyes-Gjølme

    Senior Adviser

    Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management (IØT), NTNU

    +47 917 52 901

    lars.gjolme@ntnu.no

    About

    Head of Students at Engage. Site Manager for the Student Innovation Ecosystem at NTNU, centered around “Gruva”.

  • Lise Aaboen

    Professor

    Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management (IØT), NTNU

    +47 7359 5328

    lise.aaboen@ntnu.no

    About

    Researcher at Engage and 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.

  • Gunhild Marie Roald

    Researcher

    Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management (IØT), NTNU

    +47 416 41 021

    gunhild.m.roald@ntnu.no

    About

    Researcher at Engage, involved in e.g. the Train-the-trainer-initiatives for all disciplines. With a background in counselling, she is also interested in relational dynamics in entrepreneurship education, particularly in teamwork.

  • Gunn-Berit Neergård

    Researcher

    Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management (IØT), NTNU

    +47 928 34 506

    gunn-berit.neergard@ntnu.no

    About

  • Vivek Sinha

    Innovation Manager

    Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management (IØT), NTNU

    +47 7359 3123

    vivek.sinha@ntnu.no

    About

    Innovation Manager at Engage and Faculty of Economics and Management.

  • Dag Håkon Haneberg

    Associate Professor

    Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management (IØT), NTNU

    +47 959 09 622

    dag.haneberg@iot.ntnu.no

    About

    Teaching entrepreneurship at NTNU School of Entrepreneurship and the SHIFT program (University of Agder). Works on projects such as SUPER, ENHANCE and FABRIC, and researches student entrepreneurship and venture creation programs. Has been involved in initiatives like Spark, FRAM and DRIV.

  • Eleni Georgiadou

    Assistant professor

    Nord University Business School


    +47 7551 7852

    eleni.georgiadou@nord.no

    About

  • Elise Hamnes Høvik

    Adviser

    Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management (IØT), NTNU

    +47 48 044 088

    elise.h.hovik@ntnu.no

    About

  • Ellinor Ida Jenssen Kirkfjell

    Senior Advisor

    Nord University Business School


    +47 7551 7557

    ellinor.i.kirkfjell@nord.no

    About

    Engaged in development of the student innovation ecosystem at Nord University.

  • Finn Lippestad

    Higher Executive Officer

    Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management (IØT), NTNU

    +47 907 82 751

    finn.lippestad@ntnu.no

    About

  • Fufen Jin

    Analyst / Researcher

    Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management (IØT), NTNU

    +47 412 15 584

    fufen.jin@ntnu.no

    About

    Fufen Jin is a researcher and analyst in Engage. Prior to joining Engage, Fufen has 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.

  • Ingrid Berg Sivertsen

    Associate Professor

    Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management (IØT), NTNU

    +47 93485404

    ingrid.b.sivertsen@ntnu.no

    About

    Associate professor at the NTNU School of Entrepreneurship. Ingrids has a BA in Industrial Design from AHO, and a MBA from Nord University. She is the CEO and founder of the company Ingrid Oline.

  • Jicky Isabell Lullies

    PhD Candidate

    Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management (IØT), NTNU

    jicky.lullies@ntnu.no

    About

    PhD candidate with interest in nascent new venture teams and how they handle uncertainty and deal with uncertainty in their team process.

  • Kristina Wegner

    Assistant Professor

    Nord University Business School


    +47 7551 7086

    kristina.wegner@nord.no

    About

  • Maiken Stensaker Emilsen

    PhD candidate

    Nord University Business School


    +47 7551 7675

    maiken.n.stensaker@nord.no

    About

    PhD-student within entrepreneurship, innovation and sustainable development. She graduated with a Master of Science in Business at Nord University Business School in 2017 with a specialization in innovation and entrepreneurship.

  • Malin Toften Mangersnes

    Adviser

    Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management (IØT), NTNU

    +47 7355 9087

    malin.t.mangersnes@ntnu.no

    About

    Malin will mainly contribute to Engage Students and documentation of impact from centre activities. She holds a PhD in Linguistics and has a background from our partner Experts in Teamwork.

  • Marianne Arntzen-Nordqvist

    Associate Professor

    Nord University Business School

    +47 7551 7163

    marianne.arntzen-nordqvist@nord.no

    About

    Marianne’s academic interests include entrepreneurial finance, innovation and entrepreneurship education. Marianne`s work within Engage include teaching, research and development within innovation and entrepreneurship education.

  • Mukesh H. Venkatesh

    Postdoctoral Fellow

    Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management (IØT), NTNU

    +47 462 86 765

    mukesh.h.venkatesh@ntnu.no

    About

    Postdoctoral Fellow with primary focus on entrepreneurship education, digital entrepreneurship, and family business.

  • Nils Magne Killingberg

    Postdoctoral Fellow

    Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management (IØT), NTNU

    +47 984 90 004

    nils.m.killingberg@ntnu.no

    About

    Nils Magne finished his PhD at NMBU in 2024 with the title “Putting entrepreneurial competencies to work : an exploration of the early careers of entrepreneurship education graduates .”

  • Ragnhild Nordeng Fauchald

    Postdoctoral Fellow

    Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management (IØT), NTNU

    +47 990 00 448

    ragnhild.n.fauchald@ntnu.no

    About

    Postdoctoral Fellow after finishing her PhD from 2024: “Social interaction in student entrepreneurs’ experience-based learning processes.”

  • Roger Sørheim

    Professor

    Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management (IØT), NTNU

    +47 918 03 448

    roger.sorheim@ntnu.no

    About

    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.

  • Sara Maryami

    Postdoctoral fellow

    Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management (IØT), NTNU

    +47 485 01 657

    sara.maryami@ntnu.no

    About

    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.

  • Trine Åsheim Bernhardsen

    PhD Candidate

    Nord University Business School


    +47 415 51 635

    trine.a.bernhardsen@nord.no

    About

    Trine is a PhD fellow at Engage and Nord University. 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.

  • Vårin Vaskinn

    PhD Candidate

    Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management (IØT), NTNU

    +47 911 47 562

    varin@ntnu.no

    About

  • Øystein Widding

    Professor

    Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management (IØT), NTNU

    +47 412 15 584

    oystein.widding@ntnu.no

    About

    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.

  • Åshild Wilhelmsen

    phd candidate

    Department of Industrial Economics anTechnology Management (IØT), NTNU


    ashild.wilhelmsen@ntnu.no

    About

    Interests within assessment in the context of entrepreneurship education and how assessment in more complex courses, with authentic cases and complex problems and ambiguity looks like. Also interested in the impact of AI on higher education and especially assessment practices.