During the past two years Spark* has expanded with units at Nord University and Chalmers University of Technology.
By Silje Bechmann Granås
Now even more students have the opportunity to pursue their business ideas with help from other students with startup experience. There is also hope for an even bigger expansion in the years coming.With 450 ideas during the past six years it is obvious that the student-to-student mentoring model works at NTNU. Spark* North and Spark* Chalmers has also proven that this can be done at other institutions as well. They are both in early stages but have managed to host events for idea holders and have about 15-20 projects in mentoring each. Spark* has also generated interest from Denmark. Aarhus University has reached out to Spark* NTNU regarding their own initiative, Ignite. They have their own name and brand but have taken inspiration from Spark* NTNUs student-to-student model and are now in the process of applying this on their own.
Many universities and other institutions for higher
education have innovation and entrepreneurship as focus areas but might be
missing something important: an arena where students can try and fail with
help, but without any stakes. Therefore Spark* has a lot of potential to expand
in the time coming. The work has already started in small steps by establishing
contact with NTNU Ålesund, University of South-Eastern Norway and University of
Agder. Two girls from NTNU has also explored the possibility for establishing a
Spark* organization in Nairobi. The strategy for expanding Spark* forward can
be divided in three parts:
1. To look at the already existing environments for entrepreneurship at Norwegian universities. Initiatives like Start is a great basis for understanding the right conditions
2. Establish contact with universities who has venture creation programs. Here, students are taught entrepreneurship in practice, and not only in theory.
3. Help other universities who have noticed Spark*s work and wants input and/or help
By focusing on these areas, it is easier to find the three main ingredients for establishing a successful Spark* organization: engaged students, key employees at the faculties and financial partners who can help fund startups in early stages and make the Spark* organization viable.
Are you eager to learn more about the work that Spark* does? Please send an e-mail to project coordinator Silje Bechmann Granås at silje.bechmann@sparkntnu.no
Mette Mari Wold Johnsen had a talk with Sigrid Westad Brandshaug, Maiken Spjelkevik and Stina Kånhoff about virtual teams and how they can succeed in our latest Engage Talk.
By Tina Larsen
Mette Mari and Maiken are PhD students at Experts in Teamwork (EiT) NTNU, one of our partners. EiT is a master’s degree course in which students develop their interdisciplinary teamwork skills. The course is compulsory for all students in master’s programmes and programmes of professional study at NTNU. Maiken is looking into how we can teach students further about interdisciplinary collaboration, and her focus is on virtual teams. Sigrid is a PhD student at Engage and she conducts research on teams and learning processes in entrepreneurship education. Last but not least, Stina is an entrepreneur with experience of having a virtual team. She will share her experiences and lessons from working online.
Pay attention to the team
“It’s kind of a myth that start-ups consist of a lonely, often male, hero”, says Sigrid. That is at least the picture often portrayed by the media but is, however, rarely the case. Most often, a start-up company will consist of a team.
The reason why many start-ups fail is not because of problems with the company or the economy, but because of the team. Therefore, there is every reason to pay attention to the team when it comes to start-ups.
Sigrid Westad Brandshaug, PhD Student at Engage
Having such a focus during these pandemic times will therefore be of particular relevance now as many start-ups and companies are dependent on working in virtual teams. Sigrid further discusses what characterizes start-up teams. First, compared to other teams in established businesses etc., the start-up team is more homogeneous. That may for many be surprising, but starting a business is self-chosen and we humans normally choose people who are similar to ourselves. Secondly, a start-up will constantly be changing, and this also applies to the team itself. The motivation of the team members will most likely vary, as well the need for people with different skills and knowledge at different stages of development. Mastering having a flexible structure is something most startup teams struggle with. Thirdly, start-up team members will not necessarily have many formal commitments, but in return they will have a great commitment to the idea, as well as a drive and a positive energy. This is what keeps the team together. Stina confirms that a lot of what Sigrid mentions is recognizable from her own team experiences. “In relation to homogenous teams, we are two students who have the same education, are of the same gender and age and we share many interests”.
What happens when teams become virtual?
“But what happens when teams become virtual?”, Mette Mari asks.
It’s very much the same thing that happens when we meet around a table. People are the same after all. The context has changed, not the people. However, we become two-dimensional, we lose body language and we do not capture the small signals. That is probably the biggest challenge with moving to a digital platform.
Maiken Spjelkevik, PhD student at EiT NTNU
Maiken emphasizes the importance of finding the right structure and finding the right way to work together. She refers to a research programme she’s been working with called Virtual Experts in Teamwork (VEiT). “The student groups that get a good structure are often the students who check in everyday”, says Maiken. With check in she means small talk and the informal talk. Other measures you can do to make the working environment online better are exercises she refers to as icebreakers. These are exercises that normally create laughter. “There are many things you do physically, which you can also do digitally”, Maiken says. She mentions an exercise where you ask the participants to choose between two options, for example between beer and wine. The participants then write their name under what they most prefer. Maiken believes that exercises like these are important for virtual teams.
Sigrid points out that startups are good at iterating. They test out a solution and reflect on it, and then they test out a new solution again. It’s an iterative loop. “You can do the same with teamwork,” says Sigrid. “It’s about testing out ways to work together, get feedback and possibly make changes. It is an alternation between trying out and reflecting.” Stina says it’s important to be aware of typical pitfalls and finding out what works best for your team. Mette Mari says, however, that “there is no one size fits all”.
At the end of the talk, Mette Mari asks each participant for specific tips. Stina says that you have to try to incorporate the things you do physically as well, for example taking breaks. “To play with the technical aids you have”, says Maiken. Sigrid believes it is important to find good ways of working and to alternate between action and reflection.
If you want to see the Engage Talk about virtual teams and how they can succeed, you can see the video below. The next Engage Talk will be on the 28th of May.
The main goal with this project is to show female students the opportunities within entrepreneurship and inspire them to pursue an entrepreneurial career, regardless of discipline or background.
By Silje Bechmann Granås
NTNU has a rich environment for innovation but this is a large and unexplored field for many students. Kvinneprosjektet is a part of Spark* NTNU, which gives us an advantage. Not only can we act as a way into this environment for female students, we also have access to an entire organization with a broad network and elaborate knowledge within many aspects of business development.
What has Kvinneprosjektet done so far?
To achieve our goal, we have focused on free and accessible events. The 1st of November 2019 the project was released to the public with a kick-off open for anyone interested and engaged in this theme. With great help from DNB and Spark* we hosted an inspiring evening with fierce female entrepreneurs and an introduction to design thinking. With food, drinks and music and nearly 80 attendees this resulted in a successful kick-off making us ready for 2020
The 1st of November 2019 the project was released to the public with a kick-off open for anyone interested and engaged in this theme.
Silje Bechmann Granås
While the kick-off was held for promoting our mission and inspiring young students, we wanted to take the next step. We created the Bedriftssimulator – a program with the intention of introducing the attendees to basic principles of business development. Over three educational nights the girls learned more about generating ideas, teams, validation and long-term survival of startups using their own business ideas. To top it all off we had a finale where they could send in their work and get evaluated. The price was 20 000 NOK to continue working with the idea and/or developing her entrepreneurial skills. After hard work from both Kvinneprosjektet and the attendees, we reached the finale. Marie Louise Sunde held an inspirational talk about entrepreneurship, gender gaps and her own journey. All the contestants got to test their business idea with success, but one idea stood out. Amanda Engeberg Andersen and her platform for buying, selling and renting microhouses and lots for microhouses won the Bedriftssimulator, and 20 000 NOK to continue her entrepreneurial journey.
The journey ahead
The last year has been filled with hard work, inspiring role models, students from a broad range of different fields and lots of support. NTNU, Engage, Spark* and DNB has been important partners throughout our journey this far. As Kvinneprosjektets founders are moving on with different projects, we are excited to hand over the project to new and engaged people who can continue inspiring young women towards their entrepreneurial goals!
History of Kvinneprosjektet
In 2018 Elise Maria Irgens and Vetle Øien conducted a research study on Spark* NTNUs idea holders. While gender wasn’t the main focus, they realized that there was a lack of female representation in the Spark-system. Today, only 14% of the idea holders are women. This issue is reflected in the Norwegian society as well, as statistics show that 7 out of 10 founders are men. With women representing half of the population this can be considered as a societal issue. As a response to this gender gap, Elise Maria Irgens initiated Kvinneprosjektet.
Engage talks is held in norwegian, but have recap in english.
Engage Talk 11: ADHD
The theme for the first talk this year was; “Entrepreneurship and ADHD”. The guests in the talk was co-founder Silje Urke Antonsen from Køyr, psychiatrist Espen Anker with specialization in ADHD and our PHD student Cecilie Haukland from Engage. Maiken Nilsen Stensaker was the moderator. They talked about the link from entrepreneurship to ADHD and how people with ADHD have a positive impact on becoming an entrepreneur. The talk was held on the 18th of February.
Engage Talk 10: Investment
The theme for the tenth talk was investment; “Entrepreneurs and capital – how to apply for investor funds?”. The entrepreneur Cathrine Ro Heuch (business developer of Nordic Brain Tech) and investor Magne Uppman (co-founder of SNÖ Ventures) were the guests of the talk, together with Professor Roger Sørheim at NTNU. Eirik Medbø was the moderator. They talked about when an entrepreneur should apply for investor funds and the importance of looking for investors with the same needs. The talk was held on the 17th of December.
The theme for the ninth talk was prototyping; “Prototyping – an important learning process”. The entrepreneurs Jeanette Grønnslett (founder of Anue) and Anne Lise Øiesvold (co-founder of Føn Designlab) were the guests of the talk, together with Associate Professor Heikki Sjöman at NTNU. Eirik Medbø was the moderator. They talked about prototyping as a tool and why it is important to start prototyping early in an entrepreneurial process so that the entrepreneur can iterate along the way. The talk was held on the 19th of November.
Engage Talk 8: Ecosystem
The theme for the eighth talk was ecosystem; “Ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship”. This was a special edition live talk located in Stormen in Bodø, in connection with the GNIST Entrepreneurship week organized by Kunnskapsparken. A total of eight people from the region participated in the Engage Talk. They talked about how actors in the region can interact to increase the growth of innovation and entrepreneurship. The talk was held on the 22nd of October.
The theme for the seventh talk was creativity; “Entrepreneurial mindset and the role of creativity”. The entrepreneurs Kim Daniel Arthur (founder of Ekte) and Håvard Sandaa Karlsen (co-founder of by north) were the guests of the talk, together with Associate Professor Elli Verhulst at NTNU. Maiken Nilsen Stensaker was the moderator. They talked about that everyone have the potential to be creative and that creativity is important when you are an entrepreneur to overcome challenges. The talk was held on the 24th of September, you can read the recap here
Engage Talk 6: Gender
The theme for the sixth talk was gender; “Entrepreneurship and gender – does it matter?” Professor Gry Alsos, former entrepreneur Anita Skog (founder of Balansen) from Innovation Norway and entrepreneur Lisbeth Bjerva (co-founder of North Wine & Spirits) were the guests of the talk. Maiken Nilsen Stensaker was the moderator. They talked about why it is fewer women than men that start their own businesses in Norway and what the society can do to make a change. The talk was held on the 11th of June, you can read a recap here
Engage Talk 5: Student entrepreneurship
The theme for the fifth talk was student entrepreneurship; “Business idea – the study time as a springboard”. Student leader of Spark* NTNU Rasmus Thunem, entrepreneur Siw-Cathrine Braa (co-founder of Combine) and entrepreneur Michal Meyer Nilssen (founder of Norskin) were the guests of the talk. Maiken Nilsen Stensaker was the moderator. They talked about the benefits and opportunities of becoming an entrepreneur as a student. The talk was held on the 4th of June, you can read the recap here
The theme for the fourth talk was team; “virtual team – how can we succeed?” The entrepreneur Stina Skånhoff (one of the founders of Seacirc) together with doctoral students Maiken Spjelkevik and Sigrid Brandshaug from NTNU were the guests of the talk. Mette Mari Johnsen was the moderator. They talked about what characterizes a startup team, and how you can succeed in a virtual team – that is highly relevant these days because of the corona epidemic. The talk was held on the 14th of May, you can read a recap here
Engage Talk 3: Health
The theme for the third talk was health; “vital innovation”. Health entrepreneur and nurse Vårin Vaskinn (one of the founders of Vilje Bionics) together with the doctoral students Gunn-Berit Neergård and Alexandra Bieliei at NTNU were the guests of the talk. The moderator was Eirik Medbø. They talked about what innovation in healthcare is and discussed why it is so important. The talk was held on the 30th of April.
Engage Talk 2: Culture
The theme for the second talk was culture; “shock digitalizing in the cultural industry”. Songwriter Caroline Ailin and standup comedian Kevin Kildal were the guests of the talk and discussed the topic with moderator Ben Toscher. They talked about how the corona epidemic has affected their work life and culture in general – and how culture can exist “online”. The talk was held on the 16th of April.
Engage Talk 1: Uncertainty
The first talk was held on the 2nd of April on our Facebook page, and the theme for the talk was uncertainty; “how do entrepreneurs handle a world that is turned upside down?” The entrepreneurs Mariell Israelsen (the founder of No14) and Marie Jacobsen Lauvås (the founder of Capeesh) were the guests of the talk, together with professor Gry Agnete Alsos at Nord University. Dag Håkon Haneberg was the moderator. They discussed how uncertainty can become an opportunity and how you can facilitate to find these opportunities and take advantage of them. You can read a recap here
Every year the Norwegian Government, through the Norwegian Research Council (NRC), hand out grants of 1 million NOK each. The benefitting parties are start-ups run by graduating students who have achieved progress and need more funding to take their projects to the next level. This year there were 42 applicants, and 20 million NOK was granted to 20 teams of hopefuls. Close to half were students at NTNU.
– More of the entrepreneurial mentality will help Norway through the restructuring we know we are going through. STUD-ENT is strengthening the entrepreneurship culture at the universities and colleges. The climate crisis and the corona crisis actualizes this more than ever. I think it is inspiring and exciting to see the next generation think big, Minister of Industry Iselin Nybø said in a press release.
Important
NRC contributes to helping startups in critical phases of their conception. When students graduate from NTNU or other universities and colleges, the students are effectively full-time employees in their start-ups and more often than not without a steady income. For entrepreneurs in this position, it is therefore essential to have funding to pay expenses and invest where it is necessary to create a sustainable business.
Together with other grants like NTNU Discovery and grants from Innovation Norway, the grant system in Norway covers many aspects that are important for today’s startups. Technology development, payroll, strategizing, marketing, and testing are all things that our hopefuls must consider. Some grants, like NTNU Discovery, focus primarily on technology development, and in order to cover other sides of what makes a business go around, soft funding from different sources is essential for today’s student driven start-ups.
– STUD-ENT enables students with the most promising ideas to continue working with their venture full time after graduation. Starting a new company involves a lot of risks and it is difficult to get financial support in this early phase. STUD-ENT gives the students some more time to work with their venture and increases the probability of creating a successful venture. I am thrilled that so many of our being able to get this support. I think the main reason that many of our students get Stud-ent is hard work and the unique sharing culture at NSE. Previous students at NSE that have received STUD-ENT help and push today’s student. This enables knowledge sharing and creates a culture that foster success, NSE lecturer Even Haug Larsen could tell Engage.
Engage plays a key part in the ecosystem
Engage partners NTNU School of Entrepreneurship (NSE) and Spark* NTNU are sure to be very proud of their achievements this last year. Eight of the nine start-ups that are connected to NTNU are current and former users of Spark* NTNUs services.
NSE is usually well represented and this year 7 out of the 20 million ended up with the school. As Larsen stated, the reason for this could be the unique culture at NSE and the hard work the students put into their ventures. 5th-year students Marcus Nickelsen and Vidar Melstveit, together with 4th-year student Henning Seeberg, are the minds behind Njord Robotics. Together they are creating the world’s first autonomous washing robots for use in land-based fish farming.
Henning, Marcus and Vidar
– We are of course very happy to receive the grant from the Norwegian Research Council. The funding will ensure our operations and our progress for the next year and help us with the next step to commercialize. We want to use the money on development and prototyping and some of it will also go to salaries and office spaces, COO Marcus Nickelsen said to Engage.
Start-ups receiving funding from Forskningsrådet
Rubato Booking – Digital booking platform connecting artists and music event organizers (NSE)
SlideDrain AS – Innovative drains for an easy, quick and safe installation (NSE)
Ocean Access – Autonomous communication system for remote offshore monitoring (NSE)
Metaito AS – Factsplat: A customizable intranet for effective navigation of digital tools and services
WAID: Rapid preparedness and delegate sharing in humanitarian aid organisations (NSE)
Snowroller AS – Commercialization of a complete circular business model (CCBM) for the fashion industry (NSE)
Njord Robotics: Autonomous Cleaning Drones for Land-based Fish Farming (NSE)
Ntention AS – Modular gesture recognition system for customizable Human Computer Interaction (HCI) in AR/VR applications (NSE)
In the end of March 2020, the Norwegian health care system expressed that they lacked enormous amounts of protective equipment as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Henrik Wille, a former student at The School of Entrepreneurship at NTNU, wanted to see if there was anything that he could do to meet these needs. Since he has earlier experience with 3D-printing, he quickly started to wonder if 3D-printers could be used. He knew that there were a lot of people with access to 3D-printers that wanted to help. “I thought it would be a smart idea to engage these people together, and that I could take the responsibility to organize the initiative and drive it forward”, Wille said.
Therefore, he gathered the makers (people with access to 3D-printers that wanted to contribute) so that they could be a united front. He created MAKERS MOT COVID-19. The group is an effort to respond to the lack of protective equipment that the health care system is experiencing. After speaking with health care workers and hospital procurement, Henrik Wille discovered that the greatest need was facial visors. Luckily, this was also something that was possible to design and produce by using 3D-printers.
Henrik Wille, the initiator behind MAKERS MOT COVID-19
After mapping the need and engaging people with access to 3D printers, Henrik Wille needed to settle two things.
First, we had to ensure that everyone in the group produced the same design. Second, we had to set up an ordering system that connected us to the health care system.
Henrik Wille
In consultation with a medical center in Kolbotn, they tested solutions and iterated on the model until it was complete. Further, they developed an ordering system where people from the health care system could put in their orders and people with access to 3D-printers could accept them. They then started producing facial visors by using 3D-printers and as of today, they have produced a total of 30 313 visors (numbers gathered 21/04-20). The visors are distributed free of charge to the health care institutions for use in the fight against the pandemic.
delivered facial visors and orders
Taking action
Henrik Wille expressed that the things he learned from NTNU School of Entrepreneurship have been invaluable in a process like this. “Everyone can have an idea, but it’s all about turning it into action. That’s a mindset I learned from The School of Entrepreneurship”, Wille said.
He noticed there were people that wanted to contribute, but that they didn’t know how. He had an idea and took action. After posting his ideas about how 3D-printers could contribute against the pandemic on different groups on Facebook, he got great feedback and it quickly escalated to something that everyone wanted to join. “If you have an idea, find the first place to test out the idea, get feedback and get people to join you”, Wille said.
Help the makers fight the pandemic
So far, the voluntary makers have used money from their own pockets to make the visors. Because this is not sustainable in the long run, they have started a fundraising campaign. If you want to contribute to this great cause, please follow this link to make a donation: 3d19.no/spleis
Students are no longer being a passive audience, reading about entrepreneurship and its phenomena, imagining entrepreneurship as a linear or phase based-process; students are now often acting as entrepreneurs. However, shifting into solely acting as entrepreneurs might influence the educational outcomes in ways educators have not thought about before.
Entrepreneurship education, as it was thirty or fourth years ago, is often described as having passive students, teaching about entrepreneurship, and being ‘old school’.
Torgeir Aadland
Doing
entrepreneurship is often advocated one of the most efficient ways of learning
entrepreneurship, and in the later decades, higher education seems to follow
this view, too. The literature on entrepreneurship education described this
approach as ‘learning by doing’ (Pittaway and Cope, 2007), or that students’ new
ventures function as ‘learning vessels’ in the educational setting (Lackéus and
Williams Middleton, 2015). Entrepreneurship education has therefore moved into
being more student-centred and authentic – in modern entrepreneurship
education, teachers are facilitators and the world is the classroom. However,
this rapid shift has also alerted researchers to warn about cursorily moving from
‘the old school’; students should not experience risks whose consequences they
cannot bear, while teachers need to overlook the course and ensure students
learn. Hence, there are pros and cons with various approaches and good
combinations are necessary to obtain an excellent education.
Student-centred vs. Teacher-centred
Entrepreneurship
education, as it was thirty or fourth years ago, is often described as having
passive students, teaching about
entrepreneurship, and being ‘old school’. On the other, ‘modern’ side, we find action-based education, teaching through entrepreneurship and being the
‘ideal approach’. In the modern approach, students are taking responsibility for
their learning, choosing topics to study in detail, and select the problems
they will solve themselves. While this approach gives the students ownership of
their learning situation, it also risks that the students focus on less
important topics, invest less effort in the activities, and focus solely on
practice without relating it to theory. Although the more teacher-centred
educational design also has limitations, educators should strive for a balance
between the uses of the two outliers.
Authentic vs. Imitation
As
entrepreneurship education focus more on learning by doing or educating the
students to be entrepreneurial, education in entrepreneurship also move more
towards and into the professional, entrepreneurial context; entrepreneurship
education becomes more authentic. This way, students are working on complex entrepreneurial activities,
feeling the uncertainty of
entrepreneurship, and obtaining professional
experiences from authentic entrepreneurial activities. However, moving away
from the imitating educational approaches mean that the students and teacher
lose control over the context and
that the academic outcomes might be
limited. While the imitating educational approaches might miss necessary
complexity and not give the students professional experiences, avoiding this
outlier might shift the education into an unclear design; educators should strive
for a balance between authentic and imitating entrepreneurship education.
Aadland, T., & Aaboen, L. (2020). An entrepreneurship education taxonomy based on authenticity. European Journal of Engineering Education, 1-18.
Lackéus, M., & Williams Middleton, K. (2015). Venture creation programs: bridging entrepreneurship education and technology transfer. Education+ training. 57(1), 48-73.
Pittaway, L., & Cope, J. (2007). Simulating entrepreneurial learning: Integrating experiential and collaborative approaches to learning. Management learning, 38(2), 211-233.
We asked the management of Engage about their thoughts on the current situation and how it affects their work and the future role of Engage Centre. The current COVID-19 pandemic situation has turned life as we know it upside down. Uncertainty is a key description of our new everyday life where new challenges and opportunities arise. What are the opportunities Engage sees and how can we take advantage of these?
Complex situation
The pandemic has resulted in around 400,000 people in Norway being registered as unemployed, partially unemployed or job seekers at Nav. This is a large percentage of the Norwegian population. In a complex situation like this, we need entrepreneurs 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. Øystein Widding, the center director at Engage, has seen a tendency, especially in developing countries, where many become entrepreneurs due to pure necessity. Will the people losing their jobs in Norway be more open-minded to become entrepreneurs? How can Engage facilitate more people to create their own workplace?
Engage Centre is discussing taking part in a continuing educational programme for those being affected by the layoffs that want to become entrepreneurs. This is not a group Engage has approached in the past
Dag Håkon Haneberg, a PhD Candidate from Engage
Dag Håkon Haneberg is also conducting research on how COVID-19 affects start-ups at the School of Entrepreneurship.
“Right now, it is too early to conclude anything since we are still collecting data. Because the situation can change quite quickly, we follow up approximately every two weeks. It is important to get an overview of how things are going so that we, as a professional staff at the School of Entrepreneurship, can better adapt teaching and support. It is also important knowledge to have, as other universities with similar educational programmes may face similar challenges”
New digital platform
Engage talk is another new concept Engage is trying out. The concept is a digital series in the field of entrepreneurship where we highlight current topics that can be useful for professionals, experts and businesses. The goal is to connect these different actors. The first talk was held on the 2nd of April on our Facebook page, and the theme for the talk was uncertainty; “how do entrepreneurs handle a world that is turned upside down?” The entrepreneurs Mariell Israelsen (the founder of No14) and Marie Jacobsen Lauvås (the founder of Capeesh) were the guests of the talk, together with professor Gry Agnete Alsos at Nord University. Dag Håkon Haneberg was the moderator. They discussed how uncertainty can become an opportunity and how you can facilitate to find these opportunities and take advantage of them.
Engage TALK
It is important that you take care of your existing customers, but at the same time you should listen to the market. Which new issues arise for potential customers in such a situation? How can we solve these problems? It’s all about trying and testing out different solutions, and you have to be quick. Don’t use a lot of resources and time to create a solution. Make it fast and get feedback on it.
Marie Jacobsen Lauvås, the founder of Capeesh
Professor Alsos thinks entrepreneurs and startups can have an advantage in this situation. First of all, there is a short distance from idea to decision-making. They are also most likely already in a testing phase and they have employees who are used to being involved in such changes. The disadvantage is that they have less available resources. However, she believes that those that have the will and ability to test new creative ideas are also those who will succeed.
If you want to watch the Engage Talk, check out the video below. The next talk is on the 16th of April.
Sigrid Westad Brandshaug is a Ph.D. student at Engage. Her research focuses on how entrepreneurial teams handle challenges and uncertainties, which is also relevant to today’s COVID-19 crisis.
Being stuck can enhance both innovation and learning
– I am exploring how entrepreneurial teams move from being “stuck” in a challenging situation to getting “unstuck”, and what they learn in this process. This question is relevant these days when the whole society is “stuck” as a result of the corona crisis. What I find in my research is that this state of “stuckness” actually can enhance both innovation and learning, depending on how the team handle the challenge they are facing. Maybe that applies to the situation our society is currently experiencing as well? There are many interesting examples of this nowadays where we see new products, services and ways to reorganize as a response to the challenging situation. And it will also be very interesting to see what we learn, as individuals and as a society, from being in this crisis.
“I believe that teams, in general, will benefit from having an entrepreneurial mindset“
Sigrid Westad Brandshaug
– Independently of the Corona-crisis, I assume that if we look more closely at the process behind innovations, we will find that they are not a result of an “individual hero” making an effort, but rather ideas implemented as a collective effort. That is also why I am interested in the entrepreneurial team, because entrepreneurship and innovation are mainly a team-based activity. To solve complex problems, you need different perspectives and competences, – and people are usually also more creative and persevering when working in a team with others. Therefore, I think it is important to have the team perspective in Engage. Well-functioning teams will be better entrepreneurs! But I also see it the other way around, – I believe that teams in general (not only entrepreneurial teams) will benefit from having an entrepreneurial mindset; where the team is open to new ideas, dare to explore and make mistakes, are open to feedback from stakeholders, able to reflect and makes changes to improve. Together with colleagues in Experts in Teamwork I am therefore offering seminars and exercises for teachers that help stimulate the entrepreneurial mindset of students in Experts in Teamwork.
Sigrid Westad Brandshaug
Entrepreneurship is the ability to turn ideas into action
Fufen Jin works as an analyst and researcher for Engage, and is the leader of Engages work package Documentation and Dissemination of Knowledge.
Fufen believes that entrepreneurship is important because entrepreneurship is the ability to turn ideas into action. She explains that entrepreneurial skills such as creativity, innovation and risk-taking, as well as the ability to plan and to manage projects in order to achieve objectives, help to pave a road to success, not only for entrepreneurs, but also for all others who wish to contribute to moving the world forward, she explains.
In a way, all Engage stakeholders are with us in creating a comprehensive knowledge base regarding entrepreneurship education
Fufen Jin
-Engage has a vision to increase the number of students in Norway and around the world with entrepreneurial skills and mindset to become change agents and innovate for the better. An important task of mine is to gather knowledge and provide evidence that shows whether and how this vision is achieved. This has been done through questionnaire surveys, interviews, observation notes, and some other methods. In a way, all Engage stakeholders, through participating in Engage activities and contributing to the data collection process, are with us in creating a comprehensive knowledge base regarding entrepreneurship education. This knowledge is further disseminated to advance our understanding about entrepreneurship education and research.
Fufen Jin
Entrepreneurship and innovation is about creating value for others
Elli Verhulst is an associate professor at the section of Experts in Teamwork. She is leading work package 1, where they focus on how students from all disciplines can develop interdisciplinary teamwork skills. Next to that, she is mostly involved in Engages focus areas on sustainability and teachers (train-the-trainer).
Elli explains that for her, entrepreneurship and innovation are about creating value for others. This can be done through understanding the needs, coming up with solutions for those needs, and making these solutions available for those who need them.
– Such solutions can be products, services, organizational or systemic changes. I see the role of innovation and entrepreneurship in the skills and mindset that these fields offer, and that is crucial to make a change for the better to happen. You need for example insights and experience from different (professional) perspectives, as well as the skill to cooperate with others within and outside your organization. And this is where interdisciplinary teamwork skills come into the picture.
Entrepreneurship and innovation have a crucial role in shaping change agents
Elli Verhulst
– When we see the challenges the world is dealing with, both today and in the future, it shows how some people see what is needed, take action and mobilize others with the aim to help those in need. These are the changes agents we need, and entrepreneurship and innovation have a crucial role in shaping them.
An important part of Engage’s vision is to work towards better practices within Entrepreneurship Education. And in order to do that, we need to combine our own learnings with insights from other experts in Norway and around the world. Read about and join the networks where we share and learn from each other!
Engage has worked to establish two networks for educators within the fieled of Entrepreneurship; the VCP Forum and the Norwegian Forum for Entrepreneurship Education.
VCP Forum – for Venture Creation Programmes
The VCP Forum involves educators and initiatives for Venture Creation Programmes – study programmes where students actively learn through starting their own ventures while studying. One of the Engage partners – the NTNU School of Entrepreneurship, is an example of such a programme. The VCP Forum currently involves around 20 institutions worldwide.
Do you work with a Venture Creation Programme and want to get involved? Contact Even Larsen for more information.
Norwegian Forum for Entrepreneurship Education
The Norwegian Forum for Entrepreneurship Education is a network for educators and researchers within Entrepreneurship Education within higher education in Norway. It includes a wide variety of Universities and University Colleges, and a different ways of teaching entrepreneurship, to students from within business, technology and creative industry disciplines. It currently includes educators from around 12 Norwegian institutions.
Do you work with Entrepreneurship Education at a Norwegian University or University College? Join our Facebook group to get involved, or contact Eirik Medbø to get an invitation to the network.
