An important part of Engage’s vision is to spread entrepreneurship competence into different disciplines in higher education, so that philosophers, economists, nurses, social workers and engineers, to name a few, can see themselves as a part of the change they would like to see in the world. This is in line with the strategy of one of our host universities, NTNU. Last year, the Pro-Rector for innovation at NTNU therefore asked us to explore the status quo regarding the inclusion of entrepreneurship and innovation in education at the university.
By Gunhild Marie Roald
The report shows an increase in the number of courses that use the word entrepreneur or innovation from 2017/2018-2021/2022. In 2021/2022 the number was 18%. A follow-up study among the educators who use the word entrepreneurship or innovation in their course descriptions shows that there is a need for more knowledge about how entrepreneurship and innovation can be included in different disciplines. Furthermore, it appears that particularly the word entrepreneurship is, by educators and students, often associated with great achievers such as Steve Jobs and Elon Musk, or with construction companies, which shows the need for a wider range of role models and a need to open people’s eyes for what entrepreneurship can be and how it concerns us all.