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February 28, 2017

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Home » Feature » Education

Laying emphasis on entrepreneurship education

By Yang Meiping | February 28, 2017, Tuesday | Print Edition

BABSON College is recog­nized internationally as a leader in entrepre­neurial management education. It has been ranked No. 1 in entrepreneurship edu­cation for 23 consecutive years by the US News and World Re­port. Its president Kerry Healey shared some insights on how the college managed to retain its ranking for so long during her recent visit to Shanghai.

Q: Tell us the importance of entrepreneurship education.

A: According to my Babson colleague, entrepreneur­ship professor Donna Kelley, entrepreneurship education is important for job creation, and the development and intro­duction of innovations that improve societal wellbeing. It is not enough to educate young people if there are not enough existing companies to employ them when they graduate. People also want good jobs and that is different for different people; some want to create their own careers. In addi­tion, some have preferences for where they live and en­trepreneurship allows them to pursue opportunities near their home. Entrepreneurship therefore offers career options for many young people and entrepreneurship education creates this option.

Every college student should be equipped with the ability to become an entrepreneur when they see an opportunity and have the desire to start a business — at any point in their career. This may be right after college or when they have some years of experience.

Q: With the government en­couraging startups, more and more universities in China now are also developing their own entrepreneurial educa­tion. Since Babson College is known for its entrepreneur­ship education, do you have anything to say about it? Also, what are the key tasks in en­trepreneurship education?

A: Entrepreneurship educa­tion spans all disciplines. Everyone can be an entre­preneur — from liberal arts majors to engineers to busi­ness students. They can be entrepreneurial in startups they initiate, in companies they work for, in social enterprises, and in businesses started and run by their families.

Entrepreneurship education should focus, first of all, on how value is created. Profits and benefits to all stakehold­ers flow from the creation of a product or service that makes people’s lives better. Entrepre­neurs who improve society in some way are the most ful­filled and esteemed.

The way entrepreneurship is taught differs from traditional ways of teaching in China. Entrepreneurial knowledge and skills are developed, not just from lectures, but from a link to practice and repeated experimentation and learning. Students will need to learn how to be creative, how to lead others, how to work in teams, and how to try something un­certain — acknowledging that this may not work as planned but can provide valuable infor­mation to guide next steps.

Q: Some people say that entrepreneurship is a gift by birth and cannot be taught by others. What do you think of it?

A: Babson invented the meth­odology for entrepreneurship education nearly a half-century ago. Today, “Entrepreneurial Thought and Action,” the core of Babson curriculum, remains the center of the Babson ex­perience. Thinking and acting entrepreneurially is more than just an inclination. It can and should be taught.

Since anyone can be an entrepreneur, at Babson, we be­lieve it is what you do, not who you are. In other words, your personal traits and character­istics are less important than the actions you take.

Perhaps the first step is to think about what you have and what you know that you can apply to your business. Start by reflecting on your skills, capabilities and talents, as well as why you want to start your business. Then, think about what resources you can use to start the business. What funds do you have that you can put towards the business? Who do you know that can help you?

To be an entrepreneur, it is important that you identify a customer need and try to solve an important problem. Many businesses do not survive infancy because the entre­preneur often does not fully understand the real customer problem, and craft a solution to solve the problem.

Entrepreneurs need to have empathy, to understand customer needs and to take steps to move forward. This is what we call “Entrepreneurial Thought and Action.”

 

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