Framework for Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Education in Australia: Preliminary Exploration

Abstract

This study investigates engagement activities higher education institutions have been providing to develop a learning culture as well as entrepreneurship skills for undergraduate entrepreneurship education learners in Australia. This research is intended to explore changes and adjustments made in the curriculum of undergraduate entrepreneurship education programmes in selected higher education institutions in Australia due to uncertainties caused by COVID-19. We focused on six Australian universities offering undergraduate entrepreneurship programmes, which were purposefully chosen. Data and information were gathered from the universities’ websites, documents available from the same source, the universities’ structure of engagement activities, and their curriculum. Previous literature was referred to for models already proposed and executed. By considering the COVID-19 crisis as well as similar types of future uncertainties, the study has identified the necessity of implementing open innovation and experiential learning models in a blended environment and having strong IT infrastructure for sustainable industry-university collaboration to facilitate a learning culture and develop entrepreneurship skills in undergraduate entrepreneurship education learners in Australia.

Keywords

• entrepreneurship education
• experiential learning
• blended learning
• university-industry collaboration