Exploring Entrepreneurial Education Through Extra-Curriculum Activities.

Entrepreneurial Education and the objective of fostering an Entrepreneurial Mindset have been extensively researched the last decades. So far, the main focus has been the end result of Entrepreneurial Education, namely venture creation, and more specifically venture creation through formal or core curriculum University education. Taking a different approach, this study explores the Entrepreneurial Education and the promotion of Entrepreneurial Mindset as well as of entrepreneurial competencies through extra-curriculum activities. More specifically, it uses the “Inter-Departmental Entrepreneurial Assignment” (IDEA) organized by the Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB) as a case study, employing a quantitative method. IDEA is a semester - long extra-curriculum activity focused on Entrepreneurial Education, involving undergraduate students from different departments. Employing two distinct, complementary questionnaires, one pre and one post, we explore how Entrepreneurial Education influenced the students focusing on a set of specific entrepreneurial competences. More specifically, through this study we aim to gain a better understanding of how such extracurriculum, University provided Entrepreneurial Education focused on students’ entrepreneurial competencies, can influence the Entrepreneurial Mindset and the entrepreneurial way of thinking. Moreover, instead of venture creation, we focus on how Entrepreneurial Education may foster entrepreneurial competencies and a way of thinking that can be beneficial in all life aspects regardless the ultimate field of employment. Finally, this study may serve as the first step towards more research on different kinds of extra-curriculum activities and their impact, not only on entrepreneurial competences, but also on the cultivation of entrepreneurial emotions and an entrepreneurial way of living. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]