Emergent Thinkers™

Teaching entrepreneurship is a continuous learning journey itself, designed to adapt to the contexts and needs of the learners. Recently, I embarked on a 13-week journey with 30 students from Wuhan University of Communication and Inner Mongolian University. This experience has been a wonderful opportunity to stretch my skills and enhance my understanding of diverse educational contexts.

In my major projects with EntreComp, aside from co-developing the UWTSD PG Cert in Enterprise Skills, I have always embraced any opportunity to break silos, whether facilitating my own students or in my educator development endeavours. On this trajectory, I have facilitated two global EntreComp community firsts: a whole-school approach with Dafen primary school, and a multifaculty project in Malaysia. This multifaculty project included disciplines such as biology, business, media, literature, and advanced technology, and became our first Global Cross-Faculty EntreCompEdu Pioneers while supporting the development of the Malaysian entrepreneurship project.

This time, I faced the challenge of supporting a much wider differentiation of student groups, with the added complexity of language barriers. This summer cohort ranged from undergraduate to doctoral students across a broad spectrum of disciplines. However, the richness of this collective and the breadth of the learning journey, from undergraduate to post-doctoral levels, both contributed to the opportunity and demonstrated the versatility and effectiveness of EntreComp as a transversal language.

Challenges and Learning Outcomes
Throughout this journey, we tackled several challenges that tested and expanded our abilities:

1 Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration:

• Students worked in teams formed from diverse disciplines such as environmental science, psychology, digital media art, linguistics, drone technology, business, and ancient history.
• Encouraged collaboration and understanding among students with varying academic backgrounds and research interests.

2 Creative Thinking and Problem-Solving:

• Engaged in activities designed to stimulate creative thinking and problem-solving.
• Techniques like SCAMPER and oblique strategies were utilised to explore new ideas and approaches.

3 Real-World Application and Value Creation:

• Focused on developing solutions that were aligned with real-world needs and values.
• Emphasised the importance of understanding target audiences and developing strong value propositions.
  

4 Teamwork and Leadership Development:

• Participated in activities that highlighted the importance of creativity, problem-solving, and effective teamwork.
• Developed leadership skills through planning and presenting comprehensive strategies.

5 Cultural Exchange and Language Skills:

• Weekly reflections included sharing learning on cultural exchange activities
• Focused on improving English language skills in a supportive environment.

Overall, this experience has fed me just as much as it has fed them. Meeting weekly, I have been kept on my toes, iterating and adapting each week to ensure that the materials were comprehensible, mindful that this was a summer school to support their language skills. We have exchanged cultural learning and had a lot of fun along the way. I have had the absolute privilege to get to know these students so very well since May and am immensely proud of their development, their strengthened confidence in English, and how they have tackled the full 15 petals of the EntreComp flower over the module.

A key benefit of Entrepreneurial Learning and its associated ‘EntreComp‘ competence framework is that it invites the necessary practical entrepreneurial experiences in a supportive environment. Here, mistakes are embraced, and failure is considered an invaluable learning tool, all of which are crucial for effectively preparing students with the confidence and experience needed to turn ideas into action in the real world (Bacigalupo et al., 2016).

Conclusion
So, one of my joy projects concludes… Wrapping up 13 weeks of bespoke learning tailored to the diverse needs and contexts of 30 incredible students. This journey has underscored the universal applicability of entrepreneurial skills and the transformative power of the EntreComp framework. By embracing a truly multidisciplinary approach, we have enriched the learning experience and fostered a deeper understanding of how these skills can be applied across various contexts and fields of study. I look forward to future challenges and navigating new collectives from whatever context they may come.

Felicity, #proudtobe an EntreComp Champion

Final Certificate Celebration Day