Call for proposals - the Enterprising University special issue

2024-12-04

For the previous, almost 15 years, a number of initiatives aiming to inspire and promote entrepreneurialism were championed by the incumbent United Kingdom (UK) government, including Local Enterprise Partnerships (2010, coalition-led policy), the Northern Powerhouse (2014), Levelling Up agenda (2019), and the Innovation Strategy (2021). More recently, the Scottish Government’s National Innovation Strategy and Entrepreneurial Campus reports from 2023 outline bold plans which emphasise the need for a fair, green, and enterprising society, with tertiary education institutions working together as a core, contributing factor. Internationally, the intersection of enterprise, education, and industry is evidenced by a number of publications and policy-driven developments - including those from the European Commission, reported on by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, and the United Nations’ work in highlighting the efficiency of firms towards achieving sustainability - influencing universities to educate and promote their programmes and activities with enterprise in mind.

Crucially, within any functioning, aspirational economy, is the role of education. Notably, this involves the activity and vision of tertiary education in educating and inspiring future workers (Smith, 2016) and leaders; embracing a plethora of pedagogical and practical approaches (Tasler et al., 2023) towards producing enterprising graduates (Normand and Anderson, 2017; Crammond, 2020); and creative additions to the economy (Blenker et al., 2012). This is partly achieved through engagement with business communities, and regional or national ecosystems. However, sector conditions inevitably impact institutional engagement with industry and society going forward (Crammond, 2023a; 2023b), putting into focus the needs of industry, the entrepreneurial landscape, how students learn (Gimmon, 2014; McKinnon et al., 2015; Karadzhov et al., 2024) and the institutional reaction.

Proposals for submissions could include, but need not be limited to, issues such as:

Developing enterprising skills towards work ready graduates

  • Approaches to enterprise and skills development, through education or institutional activity
  • Pedagogical perspectives and educational philosophies, related to enterprise and skills development
  • Reflection of graduate outcomes, destinations, and the role of entrepreneurial universities
  • Nurturing enterprising cultures within tertiary sector education

Educating (small) businesses through purposive pedagogies: enterprising engagement and entrepreneurial / intrapreneurial endeavours

  • Exploring institutional and industry engagement, skills development, commercialisation or social enterprise activity
  • Developing enterprising graduates and formal or informal educational pathways
  • Universities and colleges as change agents, and legacy builders for regional and national development
  • The role of mentoring and leadership from universities for (small) business

Policy-responsive Institutional initiatives and activities: policy and partnerships

  • Alignment to regional and national agendas, through education and activity
  • Contextualising national aspiration within enterprising and graduate skills-focussed courses and programmes
  • Responding to the policy and economic landscape through responsive institutional activity

 

References

Blenker, P., Frederiksen, S. H., Korsgaard, S., Müller, S., Neergaard, H., and Thrane, C. (2012). Entrepreneurship as everyday practice: towards a personalized pedagogy of enterprise education. Industry and Higher Education, 26(6), 417–430. https://doi.org/10.5367/ihe.2012.0126.

Crammond, R. (2020). Advancing Entrepreneurship Education in Universities: Concepts and Practices for Teaching and Support. Springer Nature. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-35191-5.

Crammond, R. (2023a). Entrepreneurship and Universities: Pedagogical Perspectives and Philosophies. Springer Nature. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-18243-3.

Crammond, R. J. (2023b). Entrenching the enterprise message through innovative incubators: Asserting pedagogical principles towards assisted academic practice. Journal of Perspectives in Applied Academic Practice, 11(3), 111-123. https://doi.org/10.56433/jpaap.v11i3.591.

Gimmon, E. (2014). Mentoring as a practical training in higher education of entrepreneurship. Education and Training, 56(8/9), 814–825. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-02-2014-0006.

Karadzhov, D., Sharp, L., Hatton, G., Stubbs, F., and Langan Martin, J. (2024). More than just an add-on: Enhancing discipline-specific employability skills and awareness via the virtual learning environment. Journal of Perspectives in Applied Academic Practice, 12(1), 19-35. https://doi.org/10.56433/jpaap.v12i1.568.

McKinnon, S., Smith, A., & Thomson, J. (2015). Window to the world: Using technology to internationalise entrepreneurship education. Journal of Perspectives in Applied Academic Practice, 3(3), 15-23. https://doi.org/10.14297/jpaap.v3i3.178.

Normand, C. and Anderson, L. (2017) (Eds.) Graduate Attributes in Higher Education: Attitudes on Attributes from Across the Disciplines. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315559186.

Smith, S. V. (2016). Embedding Graduate Attributes into the Undergraduate Curriculum: Reflection and Actions. Journal of Perspectives in Applied Academic Practice, 4(2). https://doi.org/10.14297/jpaap.v4i2.174.

Tasler, N., Dale, V. H. M., Breslin, M., Charters, M., Docherty, F. T., Karlsson, P. S., Karadaglic, D., Reid, D. & Robertson-Kirkland, B. (2023). Risks, reflection, rewards, and resistance: Academic perspectives on creative pedagogies for active learning. Journal of Perspectives in Applied Academic Practice, 11(3), 80-96. https://doi.org/10.56433/jpaap.v11i3.585.

 

Your proposal - four steps

  1. Decide on the format for your paper: original research, a reflective analysis, a review paper, a case study, an 'on the horizon' piece, an opinion piece or a book review. Full guidance on formats is available at https://jpaap.ac.uk/JPAAP/information/authors
  2. Your proposal should be up to 300 words and include 5 keywords or terms.
  3. You should include a short bio (of 50 words) for each author.
  4. You should email your proposal form directly to Robert Crammond robert.crammond@uws.ac.uk by 1 February 2025.

You can find the proposal form here

https://jpaap.ac.uk/index.php/JPAAP/issue/view/15

Authors will be contacted by 17 February 2025. If your proposal is accepted, your full paper must be submitted by 30 May 2025. The anticipated date of publication for this special issue is December 2025. Informal queries and questions can be sent to Lorraine Anderson, JPAAP Editorial Team, on lajpaap@outlook.com