Defining experiential entrepreneurship educational programs

This paper contributes to the knowledge of entrepreneurship education by highlighting the key defining characteristics of EEEPS. These are used, not to propose a unique single definition, but rather to create a segmentation and taxonomy of EEEPs based on the intensity of these characteristics. The paper also brings together in one place the key challenges facing EEEPs cited in the literature providing a valuable resource for educators involved in the design and delivery of such programs.

While the interest in EEEPs is growing on a global level, there is still an underlying complication in a lack of a clear definition of what constitutes, or warrants, the label 'experiential learning' within the realms of entrepreneurship education. 

Examples of experiential entrepreneurial learning cited in the literature include business planning exercises; opportunity identification and assessment tasks; guest lectures from entrepreneurs; business simulations; creating and/or operating a real business as a short-term assignment or even requiring students to create a new venture as the core learning vehicle throughout the duration, or for a substantial portion, of the program.

The literature highlights a myriad of challenges facing EEEPs, including managing multiple stakeholders; recruiting, training and motivating appropriate staff; developing a supportive entrepreneurial culture in the host institution and regional ecosystem; supporting self-regulated learning; securing appropriate physical space, representing the temporality, emotional attachment and critical learning events associated with the entrepreneurship process and turning entrepreneurial intention into action.