author perspectives from: stuart anderson, nigel culkin, kelly smith and andy penaluna an education...

Author perspectives from: Stuart Anderson, Nigel Culkin, Kelly Smith and Andy Penaluna

An Education System fit for an Entrepreneur


• Background and introduction to the report Andy Penaluna

• The Higher Education perspective Nigel Culkin and Kelly Smith

• The Business and Entrepreneur’s perspective Stuart Anderson


• Commissioned in December 2012 following an APPG meeting with Anne-Marie Morris / David Willets

• Authors set out the landscape and past work e.g. the IEEC Concordat (2010), ISBE Conference proceedings and PhD insights

• Businesses expressed broad agreement with the aims of the authors’ presentations


IEEC2010 ConcordatPoint 1 from the educator community called for:

• “Integration and pathways to be developed so that schools, colleges and universities can provide a continuous and integrated approach that will help our learners to develop the lifelong skills needed to be enterprising and entrepreneurial.”

http://ieec.co.uk/previous-conferences/action-in-enterprise-education/ieec2010-concordat/


• Emphasis on ‘All Party’ - so a wide range of documents and policy perspectives consulted

• Tasked to investigate thinking across all levels of education

• Tasked to align thinking with the views of entrepreneurs and small businesses


Sample of Preliminary Key Findings • Evidence suggests that learning for innovation needs

to be implicit and not seen as a bolt on experience. ‐• Our education systems need to deliver knowledge

harvesters, not merely knowledge retainers • Flexibility and adaptability are key skills and

behaviours, yet many educational systems conspire against them


Sample of Preliminary Key Findings• Learning from experience includes the experience of

being taught – the teacher can be a role model to emulate.

• Peer recognition and rewards schemes are emerging and have impact.

• Formalised progression and career paths are at a very early stage of development (for entrepreneurship educators).


Sample of Preliminary Key Findings• Enthused educators and innovative leadership were

overcoming limitations in schools / OFSTED inspections need to consider business.

• Secondary educators were encouraged to measure to the test, not the talent.

• UK Government support was lacking in England• Europe and the world were moving ahead of us.


Overview of Entrepreneurs’ views• Mimic reality / encourage fast failure etc. in teaching,

learning and assessment – in an embedded way - across all levels of education

• Shine a light on grass roots activity / create empathy• Informed careers advice is needed• Make the link to big businesses. E.g. help with

practical support such as office space• Think of older people too / lifelong learning


Key Concerns include:• Disjointed landscape – HE’s lead with QAA• If we want to make it in curriculum – assessment

strategies still need robust development. E.g. not a single educator or educational respondent stated that they could reliably track the development of creative and innovative capacities.

• Educator enhancement strategies / training may be required


Key Concerns include:• Disjointed funding – many insights get lost• …yet long-term funding strategies are rare• Good educators are rarely rewarded / incentivized

within HE sector – slow improvements noted• England is not engaging with European /

International leading thought.


Key Successes include:• HE networks and educator engagement – educators

are doing it for their students’ benefit / rewarding through awards etc.

• Educator ‘grass root’ understanding of business needs is good – but in patches

• The consensus between the the academic review team and the entrepreneurs – we are well aligned… this was a Micro Business – led report, not an academic one


Sample of Key Recommendations• Government encouraged strategy is required -

overarching all levels• Definitions could be more consistent for UK, e.g.

Ofsted and QAA offer a lead.• Academic support / University ‘buy in’ is required –

drawing on all bodies and networks• Business Schools are not alone, this is an

interdisciplinary agenda.


Sample of Key Recommendations• LEP Boards need to include actual Entrepreneurs.• Government could give tax breaks to help

entrepreneurs to engage with education• We need to look to the world stage, e.g. UN and EU

are well advanced in their thinking• HEFCE, ABS, NCEE, QAA, Enterprise Educators UK,

ISBE and LEPs and other partners should all step forward to work with UUK vigorously to this end.


The first ‘joined up thinking’ review for Government – but it is merely a starting point… over to you!

author perspectives from: stuart anderson, nigel culkin, kelly smith and andy penaluna an education...

Documents

entrepreneur slide

levels of education

education systems

lifelong learning slide

entrepreneur key concerns

entrepreneur emphasis

key skills

views of entrepreneurs