This post reports on two HEA events that were supported by EEUK, ISBE and NACUE – The Enterprise Alliance. The first was held at University of Leeds (Chair: Dr. Nigel Locket, with an introduction by Prof. Peter Moizer, Dean of Leeds University Business School), and the second at University of Bristol (Chair: Dave Jarman).
An Audience with Sir Tim Wilson and Prof. Andy Penaluna
As outlined by Prof. Peter Moizer in his introductory talk, these events responded to requests from educators following the release of the Wilson Review of Business-University Collaboration and the QAA guidance for enterprise and entrepreneurship, and offered direct interactions in open debate scenarios. Instead of the traditional presentation and questions, these were delegate-led events – where the agenda was driven by the type and nature of questions posed, not by the presenters.
Intended to be informal, much like a chat over a coffee, each event started with a ten-minute introduction from the presenters that explained why they were there, and how their paths met. Sir Tim Wilson gave some background to his work on the Wilson Review of University Business Collaboration, including insights into his early career and the first shock of being told that graduates of his day were unemployable. Andy Penaluna explained how his 30 years as a lecturer in the creative industries fed into enterprise thinking strategies and highlighted the value of his extended alumni-base, which he described as his own personal quality assurance mechanism, “I am a student of my past students”.
During the preliminary stages of the Wilson Review Sir Tim telephoned Andy, and a planned 20-minute conversation turned into well over an hour. Many more conversations followed and Andy subsequently joined the Review’s Advisory Board. This meeting of minds was based on two simple premises, how to help students to get ahead and how to better equip them for life after graduation.
Although each event was different, a number of key themes emerged and were responded to.
Enterprise and Entrepreneurship and employability, are they the same thing?
To many delegates the two agendas were now merging, and there was a concern that this might not be recognized. This was considered to be an unsurprising observation, as more and more graduates turned to SMEs for employment opportunities, and a good enterprising approach was valued in these small and micro businesses. It was emphasized that business start-up was never the sole aim of E&E education, but that students who were looking to portfolio careers for example, would also find the approaches beneficial. Yes the agendas were merging and it was indicated that less than 20% of graduates in the UK found their way into the top 100 companies, hence developing enterprising mindsets was a key requirement for both agendas.
Silos within University experiences – problems for both staff and students
Enterprise activities have traditionally sat in the business school, where there is considerable expertise in business but an acknowledged lack of engagement with innovation and its assessment. Other non-assessed activities are often run by clubs and societies as extracurricular, and have extended value in as much as they offer cross-curricular exchanges. Delegates emphasized that shared pedagogies offered considerable insights and more support was needed to match the changing direction of the educator’s remit. Teaching the teachers was a key requirement, especially in terms of matching assessment to the tasks (Constructive Alignment). How to strategize, facilitate, enhance and evaluate innovative capacity within rigid and pre-determined outcome statements was a key concern.
Quality Assurance and Quality enhancement, are they the same thing?
Delegates were concerned about over-rigid quality assurance departments and problems of getting new courses approved when they included innovative new approaches. The new Guidelines for E&E were featured in the prior reading to this discussion and they felt different, why was that? Would they be as effective?
Andy clarified that the new guidance was indeed distinct, and its intention was to empower educators and to not over restrict them. It was therefore a challenge for educators to make it work and to feedback on the issues and successes that emerged. Sir Tim emphasized that during his review he was asked to consider making E&E mandatory, but that he considered this to be “a slippery slope” and one that he conferred on and dismissed, and subsequently commented that:
“I remain stubbornly of the view that in a fast changing field such as Enterprise Education we should not be inhibiting innovation through regulation, rather influencing direction and safeguarding quality through guidelines. As I said at both seminars I really think this is a place for a “comply or explain” approach – an approach that should ensure that developments are thought through rigorously before implementation, but (one that) also encourages new thinking”.
Every HEI is distinctive, what about the differences?
“And so they should be” stated Wilson. “It is up to each institution to decide how their own cultural stances and ambitions fit with this agenda, but I would also suggest that any institution that fails to take this up is failing their students”. Andy concurred and explained that during his time with HEA and EEUK he had worked with educators from over 90 institutions and was now working with the UN and the European Commission, where the diversity and heterogeneous nature of the topic had resulted in issues of definition, but not in direction of travel.
Andy also drew on recent experience of working with the ‘Are You Ready’ team based in Rotherham, where he had been ‘blown away’ by a visit to Herringthorpe Infants School, where the key pillars for education were Resilience, Creativity, Teamwork, Problem Solving, Reflection and Communication. “If our universities can start to view education this way, we can start to address the many challenges we face”.
Is this really an academic challenge? Is it not merely a vocational one?
“It is a common misconception,” said Andy, “Yet in my discussions with research-led enterprise educators a different perspective became clear. At its root E&E education is all about making students think for themselves and to ‘learn to learn’ by harvesting appropriate knowledge. In many ways this emulates higher levels of learning, as good research leads the process and analytical / critical evaluation is key to success.” Sir Tim agreed, adding that, “They are going out into a world of continuous change, if we don’t facilitate a flexible and adaptable mind set we are doing them a disservice, are we not?”.
Money making or socially valid approaches, and what are the differences?
The rise of social enterprise was seen as a very positive step, however, cautionary remarks were expressed that social enterprises need to remain sustainable and should not rely on grant aid to be considered successful. This requires meaningful engagement with the basics of business, especially when considering financial issues and marketing skills. Andy clarified that in many ways, social entrepreneurship could be seen as a subset of more general entrepreneurial approaches, as the skill sets were generally the same except perhaps for aspects such as persuasion skills where there was little or no financial benefit – it was the targets that were different. Sir Tim felt that once again this was an issue for institutional culture and cited Northampton’s approach through engagement with its local community.
Next steps?
Sir Tim acknowledged that some of his recommendations did not find favour with government, but also highlighted that the impact of the Lambert Review in 2003 was only now being fully realised. Some universities move incredibly slowly, much to the frustration of business I might add. Others are far more responsive and generate enduring business relationships.” Issues such as the flexibility required of the workforce and the fact that in the 21st century we now have to live on our intellectual strength and innovation are key messages. “Remembering that, as a young man in Yorkshire I was told that my future was safe because I had coal under my feet and plentiful fish in the sea”, reflects the changing economic realities of the UK.
Andy concurred and referenced ‘Shift Happens’ a viral You Tube video made by school teachers in America that highlights the challenges of education in a global information technology age. For example the US Ministry of Labor estimates that by the age of 38, a young American will most likely have had 10-14 jobs, many of which don’t exist yet.
“It really hits home when you realize that despite our specialist programmes and named awards, many of our graduates will be undertaking tasks that we simply cannot envisage”, Andy concluded, “and that as far as I am able to ascertain, E&E education is the best solution to address the deficit of thinking we currently find. It doesn’t stop at HEI’s either, as Universities also have responsibility for many formal teacher training provisions, so if the teachers are to be taught, who else can take this agenda forward better than those who understand enterprise?”
Discussion
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Professor Sir Tim Wilson DL was the Chair of the Review of Business-University Collaboration, and was previously VC at the University of Hertfordshire. He is a strong advocate of the centrality of universities in economic and societal development and is acknowledged internationally as being one of the leading thinkers in field of university/business collaboration
Professor Andy Penaluna is Professor of Creative Entrepreneurship at Swansea Metropolitan University of Wales Trinity Saint David. He was Chair of Enterprise Educators UK for 2010 / 2011 and Chair of the HEA BMAF Subject Centre Special Interest Group in Entrepreneurial Learning. He has represented both EEUK and HEA at UK and UN forums on enterprise and entrepreneurship and continues to support Richard Atfield (HEA Discipline Lead – Business and Management) with entrepreneurship issues.
