ERIC Number: EJ1460893
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Feb
Pages: 25
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0157-244X
EISSN: EISSN-1573-1898
Available Date: 2024-10-02
Reflections upon Student Elective Engagement in STEM Enterprise Education
Research in Science Education, v55 n1 p205-229 2025
There is a well recognised desire to encourage enterprise and entrepreneurial thinking in university students, however core or mandatory provision has the potential to dilute the enthusiasm or engagement in enterprise. This paper reflects on the choice to offer optional (elective) enterprise modules to STEM students at Undergraduate (level 6) and Masters level (level 7). In STEM programmes, enterprise or entrepreneurship subjects are often elective options alongside their core academic studies, with much variability in delivery methods and source materials used throughout undergraduate and postgraduate education. This means appealing to a self-selecting cohort with either interest in an alternative direction to 'pure-science', or individuals with an aim of creating an impact. With high levels of interaction between educators, industry case studies and learners, a dynamic learning environment is created, with positive outcomes for satisfaction and employability. A qualitative longitudinal study and ethnographic consideration of the individuals who have chosen to engage in enterprise-based elements indicates that initial exposure to curriculum-based enterprise can deepen their understanding of ideation, commercial bioscience, and innovation, leading to discipline-based recognition of value. Although a limited proportion of students go on to be entrepreneurs in the form of company founders, they often cite their enterprise education experience as impactful and frequently allude to skills or experience as intrinsic to their intrapreneurial activities and roles with the organisations they end up working with.
Descriptors: Elective Courses, Learner Engagement, STEM Education, Entrepreneurship, Graduate Students, Undergraduate Students, Student Experience
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Newcastle University, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK