Transcript Document

Here be dragons?
Humanities, Enterprise and
Higher Education
Leeds University, White Rose CETL for
Enterprise, 10th October 2007
Here be dragons?
Karina Croucher, John Canning and
Jane Gawthrope
Literature and Methodology
• ‘Entrepreneurship’
• Entrepreneurship Education
• Methodology
Entrepreneur/ entrepreneurship/
entrepreneurial
“one who undertakes enterprise;
one who owns and manages a
business; a person who takes the
risk of profit or loss.”
Oxford English Dictionary
Popular culture:
risk taking, charismatic, self made.
Alan Sugar, Bill Gates,
Richard Branson
Bennett and Dunn (2000)
• Economics. Expected returns from entrepreneurship
exceed those of potential waged labour.
• Psychological definitions. Emphasis on values of and
attitudes of entrepreneurs.
Feminist critique
• “[I]f entrepreneurship is defined in terms of monetary
gains, innovation and growth , the many female small
business owners who start ventures with little or no
specific intention of growth will be eliminated from
consideration”. (Bennett and Dunn 2000)
• We wanted to employ a broad definition. Settled on
calling those running businesses as ‘enterprising’.
Entrepreneurship Education (EE)
• Rapid expansion of EE
in Europe and
N. America over past 1015 years.
• Can entrepreneurship
be taught?
• Who teaches E to
whom?
Measuring the impact of EE: issues
• Ideological commitment of UK govt to encourage people to set
up their own business.
• Most graduates early 20s. But successful entrepreneurship
requires several years acquiring expertise, making contacts and
friendships
• Most enter self-employment in 30s. Only 4% 21-25 year-olds
self employed in UK.
• USA: Large growth in over 50s setting up businesses.
Methodology
• Telephone interviews with self-employed humanities
graduates.
• Interviews undertaken by humanities subject
specialists (not EE specialists)
• Interviews recorded and analysed by authors
Motivations and Attitudes
• What motivated our graduates?
• What helped or hindered them?
• Perceptions of risk and success
Motivations
Not money!
Motivations 2
Enjoyment
“I feel that I’m doing something worthwhile. Because
of the nature of my business [training consultancy] I
feel that the training we provide makes people better
leaders or managers. If I ran a company that sold
double glazing I would find it harder to motivate
myself.”
Motivations 3
Independence
“I love being my own boss.”
“I didn’t want to work for anyone
else.”
Help and hindrance
• Help did NOT come from agencies or funding bodies
“I was never aware of the safety nets that are in place to
negotiate business risks i.e. being able to set up a public limited
company and I think that this may have held me back when
starting out on my own.”
Help and hindrance 2
Help came from….
• Reducing isolation by attending conferences,
meetings and building networks
• Family and partners giving business advice or
providing a stable environment
Help and Hindrance 3
Hindrances
• Financial, legal and ‘red tape’ issues
• Personal problems, often linked to confidence
• Stereotyped attitudes toward their discipline
(archaeology)
• Postgraduates stereotyped as ‘boffins’
• Keeping motivated when you have only yourself to
rely on
Perceptions of Risk and Success
Attitudes to risk
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Our graduates did not see themselves as
risk-takers.
Some saw their career choice as a way
of minimising risk:
“The risk would have been staying within
archaeology and getting channelled into
a job such as digging. I like the idea that
there is uncertainty in the future and not
being limited or put in a box.”
Perceptions of Risk and Success 2
Success……
“It’s about the journey not the goal.”
•
Graduates tended to see themselves as enterprising rather than as
entrepreneurs
•
Money was a measure of success, but only in terms of ‘having enough’
rather than high earnings
“When I was at university I thought it was academic glory, things like how much
you publish. Then when I left academia it became financial, how much you
earned. But now that I’ve reached a comfortable financial level – not rich but
plenty to cover my needs – it’s changed again. I’ve returned to more intellectual
realms, writing and publishing again.”
•
Attitudes of peers were also a measure of success
In conclusion….
• Our enterprising humanities graduates were motivated by
enjoyment, enthusiasm for the subject and independence rather
than financial gain
• They tended to be risk-averse and anxious to keep risks in
manageable limits where they did occur
• They were not aware of the sources of business advice and
support available to them outside family networks
• Despite not conforming to entrepreneurial stereotypes,
humanities graduates are passionate, dedicated and enjoy
working independently and flexibly.
University was overwhelmingly a
positive experience! 
“My degree widened my
eyes to a different and wider
world”
“I loved the subject I was studying, worked
hard at it, and made a success of it. Now I
know that if I am interested in something
enough, I will be able to make it work”
“I never saw the degree as directly related
to my work. I did it more for the interest,
and got everything I wanted and more,
from the degree”
Skills gained:
• Analytical and numerical skills
• Attention to detail
• Literacy skills
“a new way of looking at
English Grammar… which I
can now apply to my work”
• Research Skills: including
market research
Skills gained:
Problem solving
Creativeness
“there are a lot of subjects that kill
creativity, but not archaeology”
Project Management skills, including:
– Time keeping and deadlines
– Organisation
– Reliability and responsibility
Vocational skills – discipline specific
Communication!
• Articulating an argument or plan
• Negotiation
• Speaking to different audiences
• Networking and social skills
Personal attributes:
Confidence and independence
Responsibility
Interpersonal Skills
Commitment and determination:
Learning Ancient Greek developed ability to
“stick at something and to keep working”
Adaptability and resourcefulness:
Through English “I learnt to start with a bit of
blank paper and construct something out of
nothing”
Interest in people: Archaeology inspired an
interest in people, in
“how people behave, how they make sense of
their world and how they inhabit it”
“Very few skills I learnt at university are directly
applicable to my job. Apart from organising,
meeting deadlines, and editing work to make it
suitable for submission. Other than this HE is not
‘outcome focussed’. Tutors don’t have much of a
sense themselves because they’ve gone furthest
away from a real world job”
Suggestions:
• Institutional…
• Departmental…
• Individual…
Suggestions:
• Careers Services
– Information and availability – although this ultimately
depends on the individual student
– Career days – hearing from other graduates about their
experiences (specifically enterprising/entrepreneurial)
– Links between academics and industry
• Business Schools
– Communication, Accessibility, Awareness
Advice on:
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Inland Revenue
Finances
Funding bodies and grant application writing
Professional bodies
IT
Networking
writing
Suggestions:
• Within Curriculum
– Ideal!!
• In hindsight, there were opportunities to build in
projects that involved
– fundraising, networking, managing finances, and business
skills…
• Providing EXPERIENCES which develop skills
Should this be the university’s
responsibility?
“No, they should concentrate on ‘academic’ skills”
“Yes, universities should be opening students eyes to
life beyond universities”
Can Universities teach this even they
wanted to?
• “No, you need to learn through
experience…”
• However… EXPERIENCE is
the key!
• Experiences CAN be provided
through degrees and
universities
However…
“I would have liked to develop a
way of marketing myself and my
skills whilst I was studying”
“Perhaps higher degrees are in a bubble
which is entirely focused upon the research
that is taking place, rather than the
fantastic suite of skills that are actually
gained through undertaking a PhD”
“I did not realise until much
later that the skills I had
gained were transferable”
Implications/ possible recommendations
• Role of experience very important. Opportunities for
real-life experience often limited or gained outside the
curriculum.
• Independence and responsibility. Opportunities for
students to run own events and activities may help
develop these attributes.
• Development of subject-specific problems-based on
real situations.
Thank you…
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All interviewees
Rebecca Allen, Sarah Croucher and Catherine Ross
Iain Nixon (KSA Partnership)
Valerie Butcher
Higher Education Academy team
Becky Jennings (report design)
Subject Centres: