How Entrepreneurship Can Be Learned through Experiential Learning Formats, Especially through Training Firms

A look at entrepreneurship education research shows that there are basically two types of entrepreneurship courses: First, courses for entrepreneurship and second, courses about entrepreneurship such as lectures, formal seminars, individual essays etc. Most of the latter courses can be characterized as teacher-centric where the student involvement is passive. From a more modern perspective and in order to train entrepreneurs trying, experimenting and learning about one's own experience is crucial. More innovative approaches, such as project-based learning, action-based learning and experiential learning, therefore, are gradually appearing on the scene In this context, within the last few years some universities have introduced training firms, mostly for students of economics and business. In Germany, due to a lack of legal possibilities training firms at public universities are still a rarity and therefore under-researched. Thus, the research question for the present contribution is how informal learning can be structured using training firms, and what effects this has on the preparation of learners for later professional practice and / or self-employment.

Therefore, the methodology for this paper is first to review the literature related to entrepreneurial learning in order to better understand the informal learning experience in training firms. Second, the case of a communication design agency for students around HTW Berlin, a public university for applied sciences, is analyzed to gain insight into the impact that practice firms can have on entrepreneurship education in general, and in particular in non-business subjects. For this purpose, a case study has been developed based on interviews, which include both the perspective of the students and of the trainer. Overall, the results will show a best practice example of entrepreneurial training and learning in a university context, which can be useful for those involved in the development of course concepts for entrepreneurship education.