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 Entrepreneurship in education

Entrepreneurship in education

Motto: The Seinäjoki UAS student possesses an entrepreneurial spirit and is capable of developing and creating new businesses.

Entrepreneurship and the promotion of it is viewed in three ways:

1) Entrepreneurship is entrepreneurial-type activity, which does not have to have a direct connection to business or the practice of business. 
2) Entrepreneurship is defined as the creation of new business or the development of existing business. In this way, entrepreneurship is increasingly associated with skills known as business competence.
3) Entrepreneurship is defined as the establishment of one's own business.

There are three objectives for promoting entrepreneurship in Seinäjoki UAS students:

1) To encourage the development of entrepreneurial spirit and an entrepreneurial attitude as well as the heightening of interest toward entrepreneurship.
2) To improve the knowledge and skills needed in entrepreneurship and to promote entrepreneurship as a career choice.
3) To support and guide those seriously considering a career in entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurial spirit is developed in all degree programmes through pedagogy and practices that promote innovativeness, creativity, visualisation and the ability to take risks. The utilisation of these methods is not dependent on the actual content of the course in question. Entrepreneurial spirit is also promoted through various theme days, such as the SeAMK Storm (SeAMK Myrsky).

More extensive pedagogic solutions and learning environments in the schools used to promote the knowledge and skills needed in entrepreneurship include virtual business activity, partnership business activity, project workshops, online forestry office, project learning based on needs in the working world, SeAMK Hyvinvointipalvelut (wellness services), Young Skills and Raami co-operatives.

For students considering a career in entrepreneurship, the institution offers courses across degree programmes in addition to the pedagogic methods and courses in their own degree programme. Examples of such courses include Business Start-up Planning and Business Basics. The national Sytyttäjä (ignition) competition offers students the opportunity to compete with business ideas. There are also general courses available to everyone, which deal with business development. These include Financial Planning and Tools for Establishing Business, Expanding and Developing Business Activities, Family Business and Succession, Networks in Business.

The knowledge, skills and attitudes associated with entrepreneurship are monitored with the Entre Intentio meter. This is a tool with which the development of students' interest in, consideration for, competence in and intention to engage in entrepreneurship are measured from the time they begin their studies until they graduate. The tool helps to monitor the impact of various procedures to promote entrepreneurship on the development of attitudes and intentions.

The primary purpose of the tool is to seek out a potential group of students who are considering and have intention to engage in entrepreneurship and to do this in the earliest phase of their studies as possible. In this way, they can begin along their entrepreneurial path through career counselling and attend courses that promote entrepreneurship and Yritystalli. All of the degree programmes offer students the opportunity to participate in Yritystalli in addition to their other studies. Yritystalli enables students to develop their business ideas and expertise as future entrepreneurs while they study and to connect what they learn to their other studies. Each school has its own Yritystalli manager.

The Yritystalli managers in the schools and other locations:

School of Culture and Design: Merja Juppo
Business School, Seinäjoki: Helena Hannu and Tero Turunen, Kauhajoki: Elina Ojala
School of Agriculture and Forestry: Ilmajoki and Ähtäri: Heikki Holma
School of Technology: Jari Rajamäki
School of Health Care and Social Welfare: Minna Hautamäki



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