Entrepreneurship in education

Motto: A student of Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences student has an entrepreneurial spirit and is also capable of creating and developing new, profitable and successful businesses.

Entrepreneurship and its promotion are viewed in three complementary ways:

• 1) Entrepreneurship is defined as entrepreneurial-type activity, which may – but does not need – 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 knowledge and skills known as business competence.
• 3) Entrepreneurship is defined as the process associated with the establishment of one's own business.

There are three dimensions for promoting entrepreneurship among students at Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences:

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

Entrepreneurial spirit

Is promoted by all the degree programmes of Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences through pedagogy and practices that further creativity, innovativeness, 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 and joint multidisciplinary studies.

More extensive pedagogic solutions and learning environments used by the Faculties to promote the knowledge and skills needed in entrepreneurship include virtual business activity, a Project Workshop, project learning based on needs of working life, and Frami Pro.

For students considering a career in entrepreneurship

SeAMK offers, in addition to the pedagogic methods and courses of their own degree programmes, courses crossing the boundaries of educational fields. Such courses include Business Start-up Planning, Business Basics, and From an Idea to a Business. There are also general courses available to everyone, which deal with business development. They include Financial Planning and Tools for Establishing Business, Expanding and Developing Business Activities, Family Business and Succession, Networks in Business. Students considering a career in entrepreneurship have an opportunity to participate in the ’Liikeideat lentoon’ preparation programme of the StartUp Lakeus project in connection to their studies. The aim of the preparation programme is to help the student their idea through communal and individual guidance in such a way that it may result in a potential growth company. SeAMK implements the project and training programme in cooperation with Into Seinäjoki Oy. The contact person of SeAMK in the training programme is Helena Hannu.

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

The primary purpose of the tool is to seek out, at the earliest phase possible, a potential group of students who are considering and have an intention to engage in entrepreneurship. This way, they can begin on an entrepreneurial path through career counselling and attend courses that promote entrepreneurship and Yritystalli. All the degree programmes offer students the opportunity to participate, apart from their studies, in the activities of Yritystalli. Yritystalli allows students to develop their business ideas and expertise as future entrepreneurs while they study as well as to connect what they learn to their other studies. Each Faculty has its own Yritystalli manager or contact person.

The Yritystalli managers/contact persons at the Faculties:

School of Business and Culture: Helena Hannu

School of Food and Agriculture: Heikki Holma and Elina Ojala

School of Technology: Kaisu Salo

School of Health Care and Social Welfare: Minna Hautamäki and Sinikka Volanto