ALERTNESS REQUIRED! FOSTERING STUDENTS' ALERTNESS TO SCANNING AND SEARCH THROUGH ENTREPRENEURIAL LEARNING EXPERIENCES

In an increasing complexed and globalized world, the development of skills and competences related to the identification of business opportunities is crucial for students to thrive in their professional lives. Entrepreneurial learning experiences through formal entrepreneurship education (EE) or informal entrepreneurial activities have shown a positive impact on developing entrepreneurial skills and behaviour in the case of higher education students. This study explores the role of Junior Enterprises (JEs) - student-led organizations that provide professional services to external stakeholders - and EE in fostering higher education students' ASS and entrepreneurial intention (EI), using a quantitative analysis based on a questionnaire to 515 students from 12 countries, using [1] ASS scale and [2] EI scale. Results show that students enrolled in JEs report higher levels of ASS, being this dimension a significant and positive driver of students' EI when compared to the students that were just enrolled in JE or students that did not participate in neither of those activities. The findings suggest that formal and informal entrepreneurial learning experiences have a key role in fostering ASS and entrepreneurial intentions.