Incubators as Enablers for Academic Entrepreneurship

The key questions that academics are struggling with are: can one teach entrepreneurship and how can it be embedded into a science, technology or engineering curriculum while maintaining high academic standards. Furthermore, prior research has pointed to a mismatch between the competencies of the highest educated and most specialised students of our academic system and the expectations of the (corporate) market (Anseel, 2012; De Grande, De Boyser, Vandevelde et al, 2011). Therefore, this paper investigates the opportunities offered by 'learning-by-doing' in an ecosystem perspective. The organisation iMinds somehow acts as network integrator for research and entrepreneurship in ICT in Flanders. In this role, iMinds collaborates with universities and university colleges and other actors in the ecosystem supporting entrepreneurship. The various mechanisms deployed to support entrepreneurship and the development of entrepreneurial skills amongst (under) graduate students are analysed. These include extra-curricular activities (workshop and coaching series). Additionally, these activities are embedded in and intertwined with the development of entrepreneurial behaviour and skills in the classical curriculum using new learning methods. Some examples can be found at Karel de Grote University College (the so-called 'The Company' minor) and at Ghent University ('student-entrepreneur' status). The enabler to drive this evolution forward is the inclusion of incubators as part of the learning system. Students that want to start a business can spend 2 years on an MBA or join an incubator; the latter generally being accepted as a faster and more effective way of learning. Results can be seen at three levels. Firstly, it results in an increased awareness of entrepreneurship as viable career opportunity. Secondly, these programs increase the number of student start-ups, which additionally are better equipped to grow and prosper. Since the program's start in 2011, iMinds has received eight applications for student start-ups and has supported four. Furthermore, about 25 students have made use of the (physical) incubator space. Thirdly, this ecosystem approach results in an increased cooperation between universities (e.g., at the level of doctoral schools) and with other network actors, leading to spillover effects and more effective use of proceeds. The universities of the future will intertwine academic education with entrepreneurship. The end goal should not be that all students become entrepreneurs, but the development of entrepreneurial skills will be beneficial to all stakeholders. This requires collaboration with these stakeholders in the ecosystem, including incubators as further enablers of entrepreneurial behaviour.