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Can Entrepreneurship be Taught?

Originally Published 09 December 2002

Can entrepreneurship be taught? A group of international professors certainly believe that it can. Far from being hostile to the entrepreneurial instinct eminent academics are launching a new journal with a mission to provide state-of-the-art education for potential innovators.

Top international universities including the University of Warwick are driving enterprise forward through the launch of the International Journal of Entrepreneurship Education (IJEE) on 11th December 2002 at the Mercia Institute of Enterprise and Warwick Business School.

Dr Andrew Burke, from Warwick Business School and one of the Journal's founding editors, said: "What makes a successful entrepreneur varies across industries, and within the different stages of a firm's evolution, but the constant features of successful entrepreneurship can be taught. A sound understanding of the economics of the entrepreneurial market in which a firm operates, alongside a grasp of core business skills, such as venture finance and strategy, are crucial for anyone starting out on a new venture. These are the types of skills that the IJEE will promote.

Creativity and entrepreneurial spirit are crucial for entrepreneurs, but education certainly helps develop the skills and knowledge required to ensure professional leaders in entrepreneurship can rival 'fat-cat' monopolistic companies".

By publishing peer reviewed case studies and teaching strategies, as well as cutting-edge research to enhance entrepreneurial leadership and decision-making the journal is set to spur innovation and help rejuvenate the economy.

The first edition of the publication pushes for excellence in entrepreneurship by analysing key enterprises and addressing how we prepare current and future generations to anticipate, recognise, and act on high-technology opportunities. Dr Andrew Burke contributes a case-study on MP3.com, a revolutionary venture set up to break the mould of the music recording industry and undermine the power of the Major record labels. The study reveals the secret of MP3.com's impressive growth from rags to riches, and accounts for its equally significant demise and subsequent takeover by Vivendi Universal, one of the companies it sought to shake up.

Other articles include features on university spin-out ventures, the schooling experiences of subsequent high-technology entrepreneurs, and updates on the latest research on entrepreneurship.

Professor Josh Lerner, Harvard University, added: "If entrepreneurship is to achieve a permanent place in business school education, a more intellectually rigorous approach with strong ties to mainstream academic disciplines must be adopted. By defining entrepreneurship education IJEE is playing a critical role."

The editorial board has a distinguished international membership including Professors from the leading international business schools and economics departments including Harvard, MIT, Berkeley, UCLA, Warwick, Cambridge and INSEAD.

Ends

For more information contact: Dr Andrew Burke, Editor of the IJEE, University of Warwick and UCLA, Tel: 024 7652 2073 Mobile: 07986 405356 or Jenny Murray, Assistant Press Officer, University of Warwick, Tel: 02476 54255 Mobile: 07876 217740