Innovation And Entrepreneurship In An Educational Ecosystem

This book reports on 12 education innovation cases in Taiwan and focus particularly on an ecosystem to demonstrate innovation as a competitive advantage and requires an ecosystem to be sustainable in virtually all disciplines. It also covers the trend of education innovation in many countries, with “education entrepreneurship” being the frequently used description. The 12 educators highlighted here are even more entrepreneurial than many businesspeople. Generally, schools are required to follow certain rules, especially the public schools. Accordingly, the book also describes how these education entrepreneurs have innovatively created a fostering environment under challenging constraints to facilitate the success of students, teachers, and even the local community. Six of the cases involve school-based innovation, while the other six focus on student-based innovation. Their stories provide valuable insights for all companies seeking to become more innovative in a resource-constrained setting.

This book explains the strategic appeal of innovation and entrepreneurship education based on the systematic analysis of the key characteristics and constraints of China’s economic transformation and upgrading. The book presents results related to studying the common trends of innovation and entrepreneurship education at the times of economic globalization and the experience of major countries, exploring the cultivation model of key innovation and entrepreneurship talents and mechanism of the innovation and entrepreneurship education ecosystem. Based on ecology and system theory, this book puts forward the concept of “global ecology” to explain the complex relationship among various elements in the process of innovation and entrepreneurship education.

Higher education has been considered both an 'engine' for innovation and a 'catalyst' for sustainability development; the integration of both the innovation engine and sustainability catalyst roles are discussed in a recently published Special Issue on the theme of Higher Education in Innovation Ecosystems in the journal Sustainability. Based on 16 articles contributing to the Special Issue from various perspectives, the Special Issue editors have developed an overarching framework about the relationships between higher education and innovation ecosystems. In the framework, we re-define the concept of innovation ecosystem and identify emerging roles of universities in developing sustainable innovation ecosystems. Re-conceptualization of innovation ecosystems In the editorial of the Special Issue, innovation ecosystem is defined as: co-innovation networks in which actors from organizations concerned with the functions of knowledge production, wealth creation, and norm control interact with each other in forming co-evolution and interdependent relations (both direct or indirect) in cross-geographical contexts and through which new ideas and approaches from various internal and external sources are integrated into a platform to generate shared values for the sustainable transformation of society. Compared with most commonly cited definitions of innovation ecosystem, our definition highlights three new aspects of interactions in co-innovation networks: cross-sectoral, transnational, and indirect, drawing insights from the literature including innovation, geography, and biology studies. The roles of universities in innovation ecosystems The emerging roles of universities in innovation ecosystems are as follows: (1) The role of universities is changing from being a central player in technology transfer to being an anchor in knowledge exchange; (2) universities are assuming a new role in trust-building between actors in innovation ecosystems; and (3) universities are not merely an entrepreneurial universities but are also institutional entrepreneur in the innovation ecosystem. The three emerging roles all indicate that universities are becoming the catalysts for sustainable development in innovation ecosystems. Knowledge exchange is crucial for sustainability; trust is the foundation of the sustainable networks; social entrepreneurship is indispensable for sustainable social change. Evidence in wider contexts A total of 44 authors from 10 countries contributed to the discussions on the changing roles of higher education in innovation ecosystems from varying perspectives. They also report transformations within higher education and universities' responses to both external and internal transformations. When addressing these issues, the studies provide both theoretical and methodological contributions to the research on higher education in innovation ecosystems. The 16 articles can be generally placed into four categories: (1) new demands for universities arising from the transformation in society toward innovation ecosystems, (2) transformations within higher education responding to emerging societal demands, (3) dynamics of the interaction of university with other innovation actors in a transnational context, and (4) academic and student mobility for higher education innovation. Calling for a new research agenda While societal changes demand broader roles of universities, they also call for and leads to substantial changes within the internal fabric of the university. The innovations in both society and the universities necessitate a renewed understanding of higher education in society, which has become a new research agenda in studies on innovation in higher education. We hope our Special Issue will inspire and encourage more scholars to join the research field.

Entrepreneurship and innovation are increasingly viewed as key contributors to global economic and social development. University-based entrepreneurship ecosystems (U-BEEs) provide a supportive context in which entrepreneurship and innovation can thrive. In that vein, this book provides critical insight based on cutting-edge analyses of how to frame, design, launch, and sustain efforts in the area of entrepreneurship. Seven success factors were derived from an in-depth analysis of six leading, and very different, university-based entrepreneurship ecosystems in North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. These seven success factors are: (1) senior leadership vision, engagement and sponsorship; (2) strong programmatic and faculty leadership; (3) sustained commitment over a long period of time; (4) commitment of substantial financial resources; (5) commitment to continuing innovation in curriculum and programs; (6) an appropriate organizational infrastructure; and (7) commitment to building the extended enterprise and achieving critical mass. Based on these success factors, the authors provide a series of recommendations for the development of a comprehensive university-based entrepreneurship ecosystem. This major assessment of how best to drive university-based entrepreneurship ecosystems is essential reading for anyone involved in higher education (particularly provosts, deans, and professors), government agencies concerned with socio-economic development, and all those concerned with helping entrepreneurship ecosystems to flourish.

The complex global environment for entrepreneurship has experienced significant change during the past decade. University based entrepreneurship is at the nexus of this environment. Students and faculty of entrepreneurship are uniquely positioned as agents in the movement of discovery and innovation.

This book closely examines how universities and higher educational institutions have come to occupy a very significant position in the Chinese national Iinnovation system (NIS) in the last two decades. It looks at the growth, structure and current status of higher education in China and discusses how these world-class institutions are intimately intertwined with the rise of China in the global knowledge economy. It studies themes such as the impact of Chinese universities on industry, business enterprises and national development, relevance of higher education to policies related to industry development, reform measures to improve research intensity and quality of teaching, and internationalization and globalization of higher education. Based on sound empirical research, it also explores concepts like academic entrepreneurship, start-ups and entrepreneurial ecosystems. A key text on the Chinese education sector, the book will be of interest to scholars and researchers of higher education, Chinese studies, science, technology and innovation studies, business economics and management, academic entrepreneurship and public policy.

As entrepreneurship education grows across disciplines and permeates through various areas of university programs, this timely book offers an interdisciplinary, comparative and global perspective on best practices and new insights for the field. Through the theoretical lens of collaborative partnerships, it examines innovative practices of entrepreneurship education and advances understanding of the discipline. Exploring and showcasing how global collaboration can foster entrepreneurship education, international contributors share their experiences as educators, scholars and thought-leaders involved in the Babson Collaborative. Chapters illustrate the challenges faced by educators and creative methods for tackling them, offering useful insights from a range of disciplinary perspectives. Highlighting the significance of the field to higher education environments, this book encourages active participation in entrepreneurial practice and collaboration between stakeholders and disciplines to ensure high-quality education in a variety of settings. This insightful book is a rousing and inspiring view of entrepreneurship education for scholars and academic entrepreneurs who are working to build robust education ecosystems in the field.

This book presents multidisciplinary research that expands our understanding of the innovation system (IS) and the entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) perspectives on regional economic development. It critically reviews the two concepts and explores the promise and the limits of bridging IS and EE, particularly as applied outside of the bubbling global hubs or to the types of entrepreneurship different from the high-growth variety.