Here be dragons?Humanities, Enterprise and Higher Education

Leeds University, White Rose CETL for Enterprise, 10th October 2007

Here be dragons?

Karina Croucher, John Canning and Jane Gawthrope

Literature and Methodology

• ‘Entrepreneurship’

• Entrepreneurship Education

• Methodology

Entrepreneur/ entrepreneurship/ entrepreneurial

“one who undertakes enterprise; one who owns and manages a business; a person who takes the risk of profit or loss.” Oxford English Dictionary

Popular culture: risk taking, charismatic, self made. Alan Sugar, Bill Gates, Richard Branson

Bennett and Dunn (2000)

• Economics. Expected returns from entrepreneurship exceed those of potential waged labour.

• Psychological definitions. Emphasis on values of and attitudes of entrepreneurs.

Feminist critique

• “[I]f entrepreneurship is defined in terms of monetary gains, innovation and growth , the many female small business owners who start ventures with little or no specific intention of growth will be eliminated from consideration”. (Bennett and Dunn 2000)

• We wanted to employ a broad definition. Settled on calling those running businesses as ‘enterprising’.

Entrepreneurship Education (EE)

• Rapid expansion of EE in Europe and N. America over past 10-15 years.

• Can entrepreneurship be taught?

• Who teaches E to whom?

Measuring the impact of EE: issues

• Ideological commitment of UK govt to encourage people to set up their own business.

• Most graduates early 20s. But successful entrepreneurship requires several years acquiring expertise, making contacts and friendships

• Most enter self-employment in 30s. Only 4% 21-25 year-olds self employed in UK.

• USA: Large growth in over 50s setting up businesses.

Methodology

• Telephone interviews with self-employed humanities graduates.

• Interviews undertaken by humanities subject specialists (not EE specialists)

• Interviews recorded and analysed by authors

Motivations and Attitudes

• What motivated our graduates?

• What helped or hindered them?

• Perceptions of risk and success

Motivations

Not money!

Motivations 2

Enjoyment

“I feel that I’m doing something worthwhile. Because of the nature of my business [training consultancy] I feel that the training we provide makes people better leaders or managers. If I ran a company that sold double glazing I would find it harder to motivate myself.”

Motivations 3

Independence

“I love being my own boss.”

“I didn’t want to work for anyone else.”

Help and hindrance

• Help did NOT come from agencies or funding bodies

“I was never aware of the safety nets that are in place to negotiate business risks i.e. being able to set up a public limited company and I think that this may have held me back when starting out on my own.”

Help and hindrance 2

Help came from….

• Reducing isolation by attending conferences, meetings and building networks

• Family and partners giving business advice or providing a stable environment

Help and Hindrance 3

Hindrances• Financial, legal and ‘red tape’ issues• Personal problems, often linked to confidence• Stereotyped attitudes toward their discipline

(archaeology)• Postgraduates stereotyped as ‘boffins’• Keeping motivated when you have only yourself to

rely on

Perceptions of Risk and Success

Attitudes to risk

• Our graduates did not see themselves as risk-takers.

• Some saw their career choice as a way of minimising risk:

“The risk would have been staying within archaeology and getting channelled into a job such as digging. I like the idea that there is uncertainty in the future and not being limited or put in a box.”

Perceptions of Risk and Success 2

Success…… “It’s about the journey not the goal.”

• Graduates tended to see themselves as enterprising rather than as entrepreneurs

• Money was a measure of success, but only in terms of ‘having enough’ rather than high earnings

“When I was at university I thought it was academic glory, things like how much you publish. Then when I left academia it became financial, how much you earned. But now that I’ve reached a comfortable financial level – not rich but plenty to cover my needs – it’s changed again. I’ve returned to more intellectual realms, writing and publishing again.”

• Attitudes of peers were also a measure of success

In conclusion….

• Our enterprising humanities graduates were motivated by enjoyment, enthusiasm for the subject and independence rather than financial gain

• They tended to be risk-averse and anxious to keep risks in manageable limits where they did occur

• They were not aware of the sources of business advice and support available to them outside family networks

• Despite not conforming to entrepreneurial stereotypes, humanities graduates are passionate, dedicated and enjoy working independently and flexibly.

University was overwhelmingly a positive experience!

“My degree widened my eyes to a different and wider

world”

“My degree widened my eyes to a different and wider

world”

“I loved the subject I was studying, worked hard at it, and made a success of it. Now I know that if I am interested in something enough, I will be able to make it work”

“I loved the subject I was studying, worked hard at it, and made a success of it. Now I know that if I am interested in something enough, I will be able to make it work”

“I never saw the degree as directly related to my work. I did it more for the interest, and got everything I wanted and more, from the degree”

“I never saw the degree as directly related to my work. I did it more for the interest, and got everything I wanted and more, from the degree”

Skills gained:

• Analytical and numerical skills• Attention to detail• Literacy skills

“a new way of looking at English Grammar… which I can now apply to my work”

• Research Skills: including market research

Skills gained:

Problem solvingCreativeness

“there are a lot of subjects that kill creativity, but not archaeology”

Project Management skills, including: – Time keeping and deadlines

– Organisation– Reliability and responsibility

Vocational skills – discipline specific

Communication!

• Articulating an argument or plan

• Negotiation

• Speaking to different audiences

• Networking and social skills

Personal attributes:

Confidence and independenceResponsibilityInterpersonal SkillsCommitment and determination:Learning Ancient Greek developed ability to “stick at something and to keep working”Adaptability and resourcefulness:Through English “I learnt to start with a bit of blank paper and construct something out of nothing”Interest in people: Archaeology inspired an interest in people, in“how people behave, how they make sense of their world and how they inhabit it”

“Very few skills I learnt at university are directly applicable to my job. Apart from organising, meeting deadlines, and editing work to make it suitable for submission. Other than this HE is not ‘outcome focussed’. Tutors don’t have much of a sense themselves because they’ve gone furthest away from a real world job”

“Very few skills I learnt at university are directly applicable to my job. Apart from organising, meeting deadlines, and editing work to make it suitable for submission. Other than this HE is not ‘outcome focussed’. Tutors don’t have much of a sense themselves because they’ve gone furthest away from a real world job”

Suggestions:

• Institutional…• Departmental…• Individual…

Suggestions:

• Careers Services– Information and availability – although this ultimately

depends on the individual student– Career days – hearing from other graduates about their

experiences (specifically enterprising/entrepreneurial)– Links between academics and industry

• Business Schools– Communication, Accessibility, Awareness

Advice on:

• Inland Revenue• Finances• Funding bodies and grant application writing• Professional bodies• IT• Networking• writing

Suggestions:

• Within Curriculum– Ideal!!

• In hindsight, there were opportunities to build in projects that involved– fundraising, networking, managing finances, and business

skills…

• Providing EXPERIENCES which develop skills

Should this be the university’s responsibility?

“No, they should concentrate on ‘academic’ skills”

“Yes, universities should be opening students eyes to life beyond universities”

Can Universities teach this even they wanted to?

• “No, you need to learn through experience…”

• However… EXPERIENCE is the key!

• Experiences CAN be provided through degrees and

universities

However…

“I would have liked to develop a way of marketing myself and my skills whilst I was studying”

“I would have liked to develop a way of marketing myself and my skills whilst I was studying”

“Perhaps higher degrees are in a bubble which is entirely focused upon the research that is taking place, rather than the fantastic suite of skills that are actually gained through undertaking a PhD”

“Perhaps higher degrees are in a bubble which is entirely focused upon the research that is taking place, rather than the fantastic suite of skills that are actually gained through undertaking a PhD”

“I did not realise until much later that the skills I had gained were transferable”

“I did not realise until much later that the skills I had gained were transferable”

Implications/ possible recommendations

• Role of experience very important. Opportunities for real-life experience often limited or gained outside the curriculum.

• Independence and responsibility. Opportunities for students to run own events and activities may help develop these attributes.

• Development of subject-specific problems-based on real situations.

Thank you…

• All interviewees • Rebecca Allen, Sarah Croucher and Catherine Ross• Iain Nixon (KSA Partnership)• Valerie Butcher• Higher Education Academy team• Becky Jennings (report design)• Subject Centres: