Practice‐based learning in entrepreneurship education: A means of connecting knowledge producers and users

The purpose of this paper is to propose a practice‐based entrepreneurship education programme which enhances collaboration between educational institutions and the small business community as a means of producing a more employable, well rounded and skilled graduates.

A case description of the business consulting programme operated at the University of Limerick.

The findings highlight how a practice‐based learning module brings real business learning into the classroom and simultaneously attends to the needs of different internal and external stakeholders by producing a more flexible and employable professional graduate. Furthermore, it creates a more meaningful relationship between education institutions (knowledge producers) and industry (knowledge users).

Educators need to evaluate the benefits of practice‐based learning programmes from the external stakeholder perspective as a basis of identifying more innovative practice‐based learning options.

The paper draws attention to the need for, and suggestions on how educational institutions can be more outward focussed and responsive to the needs of industry when designing educational programmes.