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Threat or opportunity? A case study of digital-enabled redesign of entrepreneurship education in the COVID-19 emergency

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  • SECUNDO, Giustina
  • MELE, Gioconda
  • VECCHIO, Pasquale Del
  • ELIA, Gianluca
  • MARGHERITA, Alessandro
  • NDOU, Valentina

Abstract

The COVID-19 crisis has forced universities worldwide to seek urgent solutions to reconfigure traditional education programs for distance learning. The transformation process faces a number of complexities deriving from both institutional and contextual factors. It may generate threats and as well as opportunities to enhance the education system and prepare for potential future emergencies. In this article, we adopted a combined research approach to describe the experience of the Contamination Lab of the University of Salento (CLab@Salento), an entrepreneurship education program focused on innovative and technology-based entrepreneurship for university students. Moving from the analysis of the main challenges the pandemic generated for the institution, students and faculty, we illustrate the process of redesigning the entrepreneurial learning program by leveraging digital technologies. We show a new approach to entrepreneurial storytelling, pitching and business planning and development through digital technologies. We also report the outcomes of a student survey to highlight the strengths of the redesigned program and some weaknesses, especially associated with digital technologies’ limitations in education, which represent areas for future improvement. The study contributes at theory level with a new discussion on digital-supported entrepreneurship education. At practitioner level, it offers insights on redesigning traditional university programs to effectively address emergencies.

Suggested Citation

  • SECUNDO, Giustina & MELE, Gioconda & VECCHIO, Pasquale Del & ELIA, Gianluca & MARGHERITA, Alessandro & NDOU, Valentina, 2021. "Threat or opportunity? A case study of digital-enabled redesign of entrepreneurship education in the COVID-19 emergency," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:166:y:2021:i:c:s0040162520313913
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2020.120565
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    2. Makaya, Christian & Blanco, Cristina & Barrédy, Céline, 2023. "Towards an ecological approach for interaction management in entrepreneurship courses," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
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    4. Heliona Miço & Jonida Cungu, 2023. "Entrepreneurship Education, a Challenging Learning Process towards Entrepreneurial Competence in Education," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-21, January.
    5. Bacci, Silvia & Fabbricatore, Rosa & Iannario, Maria, 2023. "Multilevel IRT models for the analysis of satisfaction for distance learning during the Covid-19 pandemic," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    6. Giorgi Zarnadze & Ines Dika & Gentjan Çera & Humberto Nuno Rito Ribeiro, 2022. "Personality Traits and Business Environment for Entrepreneurial Motivation," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-18, November.
    7. Shah Muhammad Kamran & Mahvish Kanwal Khaskhely & Abdelmohsen A. Nassani & Mohamed Haffar & Muhammad Moinuddin Qazi Abro, 2022. "Social Entrepreneurship Opportunities via Distant Socialization and Social Value Creation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-25, March.
    8. González-Serrano, María Huertas & Alonso Dos Santos, Manuel & Sendra-Garcia, Javier & Calabuig, Ferran, 2023. "Sports entrepreneurship during COVID-19: Technology as an ally to maintain the competitiveness of small businesses," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    9. Emilio Crisol Moya & Vanesa Gámiz Sánchez & María Asunción Romero López, 2021. "University Students’ Emotions When Using E-Portfolios in Virtual Education Environments," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-16, June.
    10. Silin Liu & Jia He & Dingde Xu, 2023. "Understanding the Relationship between Financial Literacy and Chinese Rural Households’ Entrepreneurship from the Perspective of Credit Constraints and Risk Preference," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(6), pages 1-15, March.
    11. Valentina Ndou, 2021. "Social Entrepreneurship Education: A Combination of Knowledge Exploitation and Exploration Processes," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-16, October.
    12. Naeini, Ali Bonyadi & Zamani, Mehdi & Daim, Tugrul U. & Sharma, Mahak & Yalcin, Haydar, 2022. "Conceptual structure and perspectives on “innovation management”: A bibliometric review," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    13. Szopiński, Tomasz & Bachnik, Katarzyna, 2022. "Student evaluation of online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
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    15. Santos, Susana C. & Liguori, Eric W. & Garvey, Erin, 2023. "How digitalization reinvented entrepreneurial resilience during COVID-19," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    16. Wioletta Czemiel-Grzybowska, 2022. "Conceptualization and Mapping of Predictors of Technological Entrepreneurship Growth in a Changing Economic Environment (COVID-19) from the Polish Energy Sector," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-14, September.
    17. Hashemi, Hossein & Rajabi, Reza & Brashear-Alejandro, Thomas G., 2022. "COVID-19 research in management: An updated bibliometric analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 795-810.
    18. Thomas Kreuzer & Anna-Katharina Lindenthal & Anna Maria Oberländer & Maximilian Röglinger, 2022. "The Effects of Digital Technology on Opportunity Recognition," Business & Information Systems Engineering: The International Journal of WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK, Springer;Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI), vol. 64(1), pages 47-67, February.
    19. Farhan Mohammed Alshammary & Waleed Salim Alhalafawy, 2023. "Digital Platforms and the Improvement of Learning Outcomes: Evidence Extracted from Meta-Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-21, January.
    20. Spada, Irene & Chiarello, Filippo & Barandoni, Simone & Ruggi, Gianluca & Martini, Antonella & Fantoni, Gualtiero, 2022. "Are universities ready to deliver digital skills and competences? A text mining-based case study of marketing courses in Italy," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).

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