Survey on Current Conditions of Entrepreneurship Education at Universities in Fiscal 2009
About Us
The Entrepreneurship Education Plaza (The Plaza) is a website of the Japan Entrepreneurship Education Network for Higher Education (The Network). It aims to provide a wide variety of information related to entrepreneurship education in Japan and to enhance such education at colleges and graduate schools.
The Plaza is designed for teachers who provide or will provide entrepreneurship education, visiting lecturers who are often invited by universities, supporters of entrepreneurship education and interested students. It also provides information about regular classes and extracurricular programs associated with programs hosted by the Network.
Greeting
No venture company can be created without an entrepreneur. Even after foundation, successes of the company largely depend on capabilities and quality of the entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship education is becoming increasingly important in producing a larger number of promising entrepreneurs who will bear the future of Japan.
According to research conducted last year, 247 universities and graduate schools offered approximately 930 entrepreneurship education courses in the 2008 academic year in Japan (252 schools offered 1,078 courses in 2009). The numbers of schools and lectures in 2009 are about twice as many as those in 2000. 58 colleges and graduate schools offer a course or major on this subject (64 in 2009). On the other hand, no body or organization promotes a nation-wide exchange of information on entrepreneurship education, thereby making information sharing with other universities difficult. Careers of teachers and visiting lecturers vary, and the content of education provided is largely dependent on personal experiences and personal networks.
In light of these circumstances, the Japan Entrepreneurship Education Network for Higher Education was established in May 2009. The Network implements programs and events that complement and enhance entrepreneurship education, including a model lecture program, a visiting lecturers program, national entrepreneurship education events, and visits to observe lectures at leading schools. (Most of the programs and events are provided for teachers who give lectures at colleges and graduate schools in Japan, while some of them are provided in English and/or in Chinese.)
In addition to implementing such practical programs and activities, the Network launched the Entrepreneurship Education Plaza as a portal site for entrepreneurship education for colleges and graduate schools. We will transmit useful information to vitalize entrepreneurship education through this website.
To enhance entrepreneurship education in Japan, practical views and experiences, as well as academic theories and knowledge, play an important role. We welcome positive participation not only by university teaching staff who are engaged in entrepreneurship education, but also by a variety of people, including teachers who are starting such education, entrepreneurs who want to convey their experiences to the next generation, and visiting lecturers who teach practical aspects of starting a new business.
July 2009
Noboru Maeda
Chairperson of the Advisory Board
The Japan Entrepreneurship Education Network for Higher Education
(Professor, Graduate School of International Management, Aoyama Business School)
Summary
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry started to implement the Business-Academia Collaboration Human Resource Development Program (Entrepreneur Development Project) in fiscal 2009. (The program is subcontracted to Daiwa Institute of Research.) As a measure of its implementation, the Japan Entrepreneurship Education Network for Higher Education was established. It is a community for teachers and visiting lecturers who engage in entrepreneurship education, those who are involved in such education as a part of their business-academia collaboration activities, venture companies who provide internship opportunities, and venture capitalists. The Network will help establish and expand the community among the parties concerned for the enhancement and promotion of entrepreneurship education at colleges and graduate schools.
The Program will be conducted for three years starting from fiscal 2009. Activities include: operating the website “The Entrepreneurship Education Plaza,” holding national events, visiting lectures at leading schools, implementing of model lecture programs, conducting of entrepreneurship education at universities, creating a directory of visiting lecturers, and issuing e-mail newsletters.
We aim to further improve entrepreneurship education at colleges and graduate schools through the programs conducted by the Network.
Eligibility for membership in the Japan Entrepreneurship Education Network for Higher Education:
Teachers and visiting lecturers of universities, individuals involved in venture companies, and those who are engaged or interested in entrepreneurship education in higher education institutions.
System
At the Network, 17 knowledgeable people from universities and the business community who engage in entrepreneurship education form an advisory board. The Network is operated by utilizing the advice obtained in regular advisory board meetings.
In addition, under the advisory board, three working groups are organized to discuss important programs of the Network.
Organization Chart
