Creating Entrepreneurship: entrepreneurship education for the creative industries

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Creating Entrepreneurship entrepreneurship
education for the creative industries
David Clews Subject Centre Manager Higher
Education Academy Art, Design, Media Subject
Centre
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Creating Entrepreneurship entrepreneurship
education for the creative industries The
Creating Entrepreneurship Research Project.
The project commenced in 2004 and is lead by the
Higher Education Academy and the National
Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts.
It is supported by the Council for Higher
Education in Art and Design, the Council for
Industry and Higher Education, the Design
Council, Manchester Metropolitan University, the
National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship,
Guild HE, Universities UK and the University of
Brighton. The research was undertaken and is
published by the Higher Education Academy Art,
Design, Media Subject Centre. It is the UKs
first independent major academic research project
examining entrepreneurship education for the
creative industries.
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Creating Entrepreneurship entrepreneurship
education for the creative industries The
Creating Entrepreneurship Research Project.
The research included A comprehensive review of
policy papers and other literature on
entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship
education. A survey of 80 schools and
departments delivering art, design and media
degree courses. 150 students participated
in 15 student focus groups in 14 Higher
Education Institutions 3 National Seminars for
students and recent graduates (in Edinburgh,
London and Swansea) Over 60 creative industry
entrepreneurs, senior academics and
representative of support agencies participated
in 3 Advocacy groups.
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Creating Entrepreneurship entrepreneurship
education for the creative industries Entrepreneu
rship and Creative Industry
Creative Industry is a fast growing
sector Between 1997 and 2004 growth in the
creative industry economy was 5 compared with 3
in the UK economy (DCMS, Creative Industry
Estimates, 2006). Between 2000 and 2004 the
global value of creative industries increased
from 831bn to 1.3 trillion (UNCTAD, 2004). The
UN declared the creative industries to be the
fastest growing sector in the global economy and
placed creative industries at the centre of
initiatives for enhancing diversity in the global
economy. (Sagnia, 2005). The UN has adopted the
Creative Industry Map and is advised by DCMS on
creative industry development across the
developing nations (UNCTAD). Creative and
cultural enterprise is the catalyst for
regeneration across the UK. In 2004 James
Purnell, Minister for Creative Industries
declared the UK to be the Worlds Creative Hub.
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Creating Entrepreneurship entrepreneurship
education for the creative industries Entrepreneu
rship and Creative Industry
However, there are challenges Creative
industries are highly differentiated, diffuse and
atomised. The DCMS Map identifies 13 types
but misses out many specific activities
including interior design, textile design,
illustration, fine arts, visual arts NESTA
have identified 4 discrete types of creative
industry service providers, content producers,
event providers and originals producers. Creativ
e industry is not growing at the same rate across
all its activities the contribution to GVA by
design industry has halved since 2000 (DCMS,
2005), and the number of design businesses with
turnovers in excess of 1m has fallen by 30
since 2000 (BDI, 2005). Creative industry is
characterised by self-employment, freelancers and
micro-businesses.. It is often distanced from its
audiences and consumers, typically, access is
controlled by distributors who act as
gate-keepers Policy is focused on supply
rather than demand.
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Creating Entrepreneurship entrepreneurship
education for the creative industries Government
Action on entrepreneurship education
Business needs to be more closely involved in
education The Davies Review, 2002 Universities
should consider the the scope for encouraging
entrepreneurship through innovative approaches to
programme design and specialist post-graduate
programmes The Dearing Report, 1997. In 2004
the NCGE is formed to increase the number and
sustainability of graduate start-ups and the
number of students and graduates giving serious
thought to setting up a business in all its
forms In 2005 the DCMS formed the Creative
Industries Enterprise Task Group, Further and
Higher Education Forum. In 2006 the Task Group
published its report recommending greater
investment in the creative industries and actions
to enhance entrepreneurship education in creative
and performing arts and design at FE and
HE. Specific Creative Industry Policy has been
developed by the Scottish Executive, 2006
Department of Culture Arts and Leisure (DECAaL,
Northern Ireland) 2004 and 2006 Welsh Assembly
Government (WAG), 2004.
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Creating Entrepreneurship entrepreneurship
education for the creative industries The context
Around 10 of all first degree students are
studying an art, design or media practice degree.
The number of first degree creative art and
design students rose 66.6 between 1999 and 2004,
over the same period the number of first degree
students in all subjects rose by 27.7. The
proportion is continuing to rise (UUK, Patterns,
2007). Creative industry has a high number of
graduates in its workforce, for example 65 of
the workforce in film and TV production
(Skillset, 2004) and 41 of designers have a
degrees or higher qualifications (Creative and
Cultural Skills/Design Council, 2006). These
students are most likely to start their own
enterprise 30 of participants in the NCGE
Flying Start Programme are from creative arts
and design subjects. 9.3 of creative arts and
design Graduates enter self-employment within 6
months of graduation (the average for all
graduates is 2.1). (Graduate Prospects, April
2006). In our sample, 45 of students stated
that they intended to work as self- employed,
freelancers or start their own business after
graduation.
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Creating Entrepreneurship entrepreneurship
education for the creative industries Research
findings
From the courses Most courses have
well-established links with creative
enterprises. Between 10 and 80 of the
curriculum is delivered by teachers who also work
in industry. In 1990, research conducted on
behalf of DTI (Levie, 1990) failed to find any
significant entrepreneurship education in art and
design, in 2006 over 80 of courses reported that
they provide subject specific entrepreneurship
education. 47 site their entrepreneurship
education in a free-standing but subject specific
module. 31 claim that entrepreneurship
education is fully integrated into the core
practice-based modules. Only 24 of surveyed
courses use general business studies courses to
deliver entrepreneurship education. 30 of
courses/departments supported entrepreneurship
education through partnerships with creative
industry.
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Creating Entrepreneurship entrepreneurship
education for the creative industries Research
findings
The student voice Students are uncomfortable
with common definitions of entrepreneurs. Values
they associate with entrepreneurs are often those
they would like to associate with themselves, eg
good networking skills, innovative,
confident. However, they also associate
entrepreneurs with negative values, eg lack of
social awareness, no interest in cultural
benefits, poor environmental performance,
unattractive intrapersonal skills. Student value
cultural achievement over commercial
success. Students and graduates believe that
entrepreneurship skills, behaviours and attitudes
can be learned. Students believe that this
learning can be supported in an academic
environment. And the learning and teaching needs
to be explicit in the curriculum. They believe
post-graduation support is poor but essential for
effective entrepreneurship education.
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Creating Entrepreneurship entrepreneurship
education for the creative industries Research
findings
Creative industry entrepreneurs Commonly believe
that entrepreneurship is innate. They find it
difficult to initiate or build relationships with
academic departments. They believe that teachers
are out of touch. They conflate
entrepreneurship with employability. They are
more focused on their immediate rather than
future needs. They cite lack of confidence by
investors as a key reason for poor growth but
recent research shows lack of business skills,
poorly targeted business support, lack of
leadership and management skills and poor access
to CPD are far more significant limiting factors
(NESTA, 2006).
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Creating Entrepreneurship entrepreneurship
education for the creative industries Research
findings
Everyone believes that collaborations between
education and creative enterprises will deliver
the most effective entrepreneurship education
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Creating Entrepreneurship entrepreneurship
education for the creative industries Barriers
to effective entrepreneurship education.
The policy focus is very narrow, it focuses on
commercial business start-up and raising the
individual creative quotient (Jeffcutt Pratt,
2002) There is a lack of funding for and
recognition of the value of social enterprise and
entrepreneurship on non-commercial
settings. Lack of confidence in students
ambitions to be entrepreneurial. Collaborations
have failed to deliver the expected commercial
benefits (DTI surveys of innovation active
businesses, 2006). There is a poor understanding
and a lack of evidence-based research showing
what is effective in entrepreneurship
education. Shift in focus in art, design and
media research to academic rather than applied
research. HE management structures and
infrastructures lack relevance and meaning for
students and creative industry. The academia
versus industry argument is distracting,
misleading and unhelpful.
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Creating Entrepreneurship entrepreneurship
education for the creative industries Models for
effective entrepreneurship education
Entrepreneurial learning is acquired on a how
to and need to know basis dominated by
processes of doing, solving problems, grasping
opportunities, copying from others, mistake
making and experiment. Prof. Allan Gibb,
2005. Study rooted in the traditional education
system may impede graduate entrepreneurship.
Prof David Kirby, 2005. There is a need to
develop a learning model based on a new
understanding of how entrepreneurs in the
creative and media sectors learn based on social
learning. Prof. David Rae, 2003. These ideas do
not originate in pedagogic theory relating to
entrepreneurship learning but from ideas for
experiential and situated learning, where
learning-by-doing simulates real world
environments. This basis for learning has been
identified by Donald Schön as being at the core
of learning in the studio (Schön, 1987).
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Creating Entrepreneurship entrepreneurship
education for the creative industries Models for
effective entrepreneurship education
The model of entrepreneurship education emerging
from this research has the following key
elements A free-standing subject-focused module
or components for entrepreneurship education
aimed at delivering knowledge and skills for and
about entrepreneurship. Learning that is part of
the core curriculum and learning outcomes that
are developed in practice-based
modules. Entrepreneurial behaviours, attributes
and skills that are developed through direct
engagement with industry. The forms of engagement
are wide ranging including work placement,
contributions to curriculum delivery and
assessment and industry-based assignments by
creative industries professionals and other
specialists. Pedagogies that support deep
learning approaches by focusing on situated and
project-based learning and have high currency for
art, design and media students.
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Creating Entrepreneurship entrepreneurship
education for the creative industries Models for
effective entrepreneurship education
At the heart of this model are academic
development and delivery processes that are
collaborative. These have 2 strategic
aims Diagnostic allowing students to make
informed choices about their future careers,
and Developmental facilitating higher-level
learning outcomes for students capable and
committed to enhancing their entrepreneurial
capacity and professional skills.
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Creating Entrepreneurship entrepreneurship
education for the creative industries Models for
effective entrepreneurship education
However it is widely agreed that the benefits of
collaborative programmes will have other benefits.
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Creating Entrepreneurship entrepreneurship
education for the creative industries Summary
There is evidence showing substantial development
of entrepreneurship education in art, design and
media education. Eighty per cent of responding
departments have specific provision and commonly
integrate this into core learning and teaching
activities. The pedagogy of art, design and
media are well suited for developing
entrepreneurship learning. There is a widespread
belief among all stakeholders that
entrepreneurship education will be enhanced by
better collaborations between creative industry
and art, design and media departments and
courses. There is evidence that HE management
and quality assurance processes have have
provoked greater distance between institutions
and their potential partners.
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Creating Entrepreneurship entrepreneurship
education for the creative industries Recommendat
ions
There is a need to develop more appropriate
definitions for entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurshi
p is inherent to effective creative practice and
needs to be explicit in the curriculum. There is
a need to reform funding and quality assurance
mechanisms for art, design and media higher
education.
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Creating Entrepreneurship entrepreneurship
education for the creative industries
A full copy of Creating Entrepreneurship can be
downloaded from the Art, Design, Media website
at http//www.adm.heacademy.ac.uk Hardcopy can
be obtained by emailing to adm_at_heacademy.ac.uk
David Clews Subject Centre Manager Higher
Education Academy Art, Design, Media Subject
Centre