What is the meaning of experiences in learning? Experiences are always individual and learner owns the learning. Ideas are constantly reformed through experience.
Amber – Power for Cleantech Innovations in the Baltic Sea Region project identified several themes where competences of university research meet RDI needs of enterprises. One of these themes was experiential and entrepreneurial learning. It is possible to study these phenomena from different perspectives. Depending on the project, the focus can be on individual, group, organizational or ecosystem level.
Experiential learning is a holistic approach
And what do we mean by experiential and entrepreneurial learning? There are two wide concepts involved under this umbrella. First of all, what is meant by experiential learning? We utilize the definition of experiential learning from Kolb (2015, 49) who sees it to be “a process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience”. The experiential learning theory is a holistic approach that combines experience, perception, cognition, and behaviour. The learning is seen as a process that involves interaction between the learner and the social environment. Knowledge is not seen as a static asset. The learner and co-learners are active knowledge creators in the learning process. (ibid.)
Entrepreneurial learning
It is possible to see the link between the concepts of experiential and entrepreneurial learning, too. Entrepreneurial learning is a wide concept and in research there are different approaches to it. As a university of applied sciences, we see entrepreneurial learning to be a beneficial concept when planning learning environments from the perspectives of students, companies and other public, private or third sector organizations and associations. According to Entrepreneurial Competence Framework (EntreComp) the entrepreneurial learning is about entrepreneurial attitudes, skills, and knowledge that individuals need to spot opportunities and to turn them into action (Bacigalupo et al. 2016). The framework sees the entrepreneurship broadly. Entrepreneurship is not only about commercial, cultural or social venture creation but also intrapreneurship. This framework has different levels, starting from personal development but also interacting with different environments strategically. (ibid.)
Welcome to collaborate with LAB University of Applied Sciences in developing ambitious research and development projects and learning ecosystems. In the following video we briefly introduce some views to experiential and entrepreneurial learning.
Authors
Heidi Myyryläinen works as RDI-Specialist and project manager in LAB University of Applied Sciences.
Anu Kurvinen is a Senior Lecturer in international business in LAB University of Applied Sciences. They both worked for Amber – New power for cleanteach-innovations in the Baltic Sea region -ERDF -project. The project identified emerging international study themes in collaboration with local cleantech-companies.
References
Bacigalupo, M., Kampylis, P., Punie, Y., Van den Brande, G. 2016. EntreComp: The Entrepreneurship Competence Framework. Luxembourg: Publication Office of the European Union; EUR 27939 EN. [Cited 1.11.2020]. Available at: [A12] [A13] https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/entrecomp
Kolb, David. 1984. Experiential Learning: Experience as the source of Learning and Development. Pearson Education Limited. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Links
LAB. 2020. Amber – Uutta virtaa cleantech-innovaatioille Itämeren alueella[A16] . [Cited 1.11.2020] Available at: https://lab.fi/fi/projekti/amber
Images and videos
Kuulu Oy & Väisänen, J. Myyryläinen, H. Kurvinen, A. 2020. Towards experiental and entrepreneurial learning projects in new contexts. (YouTube video). [A17]
LAB Focus. 2020. [A18] Towards experiental and entrepreneurial learning projects in new contexts. Video. (YouTube) [Cited 1.11.20] Available at:[A19] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxFVrIO7Izg
