Activities to Explore the Entrepreneurship Mindset at the Higher College for Engineering Wolfsberg, Austria

Abstract

We are living in a very fast and globalized world. Students should be prepared for the future and more extensive requirements in the labour market. Basic competences acquired during the obligatory lessons are not sufficient any-more. Students need entrepreneurial skills like the ability to work in teams, a sense of responsibility and self-reliance, as well as organizational skills. These skills also need to be interdisciplinary.

That’s the reason, the Higher College for Engineering Wolfsberg (short “HTL Wolfsberg”) is forcing entrepreneurial activities to prepare the students for the future. The aim is that everyone should gain the key set of competences needed for personal development, social inclusion, active citizenship and employment.

We increasingly focus on business games and participation in competitions.

Furthermore, cooperations with business experts and funding agencies enable valuable input for our students. This guarantees good support for the entrepreneurs of the future.

Due to the COVID 19 situation we were forced to practice distance learning. It is hard to imagine entrepreneurial subjects can be teached online – but we broke new ground with specific online games.

This paper gives an overview on activities and didactical approaches used by the Higher College for Engineering Wolfsberg within the last years in order to explore the entrepreneurial mindset of their students.