Entrepreneurship education in the higher education institutions (HEIs) of post‐communist European countries

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to map the current situation of entrepreneurship education in higher education institutions (HEIs) of 22 European transition economy countries.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach taken was an internet survey and analysis covering 774 HEIs of the region.

Findings

In 332 institutions, entrepreneurship‐oriented courses, modules or curricula are offered. Croatia and Slovenia are the leading countries in terms of the coverage of teaching entrepreneurship in universities and colleges, followed by the Baltic countries and the Czech and Slovak Republics. The highest entrepreneurship orientation is found in new and private universities and colleges. In a majority of schools, the theory of entrepreneurship is taught but practice‐oriented training in entrepreneurship is rather limited. The current number of centres of entrepreneurship in the region is small, and the research‐oriented model of entrepreneurship education is used in three to five institutions only.

Practical implications

The paper provides a useful source of information for entrepreneurship education researchers, developers and education policy makers.

Originality/value

The paper maps the HEIs entrepreneurship teaching in post‐communist European countries.

Citation

Varblane, U. and Mets, T. (2010), "Entrepreneurship education in the higher education institutions (HEIs) of post‐communist European countries", Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, Vol. 4 No. 3, pp. 204-219. https://doi.org/10.1108/17506201011068219