Innovative and Entrepreneurship Education in Underdeveloped Western Regions of China Chang-jiang Lu1, Yan Feng1, De-wen Chen1 1Sino-Canadian International College, Guangxi University, Nanning, China ([email protected], [email protected], [email protected])

Innovation, according to the 2004 Report “Innovate Abstract - This paper makes an analysis on the major America” by the United States Council on problems for innovative and entrepreneurship education Competitiveness, refers to turning ideas and technologies (IEE) in underdeveloped western regions of China, and into new products, new processes and methods as well as outlines a set of implications for local governments and new services that can create new market values drive universities. The authors suggest that a more practical and flexible cultivation system rooted in regional contexts should economic growth and improve people’s living standards. be established for bringing a radical change to the backward Entrepreneurship means one who undertakes innovations, IEE in western China. It is important to implement the “4C” finance and business acumen in an effort to transform concepts in IEE, namely cross-culture, cross-region, cross- innovations into economic goods. This may result in new discipline and cross-specialty through strengthening organizations or may be part of revitalizing mature international cooperation and mutual regional support, organizations in response to a perceived information, integrating the IEE into the university curriculum, and resource or opportunity. There is an obvious strong building a four-dimensional nexus via partnerships between relationship of the two terms: first, they are not always universities, industries, governments and families. While the with the same understanding, but in essence there is a paper is written mainly from the perspective of underdeveloped western regions of China, the discussion considerable overlap between them in such aspects as allows for generalization, and thus should be applicable to denotations, functions, objectives and processes; second, the development of IEE in other nations facing similar innovation forms a significant part of the foundation for problems. entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurship is the carrier and Keywords - western China, innovative and manifestation of innovation [1]. IEE, developed by entrepreneurship education western scholars in the 1980s, can be simply defined as an educational system aimed at cultivating IE talents through I. INTRODUCTION fostering their IE awareness, spirit, knowledge, competencies and skills. Along with the occupied population boom, China is entering a new economic transformation phase. The two III. REVIEW ON INNOVATIVE AND words “innovation” and “entrepreneurship” (IE) are more ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION IN CHINA AND closely combined than ever before and have become an ABROAD important internal force for China’s economic growth. Social development is in urgent need of innovative and IE Research and practice spreads across the world, entrepreneurial (IE) talents. With innovation and though in varying degrees. In developing countries like entrepreneurship education (IEE) in universities as its the United States where entrepreneurship receives general focus, cultivation of IE talents forged ahead by Chinese recognition and concern, entrepreneurial enterprises governments at various levels is in full swing across the contribute to 40% of the value created by all enterprises country. Provinces throughout China have been making and have created 75% of the new job opportunities in that great efforts in developing IE talents cultivation modes country. fitted in regional contexts. The number of start-up Entrepreneurship in China, which started from the businesses sees a continuous increase, yet most of the 1970s when China adopted the open-up policy, has gone enterprises are not established on the basis of innovative through six stages in its development marked with four concepts, knowledge, skills or innovations. Therefore, it climax periods. Chinese governments at various levels has become a great concern for Chinese local have begun to build entrepreneurial cities since 2009, governments, educators and researchers on how to followed by national wide popularization of IEE. produce more quality IE talents through integration of Internationally, researches on entrepreneurship innovation and entrepreneurship. education (EE) began from the 1940s and witnesses fruitful results. In the past decade, western scholars II. WHAT IS INNOVATIVE AND carried out studies on EE centered on thirteen hotspots, ENTREPREHEURSHIP EDUCATION such as EE adjustment and cultural interpenetration, business and management education, entrepreneurship management, business models and EE courses [2]. In China, there has been a remarkable improvement in entrepreneurial awareness, knowledge and experiences, in EE research and practice since 2006. Some successful which will lead to low entrepreneurial competencies. EE modes were formed to solve problems like ambiguous Outside the university, ineffective encouragement and orientation, unsuccessful localization of western IEE supporting systems fail to promote a robust concepts and modes, ineffective teaching and practice [3]. entrepreneurial culture and strong motivation for IEE Chinese scholars from various disciplines began to show development. interest in IEE from the very beginning of the 21st Therefore, not many successful startup-businesses century and expressed their views on IEE from different are seen so far in western China, though local perspectives. In respect of performance evaluation, governments have adopted many encouragement and Professor Xie Zhiyuan employed an analytic hierarchy preferential policies to promote entrepreneurship, and process in the qualitative research on the performance some governments even set up special funds for financial evaluation system for China’s IEE [4]; Vesper’s Seven support. Elevation Factors was introduced into the comprehensive evaluation on IEE in Chinese universities. These V. IMPLICATIONS FOR DEVELOPING researches are important for us to learn about the INNOVATIVE AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP development of IEE in China. However, it appears that EDUCATION IN WESTERN CHINA most studies are introductions of western IEE concepts and experiences or generalized suggestions, and there is Local governments and universities play a very an obvious lack of studies on IEE in regional contexts, important role in making a radical change to the backward especially empirical studies, of more practical value. IEE in western China. Local governments, as the policy maker and allocator of resources, should be more IEE- IV. MAJOR PROBLEMS FOR INNOVATIVE AND supportive and promote effective utilization of ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION IN intellectual, manpower, financial and material resources. WESTERN CHINA Universities, as the main implementer of IEE, is responsible for achieving substantial progress in IEE by It has always been a serious common problem for integrating mass education with elite education on the western China in developing IEE that very little progress basis of introducing advanced international IEE concepts. could be made, though a large amount of manpower, On one hand, they should popularize basic IE knowledge materials, money and time have been devoted into it, and among all students, guide students to internalize IE IEE research and practice are still on a superficial level concepts and develop IE competencies. On the other where innovation has not been fully substantialized. To be hand, intensive education should be accessible to students specific, IEE in western China is confronted with big with entrepreneurship mindset, aptitude and potentials. impediments in respect of resources, concepts as well as We hereby would like to outline some preliminary policy educational and supporting systems. and educational implications for governments and First, most of the western regions in China are academics on establishing IEE cultivation mode rooted undeveloped with relatively limited resources and into the regional contexts in western China. educational funds. Local governments, as the policy maker and allocator of various social resources, are still A. Develop students-oriented IEE concepts clinging to conservative administrative concepts and Concept determines how we act, so it is a must that beliefs, while subordinate departments, affected by such universities should break away from the conservative work style and attitude of their higher authorities will concept which prevents people from risk-taking, which is usually hold a wait-and-see attitude toward the polices for one of the main causes for the slow development of IEE IEE. This has led to the current situation of IEE that in western regions. IEE, in essence, is quality-oriented policy making far outweighs implementation. education which targets at the all-round development of Second, economic structure, development level and people. Thus, great efforts should be made by local entrepreneurship environment vary greatly in different universities in the following aspects for promoting sound regions. Conservative concepts from the society and development of IEE in Western China. families confront university graduates, who are the First, enhance the exchanges and communication mainstay of potential entrepreneurs, with making a choice between universities, teachers and students for achieving between getting employed and starting up a business. And a common understanding that the students are wrongly the fact is that most graduates who choose to start up a positioned in the education system and the current business are “necessity entrepreneurs” rather than situation must be changed from “university-and-teachers- “entrepreneurial” ones. orientated to “students-oriented”, and think about what Third, IEE in western China is still at its initial stage they can do for students with entrepreneurship intensions. with many pressing problems crying out for solutions. Second, integrate IEE into the university curriculum Inside the university, there are not enough specialized and promote innovative campus culture. A more open teachers, especially teachers with entrepreneurial learning environment needs to be created which entails a experiences; students, because of little access to IEE, lack flexible IEE practice system and a corresponding diversified evaluation system. Innovative concepts C. Integrate IEE into the whole education system to should be deeply integrated into each step of the benefit people from all walks of life with educational process of each discipline. In this way, IE entrepreneurship intensions will become an internal need for students themselves. A research team from the Experimental Zone for the Third, based on the intervention-process education Reform Pilot Project to Cultivate Interdisciplinary concept, create a non-boundary “macro-learning” Entrepreneurial Talents in China-ASEAN Free Trade environment that integrates the outside society and jobs Zone conducted survey on the current situation of IEE in with classroom teaching and learning, and provide underdeveloped western regions of China in 2010. One students with more opportunities for IE practice to of the focuses of the survey is to learn about university facilitate the internalization and reinforcement of their IE students’ self-evaluation on IE. According to its awareness, knowledge and competencies, and thus, empirical analysis, students think themselves of medium vigorous engagement in IE practice. level in terms of the first-level entrepreneurship Forth, encouragement and support from families and indicators which consist of awareness, psychological education by the university are two of the most qualities, knowledge and competencies. For most of the influential factors for students’ entrepreneurship students, entrepreneurial knowledge is lower than the intentions [5], according to the findings of empirical other three indicators and is considered of greater need studies. The implication is that universities should also for university students with entrepreneurship intentions. strengthen their connection and communication with the Among the 28 second-level indicators, professional students’ families to achieve their recognition on IE and abilities, innovative abilities, learning abilities and support for the students’ entrepreneurship intentions and foreign language communicative abilities are considered actions. most important. Result of the survey is recognition on the necessity and feasibility of popularizing IEE in B. Integrate and Optimize Various Resources to Open universities in western China. Yet, IEE is a continuous New Channels for Cultivating IE Talents and dynamic life-long process and should be integrated To realize the effective integration and optimization into the whole education system. Universities, while of limited resources is of crucial importance for IEE popularizing IEE among students throughout their development in western regions. Solving this problem university study on a basis of the process-oriented needs joints efforts from governments and universities. education concept, which will help students to lay a solid On one hand, universities should take advantage of foundation for future business-startup, should also opportunities brought by internationalization of provide opportunities for graduates and people from all education and preferential policies made by governments walks of life with entrepreneurship intensions to get to achieve the following goals. First, based on the cross- access to IEE via continuing education or in more disciplinary attributes of IEE, employ the 4C cultivation flexible ways, such as distance training programs, concepts, namely cross-culture, cross-region, cross- lectures, and the like. This during-and-after-university discipline and cross-specialty throughout the IEE mode of IEE sees better IE prospects. So we maintain process. Second, enhance international cooperation and that university students do not need to make a choice regional mutual support. Third, improve the cultivation between getting employed and starting up a business mode via promoting integration of disciplines and upon graduation. The choice should be made when specialties to improve students’ knowledge structure, everything is ready. upgrade their concepts and beliefs and develop their competencies. REFERENCES On the other hand, a supporting system of government-led four-dimensional nexus which involves [1] Xie Zhiyuan, “Localization of entrepreneurship education at undergraduate level,” Exploring Education partnerships between universities, industries, Development. China, no. 4, pp.81-832, 2009. 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