Scaling Higher Education Innovation using the Entrepreneurial Mindset
SHINE is an international project organsied by the Entrepreneurial Mindset Network, involving 45 partners in 31 countries, who are collaborating to investigate Scaling Higher Education Innovation using the Entrepreneurial mindset.Entrepreneurial Mindset Network is an international community of practice for the creation of value in society through the use of the entrepreneurial mindset by higher education leaders, intrapreneurs, public policy innovators, business owners, ecosystem builders and learning innovators.Paul Coyle is the Founder and Executive Director of the Entrepreneurial Mindset Network and SHINE project leader. He is an expert in the entrepreneurial mindset, innovation, entrepreneurship, leadership and organisational change.
Introduction
The entrepreneurial mindset is relevant not only to entrepreneurs but also to everyone who is engaged in higher education including students, educators, researchers, professional services staff and leaders. Many higher education institutions (HEIs) around the world engage in entrepreneurial activities. However, these opportunities only involve a tiny percentage of the total number of students, academics, and societal stakeholders. There is a need for better understanding of how HEIs could scale up their entrepreneurial activities to engage substantially larger numbers of people.SHINE is investigating 2 major research questions: -
1 How can Higher Education scale up existing entrepreneurial and innovation capacity for the benefit of greater numbers of students and societal stakeholders?2 How can Higher Education apply key concepts from entrepreneurship (i.e. entrepreneurial mindset, start-up and scale-up) to overcome the typical barriers to change management?
In effect the aim of the project is to investigate how higher education professionals can use the entrepreneurial mindset to improve teaching, research, organisational transformation and societal impact.
Webinars
To date there have been 21 xCHANGE webinars, attracting registrations from people in 65 countries. Participants included: academics from a diverse range of academic disciplines, PhD researchers, professional support staff (eg enterprise projects coordinator, head of business engagement, head of the international office), entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs, managers of SMEs, and incubator managers.Webinar summaries, including links to short video clips of the speakers, are designed to be a useful resource for higher education professionals to reflect on and improve their practice.Thank you to the webinar speakers from Austria, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Canada, Egypt, Estonia, France, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Morocco, North Macedonia, Norway, Pakistan, Portugal, Romania, Scotland, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, UK and USA for taking the time to share their inspiring stories.The summaries of the webinars are organised into 4 pillars:1) The Entrepreneurial Mindset (Individual Behaviours & Tools)
2) Entrepreneurial Pedagogy (Curriculum & Teaching Methods)
3) The Entrepreneurial University (Institutional Strategy, Culture & Leadership)
4) Partnerships, Ecosystems & Societal Value (External Impact & Policy)Click on any image to read the webinar summary on screen or to download a PDF.
Pillar 1: The Entrepreneurial Mindset (Individual Behaviours & Tools)
Focus: Defining, measuring, and developing the mindset at the individual level—for students of all disciplines, researchers, and employees. This pillar moves the conversation past traditional business-creation definitions of entrepreneurship, framing the mindset as a critical life skill for everyone. It focuses on actionable behaviours and reflective tools to help individuals adapt to the changing future of work
Pillar 2: Entrepreneurial Pedagogy (Curriculum & Teaching Methods)
Focus: The "what" and "how" of teaching entrepreneurship, transitioning from theoretical lectures to active, experiential learning. This pillar addresses your suggested pillars of curriculum content and teaching methods. It advocates for a shift from passive lecturing to hands-on "learning by doing" and realistic project simulations.
Pillar 3: The Entrepreneurial University (Institutional Strategy, Culture & Leadership)
Focus: Reforming higher education institutions (HEIs) to embed an entrepreneurial culture across governance, strategy, and staff operations. This pillar addresses the systemic transition of a university from a traditional, risk-averse institution into an entrepreneurial organisation, highlighting the gaps between strategic rhetoric and operational reality
Pillar 4: Partnerships, Ecosystems & Societal Value (External Impact & Policy)
Focus: How universities collaborate with businesses, governments, and civil society to generate shared economic, cultural, and social value. This pillar captures the university's "third mission". It examines the mechanics of external collaboration, the transfer of knowledge, and the wider role of higher education in addressing societal challenges like youth unemployment.
List of references and authors
Copyright notice. You may quote, paraphrase or refer to information in these articles on condition that you credit the author and publisher by using the following references.Baird, S.R., Coyle, P., Jacobs, D., and Young, S. (2021). The entrepreneurial mindset and the future of work. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network. https://shine-project.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Danie Jacobs (Young Entrepreneurs Virtual Academy, South Africa), Sherisa Rajah Baird (Employment Lawyer, England) and Stacey J Young (Consultant, Canada) PDF linkBarakat, H., Bastian, B., Chan, C., and Coyle, P. (2021). Student entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network. https://shine-project.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Bob Bastian (Università di Pavia, Italy), Cyron Chan (CEO Class, Hong Kong) and Hala Barakat (AUC School of Business, Egypt) PDF linkBastian, B., Chichevaliev, S., Coyle, P. and Vaillant, Y. (2022). Who benefits from academic research into entrepreneurship? Part two. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network. https://shine-project.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Bob Bastian, (Università di Pavia, Italy), Stefan Chichevaliev (SEO, North Macedonia) and Yancy Vaillant (TBS, Spain) PDF linkBastian, B., Coyle, P., and Crammond, R. (2024). The benefits of the entrepreneurial mindset for every PhD student. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network. https://shine-project.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Bob Bastian (Università di Trento, Italy), Paul Coyle (Entrepreneurial Mindset Network, France) and Robert Crammond (University of West of Scotland, Scotland). PDF linkBastian, B., Coyle, P., Koppány, E., and Vaillant, Y. (2022). How Higher Education supports startups. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network. https://shine-project.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Bob Bastian (Università di Trento, Italy), Enikő Koppány (University of Szeged, Hungary) and Yancy Vaillant (TBS, Spain) PDF linkBowie, N., Brambilla, R., Coyle, P. and Omar, Z. (2021). Entrepreneurial mindset fundamentals. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network. https://shine-project.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Roberto Brambilla, (UNICATT, Italy), Neil Bowie (University of Dundee, Scotland) and Zohra Omar (Consultant, Pakistan) PDF linkBrambilla, R., Chichevaliev, S., Coyle, P., and Premazzi, V. (2023). Partnerships that create value in society. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network. https://shine-project.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Roberto Brambilla (UNICATT, Italy), Stefan Chichevaliev (SEO, North Macedonia) and Viviana Premazzi, Founder (GMD, Malta). PDF linkChisu, C., Coyle, P., Mave, M., Premazzi, V., and Vaillant, Y. (2023). Can graduate entrepreneurship be an answer to youth unemployment? Entrepreneurial Mindset Network. https://shine-project.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Carine Chisu (Learning Innovator, Belgium), Mokuba Mave (De Montfort University, England), Viviana Premazzi (GMD, Malta) and Yancy Vaillant (TBS, Spain) PDF linkCoyle, P., and Crammond, R. (2025). Advancing the concept and practice of the entrepreneurial university. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network. https://shine-project.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Paul Coyle (Entrepreneurial Mindset Network, France) and Robert Crammond (University of West of Scotland, Scotland). PDF linkCoyle, P., and Crammond, R. (2025). The entrepreneurial university: concepts and models. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network. https://shine-project.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Paul Coyle (Entrepreneurial Mindset Network, France) and Robert Crammond (University of West of Scotland, Scotland). PDF linkCoyle, P., and Crammond, R. (2026). The entrepreneurial university: evidence and KPIs. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network. https://shine-project.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Paul Coyle (Entrepreneurial Mindset Network, France) and Robert Crammond (University of West of Scotland, Scotland). PDF linkCoyle, P., and Crammond, R. (2026). Classifying the entrepreneurial university. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network. https://shine-project.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Paul Coyle (Entrepreneurial Mindset Network, France) and Robert Crammond (University of West of Scotland, Scotland). PDF linkCoyle, P., Crammond, R., and Cunningham, I. (2024). Building entrepreneurial culture in Higher Education. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network. https://shine-project.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Paul Coyle (Entrepreneurial Mindset Network, France), Robert Crammond (University of West of Scotland, Scotland) and Isobel Cunningham (ATU, Ireland) PDF linkCoyle, P., Crammond, R., Jovanović, M., and Lamas, J. (2022). Educating students about entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network. https://shine-project.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Paul Coyle (Entrepreneurial Mindset Network, France), Marco Lamas (ISLA Gaia, Portugal), Milica Jovanović (University of Belgrade, Serbia) and Robert Crammond (University of West of Scotland). PDF linkCoyle, P., Cresswell, J., Frick, J., and Wasim, J. (2021). Businesses and universities: creating shared value. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network. https://shine-project.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Paul Coyle (Entrepreneurial Mindset Network, France), Jo Cresswell (Consultant, England), Jan Frick (University of Stavanger, Norway) and Jay Wasim (Robert Gordon University, Scotland) PDF linkCoyle, P., Fodor, A., Mukhtorov, S., and Price, A. (2021). Entrepreneurial universities - fact or fiction? Entrepreneurial Mindset Network. https://shine-project.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Paul Coyle (Entrepreneurial Mindset Network, France), Adina Fodor (Babes-Bolyai University, Romania), Qosim Mukhtorov (Institute of Economy and Trade, Tajikistan) and Alison Price (Enterprise Evolution, England) PDF linkCoyle, P., Friedl, C., Foley, S., and Kikas, M. (2021). Entrepreneurial employees. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network. https://shine-project.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Paul Coyle (Entrepreneurial Mindset Network, France), Chris Friedl (FH Joanneum, Austria), Susan Foley (Corporate Entrepreneurs, USA) and Mart Kikas (Estonian Business School, Estonia) PDF linkCoyle, P., Friedl, C., Kikas, M. (2022). Intrapreneurship in Higher Education. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network. https://shine-project.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Paul Coyle (Entrepreneurial Mindset Network, France), Chris Friedl (FH Joanneum, Austria) and Mart Kikas,(Estonian Business School, Estonia) PDF linkCoyle, P., Koppány, E., Jovanović, M., and Premazzi, V. (2022). Entrepreneurial mindset for all academic disciplines. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network. https://shine-project.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Paul Coyle (Entrepreneurial Mindset Network, France), Enikő Koppány (University of Szeged, Hungary), Milica Jovanović (University of Belgrade, Serbia) and Viviana Premazzi (GMD, Malta) PDF linkCoyle, P., Koppány, E., Outamha, R., and Salihagić, A. (2023). Helping student entrepreneurs to understand the real world. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network. https://shine-project.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Paul Coyle (Entrepreneurial Mindset Network, France), Enikő Koppány (University of Szeged, Hungary), Rabii Outamha (Click Buzz Media, Morocco) and Admir Salihagić (International Burch University, Bosnia & Herzegovina) PDF linkCoyle, P., and Lamas, M. (2024). Mindset Behaviour Analysis (MBA) tool for higher education students. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network. https://shine-project.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Paul Coyle (Entrepreneurial Mindset Network, France) and Marco Lamas (ISLA Gaia, Portugal). PDF link
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