International Center for Entrepreneurial StudiesJ.J. Strossmayer University in Osijek, Croatia

Slavica SingerUNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship

It began with…

• EU funded survey, 1990-1992 (regional development and entrepreneurship)– Mushrooming of educational programs in

entrepreneurship in the USA

• War consequences– devastation of human, social and physical

capital – mistrust, unemployment, poverty

• Personal responsibility– what I / WE can do?

How to survive in a globalised world, after the war?

• Develop an entrepreneurial society

– Empowered individuals– Ethical businesses– Democratic state– Active civil society

Jobs of the future

• Problem identification• Problem solving• Ideas exchange

Robert B. ReichUniversity of California, Berkely,The Work of Nations: Preparing

Ourselves for 21st Century Capitalism, 1991

Principles

• Some people take no mental exercise apart from jumping to conclusions.

Harold Acton

CREATIVITY

Principles

• It’s better to fail in originality, than succeed in imitation. Herman Melville

INNOVATIVENESS

Principles

• Success is going from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm. Winston Churchill

ACTION

Principles

• Those who lack courage will always find a philosophy to justify it! Albert Camus

COURAGE

Entrepreneurship is...

• way of life– in which IDEAS on improvement are

emerging – in which OPPORTUNITIES are assessing– in which a CHANGE / ENTERPRISE is built

through connecting ideas with opportunities

Entrepreneurship IS NOT...

• (ONLY) small business– Small business can be non-entrepreneurial

• management – business function

• Entrepreneurship IS knowledge HOW to put business functions in proactive, creative and innovative harmonised business behaviour

History

• Started in year 2000– As the first and still only one in Croatia

• Result of the best world’s practice– International Academic Advising Board

– Howard Stevenson, Harvard Business School• Case, Ph.D. thesis ... about us

• Surveying needs of Croatian entrepreneurs / businesses– GEM project

• Adjusted after Bologna Declaration

Current Operations

• Master’s degree program in entrepreneurship, from 2000

• Specialisation in entrepreurship, 2 years, from 2005

Bologna revised programs

• Undergraduate program in entrepreneurship, 3 years, from 2005

• Master’s degree program in entrepreneurship, 2 years, from 2008

• Specialisation, 1 year, from 2010

Coming soon...

• Ph.D. Program in Entrepreneurship, from 2008

Program

• From vision to resources and performance

• From business idea to fast growing

businesses

• Entrepreneurial management in all phases of business life

Content combined

knowledge & skills theory & practice

Customised after student’s needs...Core and electives

• 1. semester: 3 core + 5 electives• 2. semester: 3 core + 5 electives• 3. semester: 2 core + 7 electives• 4. semester: 2 core + 9 electives

Special features 1• Competitiveness

(Harvard Business School – M. Porter’s course)

• Authentic leadership for entrepreneurs

(University of Naropa, Colorado, USA)

• Managing family business

(De Paul University, Chicago, USA)

• Business ethics

(Yale University, USA)

Special features 2

• Maverick seminars

(guests: Bob Mathew, Washington D.C.; Roger

Fishman, Los Angeles; Robert Šenk, Pula; Nenad

Bach, New York)

• Student loan program

– Kathryne and David Moore, New York

$25,000 grant

New pedagogy

• Interactive teaching, experiential classroom, drama (cases, guest speakers)

• Teach-the-teacher:– Case method training on site – Susan

Harmeling, USA, 2001-2002– Harvard Business School

• M. Porter – competitiveness (2003, 2006)• H. Stevenson – entrepreneurship (2005, 2007)

– Syracuse University, St. Louis university, Loyola University, University of Wisconsin, 2006, 2007

• Experiential classroom

Learning process

• Case method • Individual and team

projects, • Practitioners • DISTANCE LEARNING • www.pspefos.hr

Practical experience:Center for Entrepreneurship, Osijek:counseling, trainingwww.poduzetnistvo.org Center for franchisingwww.fransiza.hr

BIOS – business incubatorwww.inkubator.hr

Technological development centarwww.tera.hr

Professors45 professorsOsijek, Zagreb, Slovenia, USA, UK, Finland, Norway,Australia

entrepreneurs – Guest speakers

Our students11 cohorts (from year 2000!)- 308 students8 cohorts in Osijek, 2 in Poreč

Students’ profile

Geografski:eastern Croatia 230north Croatia 29Istria 37Macedonia 9Bosnia and Herzegovina 3

Students’ profile

Experience:working 90%average working years 7

Former education:economic 70 %non-economic 30%

Students’ profile

• Small business 49%

• Middle sized business 21%

• Big business 30%

Students’ profile• Business owners (Kanaan, Kolarić, Lens, SPIN...) • Directors (Allianz osiguranje, Karlovačka pivovara, GPP Osijek...)• Managers (Saponia, HT, HEP, Nexe,Euroherc, Hypo banka, Zagrebačka banka, Privredna banka, Lura, Podravka…)• Consultants (Deloitte...)• Teachers (high schools, VERN,...)• directors of centers for entrepreneurship, incubators…• Mayor (Pakrac)!

Code of conduct

• Professors– Be on time– Be available to students– Be professional

• Students– Be on time– Be responsible toward program requests– Be ready for team work

Students and professors...

• ...partners in developing the center of excellence in learning and research of entrepreneurship in Croatia

• ...partners in application of entrepreneurship knowledge in building leadership capacity for leading POSITIVE changes in Croatia

Our experience – presented as a good practice• ICSB Conference, Belfast, 2003 – Slavica Singer &

Joan Gillman• Strathclyde University, Glasgow, 2004 –

International Research Conference on Entrepreneurship Education (co-organized with Babson College, USA), Susan Harmeling & Slavica Singer

• Case of effectuation: Osijek’s experience with starting university based program in entrepreneurship – Susan Harmeling, Howard Stevenson - Darden Business School, 2005

• St. Louis University, USA, Conference on Entrepreneurship Education, 2005 – Allan Gibb & Slavica Singer

• University of Helsinki, 2006 – Slavica Singer

International Advisory Board

Howard Stevenson, Harvard Business School, USA

Allan Gibb, Durham University, UK Harold Welsch, DePaul University, USAJerome Katz, St.Louis University, USARobert Brockhaus, St.Louis University, USAJoan Gillman, University of Wisconsin, USASaravan Venkatamaran, Darden Business School, USAAntti Paasio, Turku Business School, FinlandDeirdre Hunt, Cork College University, IrelandRaphael Cohen, University of Geneva, Switzerland Adolph Hanich, Swinburne University, Australia

International Center for Entrepreneurial Studies (ICES)

• Synergy of 15 years in local economic development

• UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship

• Center of excellence in learning entrepreneurship in South Eastern Europe– Undergraduate, master’s, specialization, doctoral – Executive program– Distance learning

Features:Development SchoolIntelectual School

What you think vs. What you knowSchool for the Future

think globaly, act localySchool of Life

learning through doing, experiments

Our vision

International Center for Entrepreneurial Studies

Center of excellencein learning entrepreneurshipin SEE

How we see ourselves and students?

IT’S NOT HOW GOOD YOU ARE,IT’S HOW GOOD YOU WANT TO BE.

Contact:

Slavica SingerHead of the Graduate Program in Entrepreneurship

J.J. Strossmayer University in Osijek

Gajev trg 7

HR-31000 Osijek

Croatia

Phone: +385 31 224 444

Fax: +385 31 224 438

e-mail: singer@efos.hr

www.pspefos.hr

Contact:

Mirta MatešićProgram Coordinator

Graduate Program in Entrepreneurship

J.J. Strossmayer University in Osijek

Gajev trg 7

HR-31000 Osijek

Croatia

Phone: +385 31 224 467

Fax: +385 31 224 438

e-mail: mmatesic@efos.hr

www.pspefos.hr