ENTREPRENEURIAL UNIVERSITIES OF EUROPE: AN ANALYSIS OF INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT FOR STUDENT ENTREPRENEURSHIP
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.28925/2412-124X.2025.14.9Keywords:
The Accreditation Council for Entrepreneurial and Engaged Universities, entrepreneurial university, higher education, innovation ecosystem, post-war recovery, student entrepreneurship.Abstract
The article is devoted to the analysis of the institutional environment of European entrepreneurial universities accredited by The Accreditation Council for Entrepreneurial and Engaged Universities (ACEEU) in supporting student entrepreneurship. The research is based on the criteria proposed by The Accreditation Council for Entrepreneurial and Engaged Universities and academic approaches that include strategic orientation toward entrepreneurship, support infrastructure, innovative pedagogical methods, social responsibility, and the development of an entrepreneurial culture. Three universities were selected for analysis – La Salle Ramon Llull University (Spain), Gdańsk Tech (Poland), and University of Turku (Finland) – representing different European regions and models of entrepreneurial transformation. The research methodology involved analyzing information from the universities’ official websites according to five key criteria: strategic orientation, infrastructure, pedagogical approaches, innovation support, and socio-economic impact. The results revealed that these universities integrate entrepreneurship into their mission and strategy, establish specialized units, implement interdisciplinary programs and project-based learning, and collaborate with businesses and local communities to commercialize knowledge and promote regional development. The study highlights the importance of interdisciplinary approaches, mentoring programs, and innovative ecosystems for fostering student entrepreneurship. For Ukraine, these practices serve as an important benchmark for modernizing higher education, contributing to innovative development and post-war recovery.
References
Bulvinska, O. (2023). Mehanizmi realizaciyi socialnoyi vidpovidalnosti universitetiv v umovah universitetskoyi avtonomiyi: yevropejskij dosvid [Mechanisms for Implementing Universities’ Social Responsibility in the Conditions of University Autonomy: The European Experience]. Continuing Professional Education: Theory and Practice, 2 (75), 102–112. https://doi.org/10.28925/1609-8595.2023.2.10
Lakusha, N. M., & Chervona, L. M. (2025). Stvorennia ekosystemy dlia pidtrymky innovatsiinykh naukovykh idei [Creating an ecosystem to support innovative scientific ideas]. In The 22th International scientific and practical conference «Current trends in the development of science by attracting new ideas» (June 03–06, 2025) (рр. 262–265). International Science Group. https://isg-konf.com/current-trends-in-the-development-of-science-by-attracting-new-ideas/
Snovydovych, I., & Sas, S. (2025). Pidpriyemnickij universitet yak strategichnij instrument v ekosistemi socialno-ekonomichnogo rozvitku Ukrayini [Entrepreneurial University as a Strategic Instrument in The Ecosystem Of Socio-Economic Development of Ukraine]. Current Problems of Sustainable Development, 2 (2), 181–190. https://doi.org/10.60022/2(2)-20S
Romanovskyi, O. (2012). Fenomen pidpriyemnictva v universitetah svitu: monografiya [The phenomenon of entrepreneurship in universities around the world: monograph]. Nova Kniga. https://enpuir.udu.edu.ua/entities/publication/7ddb08a1-d7d4-4f18-a7e9-2819ae4b6c6b
Chervona, L., & Bondarenko, N. (2025). Teoretichni osnovi innovacijnogo rozvitku studentskogo pidpriyemnictva [Theoretical foundations of innovative development of student entrepreneurship]. International Scientific Journal of Universities and Leadership, 19, 135–147. https://doi.org/10.31874/2520-6702-2025-19-135-147
Accreditation Council for Entrepreneurial and Engaged Universities. https://www.aceeu.org/
Baubonienė, Ž.; Hahn, K. H.; Puksas, A.; Malinauskienė, E. (2018). Factors influencing student entrepreneurship intentions: the case of Lithuanian and South Korean universities, Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, 6 (2), 854–871. https://doi.org/10.9770/jesi.2018.6.2(26)
Clark, B. R. (2008). Creating entrepreneurial universities: organizational pathways of transformation. Pergamon Press. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED421938
Etzkowitz, H. (2004). The evolution of the entrepreneurial university. International Journal of Technology and Globalisation, 1 (1), 64–77. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJTG.2004.004551
Flores, M. C., Bolzani, D., Munari, F., Grimaldi, R. (2025). Encouraging entrepreneurship among graduate students: Can university proactive policies work? The Journal of Technology Transfer, 50, 2377–2411. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10961-024-10182-7
Gdańsk Tech. Official web site. https://pg.edu.pl/en
Gibb, A. A., & Haskins, G. (2014). The university of the future: an entrepreneurial stakeholder learning organization? In Handbook on the Entrepreneurial University (рр. 25–63). Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781781007020.00008
Klein, S. B., Pereira, F. C. (2020). Entrepreneurial university: conceptions and evolution of theoretical models. Revista Pensamento Contemporâneo em Administração, 14, 20–35. https://doi.org/10.12712/rpca.v14i4.43186
Marchand, J., Hermens, A., Sood, S. (2016). Student entrepreneurship: a research agenda. The International Journal of Organizational Innovation, 8 (4). https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/bitstream/10453/41961/3/Student_Entrepreneurship_A_Research_Agenda_v3%20%28with%20corrections%29.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Matt, М., Schaeffer, V. (2018). Building Entrepreneurial Ecosystems Conducive to Student Entrepreneurship: New Challenges for Universities. Journal of Innovation Economics & Management, 251, 9–32. https://doi.org/10.3917/jie.025.0009
Murad, M., Othman, S. & Kamarudin, M. A. I. (2025). Entrepreneurial university input, core strategic plan and output: research on undergraduates entrepreneurial behaviour and career. Entrepreneurship Education, 8, 99–129. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41959-025-00137-w
Muscio, A., Shibayama, S., Ramaciotti, L. (2022a). The Effects of the Academic Environment on PhD Entrepreneurship: New Insights from Survey Data. In J. M. Azagra-Caro, P. D’Este, D. Barberá-Tomás (Eds.), University-Industry Knowledge Interactions. International Studies in Entrepreneurship, vol 52 (pp. 179–199). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-84669-5_10
Muscio, A., Shibayama, S. & Ramaciotti, L. (2022b). Universities and start-up creation by Ph.D. graduates: the role of scientific and social capital of academic laboratories. The Journal of Technology Transfer, 47, 147–175. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10961-020-09841-2
Ogneviuk, V. (Ed.). (2022). Quality of University Education: Educological Discourse: collective monograph. Oktan Print. https://elibrary.kubg.edu.ua/id/eprint/40794/2/V_Ogneviuk_2022_NDLO.pdf
Opizzi, M., Loi, M., Macis, O. (2024). Entrepreneurship by Ph.D. students: intentions, human capital and university support structures. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 31 (2), 325–349. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-12-2022-0525
Passavanti, C., Ponsiglione, C., Primario, S., Rippa, P. (2023). The evolution of student entrepreneurship: State of the art and emerging research direction. The International Journal of Management Education, 21 (2), 100820. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2023.100820.
La Salle Campus Barcelona. https://www.salleurl.edu/en
Schimperna, F., Nappo, F., & Marsigalia, B. (2022). Student Entrepreneurship in Universities: The State-of-the-Art. Administrative Sciences, 12 (1), 5. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci12010005
University of Turku. https://www.utu.fi/en
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Леся Червона, Оксана Бульвінська
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Content Licensing: Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial
The author allows:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material
Under the following terms:
-
Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
-
NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
The authors reserve the right to authorship of the work and pass the first publication right of this work to the journal under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution License, which allows others to freely distribute the published research with the obligatory reference to the authors of the original work and the first publication of the work in this journal.
The authors have the right to conclude separate supplement agreements that relate to non-exclusive work distribution in the form in which it has been published by the journal (for example, to upload the work to the online storage of the journal or publish it as part of a monograph), provided that the reference to the first publication of the work in this journal is included.
