Abstract:

One of the main debates of the literature about entrepreneurship education is related to whether the ability to be an entrepreneur could be taught or if there is a born profile from which most of the entrepreneurs we know are shaped (e.g. Arenius & Minniti, 2005; Henry et al., 2005; Liñán et al., 2011). Regardless of this important discussion, there seems to be a consensus that some personal characteristics can be associated with the personality of the individual and others are influenced by external factors like entrepreneurship education.

In parallel to this reality, like in other European countries, the Portuguese government has made serious efforts to implement shorter courses, at the university level, with a professional nature and a strong market orientation. In this type of programs, the entrepreneurial component is not neglected, primarily because empirical research shows evidence of a positive link between entrepreneurial activities and economic and employment growth. Examples of this effort are the higher professional training courses (HPTC) (i.e., short-cycle higher education programs).

In response, in 2015, the University of Aveiro decided to develop this post-secondary training, responding to a specific target searching for a quicker solution to enter the job market. One of the first offered programs was the HPTC in Sales Management and Marketing. When the program was created, the importance of these professionals to the market was evident in the various studies that were conducted on the needs of the Portuguese businesses. Hence, it was essential to create a curriculum structured with useful tools and framed with the reality of the market.

Within this program, a specific curricular unit on Sales and Marketing Project was included with the following goals:
(i) to execute interdisciplinary projects, with controlled dimensions;
(ii) to provide students with additional autonomy and responsibility for their professional practices;
(iii) to verify the consolidation of acquired knowledge, as well as the other application of skills developed throughout the program.

To operationalize these objectives, the coordination team designed a project comprising a workgroup in which students are supposed to develop a business idea over a semester. Besides allowing students to consolidate their acquired knowledge, this project intends also to stimulate their entrepreneurial appetite and develop the skills needed to create new businesses from the beginning. In order to lend credibility and even more legitimacy to the project, the teachers in charge invite mentors from the business with relevant and extensive experience, prioritizing the business areas in which students' ideas are being developed.

In this article, the authors aim to present a case study about the experience with entrepreneurship education and project-based learning at the HPTC in Sales Management and Marketing focusing on the methodology used in the curricular unit of Sales and Marketing Project, throughout its five years of existence. The whole process and methodology will be described, as well as the changes that have been made over time. This work also intends to analyze how this methodology allowed students to gain skills valued by the market and perceive them as being relevant to their professional career. To reinforce these conclusions, the opinions of students who have been enrolled in the program will be also included together with testimonies of the mentors.

Keywords:

Entrepreneurship education, higher professional training courses, Sales Management and Marketing, Project-based learning.