Abstract:

Pro-entrepreneurial education plays an increasingly important role in creating multidimensional entrepreneurship, which includes not only providing the necessary knowledge, but also shaping people who are socially entrepreneurial or creative and active in their workplaces. An important area in the implementation of these concepts is cooperation between academic circles and Business Environment Institutions (BEIs) as entities supporting the education process. The main objective of the article is to identify areas and ways of cooperation between universities and BEIs in order to improve the process of shaping students and encouraging them to take up self-employment and develop their entrepreneurial attitudes.

In the years 2016-2018, research was conducted on the identification of cooperation areas and tools used by BEIs in terms of their impact on cooperation with academic centers. The purpose was to improve the process of shaping entrepreneurial attitudes among students. The study was carried out using the following research methods and techniques: computer-assisted personal interview (CAPI), individual in-depth interviews (IDI) and participant observation. The study covered BEIs in the Małopolskie province, where a system project of the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP) was implemented in the years 2012-2013 titled "Information and advisory services in the KSU network", financed under measure 2.2.1 of the Human Capital Operational Program (HC OP).

The surveyed representatives of BEIs emphasized that the cooperation with universities not only allowed to reach potential recipients of system services, but above all brought tangible benefits to the teaching process. Participation in university events and classes broadened the knowledge about the practical aspects of taking up and running their a business not only among students but also the entire academic community. The academia also highly rated the cooperation with business, including the development of student education programs in specific areas as well as the hands-on involvement of practitioners in education. What's more, the cooperation between BEIs and universities initiated at the implementation of the system project continues despite the formal closing of the publicly funded project. In the context of changes the Polish university education system is undergoing, and its orientation on active cooperation with the business environment, this is of considerable importance.

Keywords:

BEIs, education process, entrepreneurship.