Abstract:

The rise of entrepreneurship in Europe and Romania has produced a new orientation in universities targeted at developing entrepreneurial skills at all level of tertiary education. The literature in the field reports several factors leading to the development of this type of orientation in universities: introduction of entrepreneurship-led courses in higher education, entrepreneurial agenda of the European Union, the growing number of start-ups and entrepreneurs, set-up of entrepreneurial societies and organisations. Therefore, the study of entrepreneurial practices of Romanian education may bring understanding into the interplay of factors involved in this process. The study aims to explore the entrepreneurship education from a two-folded perspective: the entrepreneurial attitudes among students and entrepreneurial orientation of universities. It will first discuss the importance of entrepreneurial education as a determinant for creating an entrepreneurial attitude. Second, the research will look into the entrepreneurial integration processes in five Romanian universities. Third, conclusions will be reached on the entrepreneurial education integration processes in Romanian higher education. The study is built around a set of research questions: How important is entrepreneurship education in universities for creating an entrepreneurial attitude? How important is entrepreneurship education in shaping an entrepreneurial university? For this purpose, a set of qualitative research methods will be used along with a review of the literature in the field. The results will help better understand the relationships of entrepreneurship education in universities, creation of entrepreneurial attitudes among students and assumption of entrepreneurial orientation by universities.

Keywords:

Entrepreneurship education, entrepreneurial universities.