Kurt Dirks’ Post

My latest in Forbes covers the urgent need to expand entrepreneurship curricula in arts programs to help students diversify their skills and prepare for the disruptive and chaotic labor market. 🎭 Artists face a paradoxical challenge: pursuing further education in the arts often leads to financial fragility rather than flourishing careers. Yet, a glimmer of hope shines through for those who blend their artistic pursuits with business acumen. My research in the Journal of Cultural Economics and Artivate, alongside Jonathan Kuuskoski from the University of Michigan, reveals an encouraging trend: artists incorporating business courses into their studies not only navigate the market more effectively but also mitigate the earnings penalty typically associated with arts degrees. 🔍 The Earnings Gap and Entrepreneurship Education We find that fine arts graduates earn 8.7% less than their peers across different fields. However, the addition of a business degree narrows this gap by half, highlighting the transformative power of entrepreneurship education for artists. Despite the slow adoption of such training due to curriculum constraints, those few who receive it demonstrate significantly better labor market outcomes. 🚀 Entrepreneurship = A Necessity, Not an Option "The biggest barrier may not be cultural... There isn’t much space in most degree programs to add more coursework," explains Kuuskoski, stressing the importance of innovatively integrating entrepreneurship into arts curricula. This approach is not about diminishing the value of liberal arts or core requirements but about enriching the educational journey with essential market navigation tools. The onus falls on institutions to pave the way for a new era where art and entrepreneurship intersect seamlessly. As we advocate for a curriculum that mirrors the realities of the contemporary labor market, we empower artists to not just survive, but thrive. "If anything, my experience confirms that the traditional route is not always required and sometimes the best way to learn is just to do," said Soula Parassidis, soprano and CEO of Living Opera. 🌟 We must narrow the gap between artistic passion and economic viability. By fostering an entrepreneurial spirit within the arts, we equip the next generation of artists with the tools to create sustainable ventures, driving both economic and societal growth. #ArtsEducation #Entrepreneurship #CulturalEconomics #Innovation #CareerDevelopment https://lnkd.in/eG_CgV8P

The Batten Institute hosted 30 business faculty representing more than 20 universities – from as far as Denmark and Sri Lanka – at UVA Darden for a day of “Reimagining Entrepreneurship Education.” The first symposium of its kind was an exploration of how to incorporate the principles of effectuation to improve business curricula and student outcomes. https://lnkd.in/eb4YRTvw

🎉 Excited to share my latest publication in the Scopus-indexed journal Administrative Sciences! 📘 🔗 Paper Title: "Entrepreneurial Aspirations and Challenges among Business Students: A Qualitative Study" 📖 Volume: 14, Issue: 5 🔍 This featured paper, on the issue cover story of the journal, investigates the profound impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on small businesses, highlighting the evolving entrepreneurial aspirations and challenges faced by business students in the post-pandemic era. 👩🎓 The study, based on qualitative interviews with undergraduate students, explores key entrepreneurial concepts and perceptions, revealing that despite significant barriers such as financial constraints and fear of failure, there is a strong, positive attitude toward entrepreneurship fueled by familial backgrounds and practical experiences. 🔗 Read more or download the open-access paper here: https://lnkd.in/eEcsfW9n 🌐 The insights provided extend beyond traditional business creation, emphasizing the importance of comprehensive entrepreneurship education programs that include practical experiences and psychological support to nurture the next generation of entrepreneurs. 📊 This publication is not just a significant academic contribution but also a crucial guide for educators and policymakers aiming to foster entrepreneurial skills that align with modern market demands. 🙏 A heartfelt thank you to everyone who supported and participated in this research. Your insights are shaping the future of entrepreneurship education! 📢 Let's discuss how these findings can influence marketing strategies and educational approaches in nurturing innovative and resilient entrepreneurs. Your thoughts and comments are welcome! #EntrepreneurshipEducation #BusinessStudies #OpenAccess #AcademicPublishing #EducationalPolicy #Marketing #Entrepreneurship

We are pleased to announce the publication of our new research article titled: Role of Entrepreneurial Education in Motivating Students to Take Entrepreneurship as a Career. In this article, we explain how entrepreneurial education can help students shift their aspirations from traditional employment to launching their own ventures. ✨ The article discusses the key factors that encourage students to choose entrepreneurship, such as creativity, taking risks, and the importance of perseverance. 💡 Specific examples include how creative problem-solving can lead to innovative solutions and how taking calculated risks is essential for entrepreneurial success. 🚀 For instance, students participating in startup competitions have successfully turned their ideas into viable businesses by taking calculated risks and employing creative solutions. 🌱 We also discuss how having an entrepreneurial mindset can change not only someone's career path but also help grow the economy. It can bring about new ideas and foster innovation. 🌟 Our research demonstrates how entrepreneurial education bridges classroom learning with real-world application: Helps students build skills that make them more confident when facing business challenges. 💪 Uses practical examples, case studies, and real-world stories to show the impact of entrepreneurial education in shaping future leaders. 🌟 Emphasizes that entrepreneurial education isn’t just about starting businesses; it's also about learning to be flexible, solve problems, and be creative in tough situations. 🔄💡 Teaching students to think like entrepreneurs is not just about creating companies; it’s about encouraging them to think critically, be resilient, and be brave enough to try new things. 🚀💪 Hands-on learning, mentorship, and working with industry experts are important for developing entrepreneurial skills. 🤝📚 Schools and universities can support students by creating an environment where they can learn from their mistakes and build the confidence to take smart risks. 📈💪 This research was done in collaboration with Mina F. Hasnan Baber. We hope this work will be part of the ongoing discussion about why entrepreneurship is so important in higher education. We are happy to share our findings and hope this inspires educators, policymakers, and students to see the great potential of entrepreneurial education. You can read more about our insights on entrepreneurial education here: https://lnkd.in/e5S9m-ZG #Entrepreneurship #Education #Innovation #Research #HigherEducation #FutureLeaders #MindsetShift #EconomicGrowth #TransformativeLearning

The top 50 undergraduate and top 50 graduate school programs for entrepreneurship in 2025. The post graphic displays the top 10 schools from each list. (link to full list below) These rankings were compiled by surveying nearly 300 schools in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Europe that offer entrepreneurship studies. These rankings are based on factors such as: - Academic offerings - Faculty qualifications - Mentorship programs - Experiential learning opportunities - Alumni entrepreneurial ventures - Other notable achievements For the complete 2025 rankings, visit our official rankings page: https://lnkd.in/grcG6mCN or see the results in Entrepreneur: https://lnkd.in/d4Y2Xsz

SI offers a PhD course on "The Foundations of Entrepreneurship." In contrast to more theory-based entrepreneurship courses, this course zooms in on key empirical entrepreneurship phenomena, such as how organizational heritage, personnel issues, immigrants, finance ... relates to entrepreneurship. It also covers methodological issues, notably with respect to the use of high-frequency data and experiments. The course is taught by Orsola Garofalo, Ulrich Kaiser, Francesco de Lorenzo, José Mata, Ali Mohammadi, Toke Reichstein, and Vera Rocha. Great content; great lineup. More detail here: https://lnkd.in/d8ZaxBrX

🚀 Big news for East Carolina University! 🌟 ECU Miller School of Entrepreneurship has climbed to No. 30 on The Princeton Review® & Entrepreneur® magazine’s 2025 list of top undergraduate entrepreneurship programs! 🎉 We’re now the only school in NC ranked and the 3rd highest in the South. From breaking into the Top 50 six years ago to reaching new heights today, ECU is proving that Pirates are unstoppable innovators! 🏴☠️💡 Curious how we made it happen? Dive into the full story to see what sets us apart. ⚓️📚 #PiratePride #ECUEntrepreneurs #Innovation. East Carolina University - College of Business

My new book project I am once again looking for answers to how entrepreneurship education might support sustainable development and economic growth. This time, I am arguing that when students are equipped for today's economy, they may become inventive, community- and economic-beneficial leaders. I am hoping that contributors join me in positioning business owners, entrepreneurs, and universities as crucial to the entrepreneurial environment. This is because beyond teaching business basics, entrepreneurship education should be about critical thinking, problem-solving, and opportunity-seizing. I bet this book will serve as a critical resource for educators, policymakers, and stakeholders interested in enhancing entrepreneurship education to drive economic development.  Follow this link for more information on how you can contibute to this ground-breaking project. https://lnkd.in/ezuYZDvY.

Through the Graduation Toolkit, young people feel empowered and confident in themselves like the students at Harris-Stowe State University did after they utilized it in the Entrepreneurship Accelerator program! Kristy Jackson, ED. S., Executive Director of the Harris-Stowe State University Anheuser-Busch School of Business Center of Innovation & Entrepreneurship (and who is also an Agilities Coach!), said, "It seamlessly embeds in so many spaces. It has become a staple in what we're doing here." Dr. Darren Woodruff, Senior Director at The DeBruce Foundation, told Ashley Winters at The St. Louis American: “We want to help young people make good decisions about next steps after graduation. Whether it is going to college, or entering the workforce, or becoming an entrepreneur.” Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gp2YvR9N #GraduationToolkit #Agilities #EmploymentEmpowerment

🚀 Thrilled to announce our latest publication in Education+Training! 🚀 Title: "Education first? Triggering vs jeopardising entrepreneurial intentions". Guillermina Tormo Carbó Elies Seguí Victor Oltra Our recent study explores how entrepreneurial intentions (EI) among university students in environments that are not conducive to entrepreneurship are influenced. Drawing on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), we particularly focus on the role of entrepreneurship education (EE) and an entrepreneurial family context (EFC). 🔑 Key Findings: * Entrepreneurial Attitude (EA) and Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy (ESE) have a positive impact on EI in both students who have taken entrepreneurship courses and those who have not. * Subjective Norms (SN) positively affect EA and ESE in all students. However, SN's impact on EI is significant only for non-course students. *Entrepreneurial Family Context (EFC) impacts EA, SN, and EI significantly only for students who have taken entrepreneurship courses. *Unexpectedly, EE appears irrelevant or even counter-productive for some aspects of entrepreneurial dynamics. This research highlights the critical role of EE in shaping EI, especially in entrepreneurship-unfriendly contexts, and provides a unique multigroup analysis of these dynamics. A novel insight from our study is that EE can enhance the influence of entrepreneurial parents as a trigger for entrepreneurship. We encourage further research to explore the impact of social and cultural contexts on entrepreneurial intentions. How do you think entrepreneurship education can be optimized to better foster entrepreneurial intentions in students? Your thoughts and discussions are highly appreciated. #EntrepreneurshipEducation #EntrepreneurialIntentions #HigherEducation #TheoryOfPlannedBehaviour #SocialCognitiveTheory #ResearchImpact #GUESSS #Innovation #EntrepreneurialMindset #EducationResearch