Designing an Impact-Focused Entrepreneurship Course: Insights from a Europe - India Collaboration

Abstract

This paper presents the design, implementation, and evaluation of a nine-week pilot course in Impact-Focused Entrepreneurship (IFE), developed within the Erasmus+ Capacity Building for Higher Education-funded project Co-LIFE. The pilot, conducted by a consortium of eight Higher Education Institutions from Europe and India, aimed to foster entrepreneurial competencies, intercultural collaboration, and real-world problem-solving through a blended curriculum developed in collaboration with stakeholders. The course combined a MOOC, an in-person kick-off week in Goa, seven weeks of virtual team-based project work, and a closing week in Mumbai. Students worked in international, interdisciplinary teams on four live impact entrepreneurship cases provided by Indian companies. These cases were deeply embedded in the local context and supported by company visits, mentorship, and Design Thinking workshops. Each week, students engaged in theoretical and practical content delivered through a MOOC platform. Topics included sustainability principles, circular economy models, impact measurement, business model innovation, theory of change, and user-centred design. The content was delivered through online lectures, interactive assignments, quizzes, and case readings. Students were expected to apply this content directly to their live case projects. A comprehensive course evaluation collected feedback through weekly surveys, peer evaluations, and structured interviews with students and staff. Findings highlight strong student motivation, high engagement with real-world content, and development of entrepreneurial and intercultural competencies. Key areas for improvement included pacing, assignment clarity, and enhanced mentoring alignment. The study contributes to multiple theoretical domains. It extends Learning by Development into a cross-cultural, digitally mediated context; enriches Experiential Learning Theory through its application in international, real-world settings; and advances the theory and practice of blended learning by demonstrating its effectiveness in a transnational, Impact-Focused Entrepreneurship course. Furthermore, the study contributes to entrepreneurship education theory by demonstrating how interdisciplinary, impact-oriented, real-life projects enhance opportunity recognition, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, and value creation within diverse student teams. This paper also offers a replicable model for transnational, impact-driven education that aligns with global trends in active learning, digital pedagogy, and curriculum co-design with external stakeholders.