Sustainable entrepreneurship undergraduate education: A community of practice perspective

Abstract

This chapter explores how an undergraduate elective course employs a community of practice to change students’ perceptions on sustainable entrepreneurship. For this purpose, we conducted a case study of an undergraduate elective course in a Swedish Business School re-designed to adopt sustainability and sustainable entrepreneurship education. We found evidence that when students engage in a community of practice for sustainable entrepreneurship, they become aware of the importance of individual agency. We proposed two key activities: project work and embracing an active citizenship to nurture the full-participation of students in a community of practice. Through project work – developing ideas and prototypes for sustainable ventures, lean mentoring and participation in a sustainability festival -- students were provided with a learning context for changing their perceptions on sustainable entrepreneurship. By embracing an active citizenship, students coined potential solutions to societal problems. Individual and collective reflections on class activities were important for them to become aware of their roles and capacity to act as change agents.