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This book challenges the dominant ‘employability skills’ discourse by exploring socially connected and networked perspectives to learning and teaching in higher education. Both learning and career development happen naturally and optimally in ecologies, informal communities and partnerships. In the digital age, they are also highly networked. This book presents ten empirical case studies of educational practice that investigate the development of learner capabilities, teaching approaches, and institutional strategies in higher education, to foster lifelong graduate employability through social connectedness.

What role can the university play in the broader community or society in which it is embedded? Must it remain segregated in the halls of science and knowledge, which tower above the community? This book examines the growing number of questions and concerns around university-community relations by exploring widely accepted theories and practices and placing them under new light.

The European higher education sector is moving online, but to what extent? Are the digital disruptions seen in other sectors of relevance for both academics and management in higher education? How far are we from fully seizing the opportunities that an online transition could offer? This insightful book presents a broad perspective on existing academic practices, and discusses how and where the move online has been successful, and the lessons that can be learned.

With an increasing focus on the knowledge and service economies, it is important to understand the role that entrepreneurial universities play through collaboration in policy and, in turn, the impact they have on policy. The authors evaluate how universities engage with communities while also balancing stakeholder considerations, and explore how universities should be managed in the future to integrate into global society effectively.

Entrepreneurial ecosystems have emerged as one of the most dynamic forces shaping the economic performance of individuals, companies and regions. This book brings together some of the leading scholarship and research identifying and analyzing the role of universities in entrepreneurial ecosystems. Particular emphasis is given on the role of innovation, startups, SMEs and technology transfer both in shaping the entrepreneurial ecosystem, as well as the resulting impact on firm performance and regional economic performance.

The role of resources is pivotal in entrepreneurship for the success of new and small ventures, though most face resource constraints. The book offers multiple perspectives on analysing and understanding the importance of resources in entrepreneurship development. Approaching the subject with both a practice-theory and research-based approach, the contributors analyse topics such as processes and structures in social entrepreneuring; entrepreneurship and equity in crowdfunding; and forming alliances with large firms to overcome resource constraints. The contributors provide evidence, for example, on how business angels can contribute more than finance to small ventures and how the flexibility of resources is important in internationalisation.

The next decade will be transformative for the higher education sector. Government funding is decreasing. Through their marketing activities universities have created the ‘student consumer.’ The student consumer is prepared to shop around, compare prices and value, and once purchased expects a return on their investment. Disruptive innovations are challenging traditional forms of learning and in many cases are viewed as better alternatives to traditional learning in the classroom. Competition from private educational providers is increasing. Their cost base is lower, and their customer focus is superior. In short, universities around the world are facing a perfect storm. While experts don’t expect the higher education sector to collapse under these challenges, they do believe that for some institutions the future looks bleak. If universities are to avoid closures or mergers, they will need to adopt a market-oriented approach.

Academic entrepreneurship is a multifactorial and multidimensional phenomenon. This book presents research featuring aspects of academic entrepreneurship at the regional, institutional, and organizational levels of analysis. Phillip H. Phan and the authors illustrate that the more interesting aspects of this subject are in the ‘tails of the distribution,’ where counter-intuitive findings from the data call simple theories into question and inspire a vigorous discussion of alternatives.

Unique ideas, insights and themes from diverse disciplines—from engineering, science and medicine to arts, design, and music—have the potential to enrich and deepen our understanding of entrepreneurship. This book brings together contributions from an eclectic set of entrepreneurship scholars and educators from different fields to advance cross-disciplinary entrepreneurial thinking.