Cross-university enterprise education collaboration as a community of practice

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to explore the views of partners as to the process and operation of TE3 in relation to community of practice (CoP) principles in order to identify success factors fundamental to continued active participation in and promotion of enterprise education.

Design/methodology/approach – This study used a narrative methodology via semi-structured interviews. The aim was to capture both positive and negative perceptions of involvement from key partners within the project. A manual thematic approach was taken to analyse the data collected and through this common threads, trends and issues were identified.

Findings – The findings of this paper focus on the nature, benefits and power of this unique cross-university collaboration, in facilitating and stimulating enterprising and entrepreneurial activity amongst students, graduates, and potentially, local small to medium-sized enterprises.

Practical implications – These findings are set within the context of delivering some key policy-driven objectives, i.e. to support and create not only future entrepreneurs, but also enterprising groups and individuals, and to increase the use of technology-enhanced and blended learning throughout higher education. It will be of interest to individuals and educators working in those areas and to policymakers seeking new routes to develop an entrepreneurial culture.

Originality/value – This is a unique project in terms of multiple university partners collaborating on third stream activity. The findings of this evaluation and its approach add to this otherwise scarce and under researched territory.