The kindergarten of entrepreneurship: Developing entrepreneurial spirit and skills through community building at universities

How can universities stimulate students to develop entrepreneurial skills and ambitions? This work provides insights into how community building compliments traditional theory-based entrepreneurship education at universities. Based on 21 interviews across university-based organizations supporting entrepreneurship across students we provide insights on (1) motivation, (2) ways of working, and (3) challenges of organizations when mobilizing an entrepreneurial spirit and developing entrepreneurial skills of students. Based on our findings we recommend to (1) provide local role models, (2) design an environment enabling and encouraging experimentation, and (3) facilitate network creation of participants.