Research seminar: Teaching entrepreneurship in North Korea
29.04.2015
In March 2015 Entrepreneurship research seminar audience heard a fascinating presentation by Research Fellow Jukka-Pekka Heikkilä (Aalto University and Newton Fellow of the Royal Society and the British Academy) who shared his experiences on teaching and living in North Korea. Heikkilä has taught at Pyongyang University of Science and Technology information science, international business and entrepreneurship since 2012. His Venture Ideation course last fall was the first entrepreneurship course taught in the North Korea.
Entrepreneurship teaching at the university focuses on creativity and development of new ideas and business models instead of actual business. Sometimes power cuts bring extra challenges to the teaching. Then creative solutions, such as the question-and-answer sessions, are needed to enable teaching. Practical, experiential methods, like group works, presentations and theater, are often used in teaching. Heikkilä describes the atmosphere at his courses enthusiastic and open. Students' background knowledge on subjects taught is low, but the students are highly motivated, hardworking and also demand a lot from the teacher. The highlight of the entrepreneurship course was a pitching competition and the winner was a recycling company.
Entrepreneurship teaching at the university focuses on creativity and development of new ideas and business models instead of actual business. Sometimes power cuts bring extra challenges to the teaching. Then creative solutions, such as the question-and-answer sessions, are needed to enable teaching. Practical, experiential methods, like group works, presentations and theater, are often used in teaching. Heikkilä describes the atmosphere at his courses enthusiastic and open. Students' background knowledge on subjects taught is low, but the students are highly motivated, hardworking and also demand a lot from the teacher. The highlight of the entrepreneurship course was a pitching competition and the winner was a recycling company.