Exploring the System Construction of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program among Local University Students: A Case Study of Shandong University of Science and Technology ()
1. Introduction
In 2011, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance jointly issued the “Opinions on the Implementation of the Project for Enhancing the Quality of Under-Graduate Education and Teaching Reform during the 12th Five-Year Plan.” It emphasized enhancing practical abilities and innovation and entrepreneurship skills among university students to solve real-world problems. The document explicitly supported the implementation of innovation and entrepreneurship training for students.
In 2012, the Ministry of Education issued the “Notice on the Implementation of the National University Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program under the Undergraduate Education Project”. It clearly outlined the implementation of the national-level university student innovation and entrepreneurship training program during the 12th Five-Year Plan period, providing detailed explanations of the program’s objectives, content, and financial support.
In 2019, based on the implementation of national-level university student innovation and entrepreneurship programs at the current stage, the Ministry of Education formulated the “Management Measures for National University Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Programs”. These measures aimed to strengthen the cultivation of students’ innovation and entrepreneurship capabilities, enrich higher education content, and comprehensively improve the quality of talent development [1] .
2. The Necessity of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Programs for Undergraduate Talent Development
In 2015, the “Implementation Opinions of the State Council General Office on Deepening the Reform of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education in Higher Education Institutions” pointed out that there were issues of disconnection between theory and practice, lack of practical platforms, and an overemphasis on theoretical knowledge teaching in university innovation and entrepreneurship education. There was a relative scarcity of practical projects, and student participation in practical projects mainly focused on a few types of innovation and entrepreneurship competitions, aiming to promote learning and creativity through competition. The collaboration between universities and enterprises was not sufficiently close, and the level of entrepreneurship remained at a low stage of addressing employment, without developing into a high-level, content-rich, and innovation-based entrepreneurship education.
Internationally, innovation education has become a new educational approach and has been implemented in various countries. Since 1940, the United States has been implementing innovation education for 80 years and has achieved remarkable results. The birth of Silicon Valley, the formation of the Boston Route 128 industrial cluster, and the innovation and entrepreneurship education at Stanford and MIT are closely related. Both institutions emphasize serving the needs of the country and society, and their innovation and entrepreneurship education adheres to the pragmatic educational concept of integrating theory with practice, combining hands-on experience with intellectual development. The innovation and entrepreneurship courses at these two universities include modules for entrepreneurial practice, allowing students to develop their innovation and entrepreneurship skills through project participation, cultivating innovative and versatile talents, and forming a world-class university entrepreneurship education practice system represented by these two institutions. Many universities in Australia have established dedicated innovation centers and departments, providing integrated training for students from innovation to entrepreneurship, including guidance on innovative technologies and support for entrepreneurial activities, thus fostering vibrant innovation teaching [2] .
It is evident that innovation and entrepreneurship education starts from universities and is a means for the nation to cultivate students’ innovation consciousness and enhance their innovative capabilities. It serves as a crucial support for fostering innovative talents and is a product of the knowledge economy in the new era. It provides a solid foundation for future enterprise technological development, independent research and development, and contributes to constructing an innovative nation.
2.1. The Essence of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program for University Students
The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program for university students (hereinafter referred to as the “Program”) is centered on projects, with the plan serving as a breakthrough point. The program aims to enhance students’ innovative abilities through project completion, foster entrepreneurial capabilities based on innovation, and improve students’ overall innovation and entrepreneurship skills. It lays a solid foundation for students’ future development.
2.2. The Cultivation of Innovative Thinking among Undergraduate Students through the Program
The Program provides undergraduate students with a platform for cultivating innovative thinking, enabling them to understand, contemplate, and apply their knowledge to innovation practices. The Program’s three stages, from project proposal to implementation and finalization, have a subtle influence on students’ innovative thinking, nurturing it throughout the process.
During the project initiation phase, students select topics based on their innovative ideas and conduct relevant literature searches, readings, and explorations around the chosen topics. They analyze the innovative characteristics of the research topic and perform a feasibility analysis before proceeding with project initiation and implementation. Throughout the project, encountering challenging aspects stimulates students’ potential for independent problem-solving, shifting them from passive problem-solving to actively identifying and addressing issues, thereby enhancing their innovative thinking abilities. Upon project completion, students are required to analyze the results of their research and project outcomes, discuss related issues encountered during the project, and present their findings through a corresponding paper or deliverable. This process helps students develop skills in organizing, analyzing, summarizing, and improving collaborative abilities [3] .
2.3. Enhancement of Undergraduate Students’ Innovative and Entrepreneurial Practical Abilities through the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program
Practical abilities refer to the capacity to solve practical problems. The formation and development of innovative abilities largely depend on practical abilities. In contemporary society, there is an increasing demand for students’ practical abilities, as mere theoretical knowledge acquisition no longer suffices to meet societal needs. Given the current challenging employment situation, students’ comprehensive abilities become particularly crucial, especially their innovative practical abilities.
The implementation of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program enables students to conduct feasibility analyses during the experimental design phase. They contemplate and plan specific operational strategies while arranging project steps rationally. They transition from theoretical knowledge in textbooks to practical application in projects and actively search for corresponding literature to address technological or theoretical gaps encountered in the project, enriching their theoretical knowledge and maintaining a dynamic balance between theory and hands-on practice [4] .
Moreover, the students’ learning attitudes and mindset are influenced through the training provided by the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program. To complete better projects, they should improve their self-learning efficiency. As they engage in continuous self-learning and refinement, the cultivation of their innovative practical abilities progresses simultaneously, resulting in a mutual enhancement of theoretical knowledge and innovative practical skills [5] .
The “Innovation and Entrepreneurship” program, being project-driven, requires students to apply knowledge beyond their major subjects. It encourages interdisciplinary thinking for analyzing real-world problems, leading to a higher integration of theory and practice, and promoting the application of knowledge. The practical process not only demands theoretical knowledge but also involves a significant amount of hands-on work and resource coordination, thereby enhancing students’ practical skills while completing project plans [6] .
2.4. Strengthening Undergraduate Students’ Teamwork and Organizational Skills through the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program
The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program encourages students from different disciplines, departments, and majors to form teams and collaborate on large-scale projects lasting one to two years. This project necessitates close cooperation and collective efforts from all team members throughout the entire process. Typically, each student in the project is assigned specific roles and tasks. After determining their respective responsibilities and goals within the team, they develop corresponding work plans and proceed with their assigned tasks. Collaboratively, they formulate plans, discuss solutions, address difficulties together, and engage in mutual progress through perspective-taking. At every stage of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program, each student actively participates in team collaboration, contributing to the optimization of the project through discussions and analysis. They learn to understand and accommodate one another, thus cultivating a cooperative mindset and fostering a strong sense of teamwork within the academic environment [7] .
3. Current Status of the Implementation of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program
Shandong University of Science and Technology initiated and implemented the national-level Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program for college students in 2012. In 2017, in order to further improve the quality of talent cultivation, the university formulated the “Management Measures for the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program for College Students at Shandong University of Science and Technology.” In 2020, the university established the College of Innovation and Entrepreneurship and revised the “Management Measures for the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program for College Students at Shandong University of Science and Technology” in 2021, which improved the guidance for the program in terms of management allocation, fund management, project management, and credit recognition. These measures provided a solid foundation and necessary support for the smooth implementation of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program at Shandong University of Science and Technology.
3.1. Overall Situation at the University Level
The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program adheres to three principles: interest-driven, independent experimentation, and emphasis on the process. It not only requires participating students to have a strong interest in scientific research or invention and creation but also demands that students independently design, practice, and manage the entire project process. It is particularly important to document the entire project implementation process and gain technical and spiritual progress from it [8] .
At the university level, the overall situation will be discussed in terms of management allocation and the project status for the academic years 2021 to 2023. According to the relevant documents and notifications issued by Shandong University of Science and Technology regarding the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program, the program follows a multi-level management model involving the university and colleges.
At the university level, an Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education Guidance Committee has been established, with its office located in the College of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. This committee is jointly managed by six departments of the university, including the College of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the Department of Academic Affairs, the Department of Student Affairs, the Youth League Committee, the Department of Laboratory and Equipment Management, and the Department of Finance. It is jointly led by the Vice President in charge of teaching and student affairs. The College of Innovation and Entrepreneurship is responsible for project release, project initiation review, semester examination, and project acceptance of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program for college students. The Department of Student Affairs and the Youth League Committee are responsible for creating an innovative atmosphere. The Department of Laboratory and Equipment Management allocates and manages experimental venues and equipment. The Department of Finance is responsible for fundraising and financial management of the projects. Each college/department establishes a working group for the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program, which is responsible for the specific organizational work of student projects, including project initiation, student team organization, preliminary project evaluation, daily management, and financial reimbursement. This multi-level management model creates a good atmosphere of departmental cooperation, with a clear division of responsibilities and collaborative participation. The implementation of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program follows a multi-level management model involving the university and colleges, as shown in Figure 1.
3.2. Measures in the Management Dimension
To foster undergraduate students’ interest in scientific research and invention, we think that it is essential to establish operational and management procedures for project execution. Furthermore, encouraging students to independently manage, design, and complete the entire project based on their own interests is crucial. During the implementation phase, regular academic discussion led by students and student-led academic lectures should be organized to facilitate student communication. Clear regulations and systems should be defined for innovation and entrepreneurship training projects to ensure smooth progress. Specific tasks and corresponding responsibilities within the innovation and entrepreneurship process should be explicitly outlined. Additionally, diverse and objective evaluations of individual contributions from participants should be
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Figure 1. Institutional mechanisms for innovation and entrepreneurship education at Shandong University of Science and Technology.
conducted, utilizing incentive measures to enhance students’ motivation and facilitate their integration into the innovation and entrepreneurship training projects, thereby cultivating their entrepreneurial abilities. The establishment of project funds can provide students with financial assistance and support, ensuring the smooth implementation of their research processes.
3.3. Overall Implementation of Innovation Projects
1) Achievements in Project Approval for Innovation Projects.
Since the implementation of the program in 2012, the number of approved projects has steadily increased, with an average of around 100 projects approved each year. Before 2021, the number of approved projects was consistently below 200. However, starting from 2021, the university has consistently approved over 300 projects, as shown in Figure 2. The results demonstrate a significant increase in the quantity and quality of approved projects. This increase can be attributed to the effective implementation of management and incentive measures, which have successfully motivated teachers and students to participate in the program actively.
In 2021, the university strengthened its management approach and actively encouraged faculty and students to participate in project applications, ensuring the program’s success in fostering innovation and entrepreneurship education. The main reasons can be explained as follows. Firstly, the university organized a large-scale promotion event for the innovation and entrepreneurship program, attended by over 2000 participants, to engage faculty and students in project participation actively. Subsequently, the university collected various project proposals from teachers, students, and enterprises and organized a project fair, providing a platform for project and team member exchanges. Additionally, the
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Figure 2. The approved projects of Shandong University of Science and Technology in the past three years.
university invited experts to guide on preparing project proposals. The number of approved projects in the 2022-2023 academic year showed a significant increase compared to 2021, as shown in Figure 3.
2) Distribution of Mentors and Project Sources.
The proportion of faculty members from the university who have guided the Undergraduate Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program is 48.06%. Additionally, 51.94% of individuals are involved in theoretical teaching, research on integrating specialized and creative courses, and administrative management. All 683 teachers personnel play a direct or indirect role in implementing the program.
The projects within the Undergraduate Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program originate from five different fields, as shown in Figure 4. The projects in the innovation and entrepreneurship program originate from five main areas, with the majority of projects coming from teachers’ research projects and students’ self-selected topics. These reasons can be explained as follows. Since the project is completed through cooperation between the teacher guidance and the student application, supervising teachers often propose research topics based on their research projects. Meanwhile, students also propose research questions based on their interests. In addition, some partner companies collaborate with the university and provide specific topics based on their needs, another important source of projects. Furthermore, certain functional departments within the university also contribute project ideas to address specific management-related issues.
3) Factors Influencing Student Engagement.
The top five factors influencing student participation in the Undergraduate Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program are as follows: difficulties in
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Figure 3. The approved projects of Shandong University of Science and Technology in the past three years.
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Figure 4. Distribution of project source.
team formation, lack of suitable project sources or topics, excessive time cost to various competitions during non-academic hours, insufficient knowledge in innovation and entrepreneurship, and inability to connect with appropriate mentors. The selection rates for these factors are all above 40%, which is similar to the findings from 2022. The result indicates that the existing innovation and entrepreneurship courses and team formation methods still fail to meet the needs of students.
4) Categorization of Student Engagement and Actual Participation.
An investigation on the main factors influencing student participation in the Undergraduate Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program reveals that the factors affecting student engagement at our university are quite complex. Judging from the frequency of their participation in the program, students at our university tend to experience more apprehension when they have not yet led or participated in any innovation and entrepreneurship projects. Conversely, students who have actually led or participated in such projects demonstrate a relatively objective approach in selecting influencing factors (see Table 1 for details).
4. Issues in the Operation of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program
From September 2021 to August 2023, Shandong University of Science and Technology initiated 965 projects under the Undergraduate Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program, with the participation of over 4000 students. In the past three years, undergraduate students have published 222 papers and obtained 146 patents and software copyrights through the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program, achieving notable results in innovation and
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Table 1. Interactive classification of factors influencing participation and the number of participations in innovation and entrepreneurship projects.
entrepreneurship practices. However, several issues have been identified in the actual operation of the program.
4.1. Management Issues in the “Two-Tier Management System”
The implementation of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program at Shandong University of Science and Technology follows a “two-tier management system.” This system entails the university’s responsibility for guiding the implementation of the program, overseeing process management, and allocating funds, while the colleges are responsible for providing daily guidance and support to students in the program. Due to this management model, there have been cases where project ownership becomes ambiguous. The daily management of projects falls under the responsibility of the student’s college, which facilitates communication between the college and the student. However, if the project’s research direction differs from the student’s college, practical difficulties arise in arranging relevant experts for project proposal evaluations, mid-term evaluations, and final evaluations. Suggestions provided by experts from different fields may deviate in terms of project difficulty, research direction, and the rational use of funds.
4.2. Homogeneity of Content and Insufficient Innovation
As the “Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program” is student-led, the project ideas often stem from introductory courses within their respective majors. Consequently, there is a tendency for project topics and research proposals to exhibit homogeneity, with a limited proportion addressing current hot and challenging issues. These results lead to a lack of sufficient innovation.
4.3. Need for Strengthening the Entrepreneurial Atmosphere and Enhancing the Influence of the Program
There are a limited number of well-established entrepreneurial activities on campus, and insufficient efforts have been made in building and promoting the entrepreneurial culture. This has led to a lack of student communication platforms and a failure to promote successful case studies effectively. From the perspective of student coverage and enthusiasm, the influence of the “Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program” within the student body needs to be enhanced.
5. Exploring the Management Model for the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program
5.1. Improving the “Four-in-One” Multi-Project Source Mechanism
The “Four-in-One” project source mechanism refers to a shift from the traditional two-party project source model involving students and mentors to a model where students, mentors, the university, and enterprises collectively contribute to the project pool for the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program [9] . The foresight and diversity of projects are essential foundations for generating high-quality outcomes. It is crucial to explore project directions and expand project content through multiple channels and interdisciplinary approaches. The traditional approach, where project content is mainly proposed by students or derived from the mentors’ research topics, often results in a narrow focus and fails to stimulate students’ innovation and creativity fully [10] . Over time, this can lead to project homogeneity. By building an open platform that facilitates interdisciplinary communication and interaction, the university can ensure diverse project content. The university can establish an information communication platform to facilitate exchange among students from different colleges and mentors, offering information interfaces for mentors from different disciplines. Shifting communication from traditional offline methods to online platforms breaks physical barriers and communication limits, facilitating idea communication between mentors and students from different fields.
5.2. Establishing a New Model for the Full Process of Innovative Talent Development
The cultivation of innovative and entrepreneurial talent should be integrated throughout the entire talent development process. This includes fostering innovative thinking, enhancing entrepreneurial awareness, developing practical innovation and entrepreneurship capabilities, providing training in research proficiency and technical skills, inspiring students’ enthusiasm for innovation, and elevating their commercialization skills [11] . It is essential to establish a comprehensive model for the full process of innovative talent development.
In the undergraduate talent development program at Shandong University of Science and Technology, practical education credits in innovation and entrepreneurship have been included, integrating practical innovation teaching into the overall talent development system and creating an important atmosphere for fostering innovative thinking, innovation and entrepreneurship education, and the construction of an innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Firstly, emphasizing the cultivation of innovative awareness and thinking is crucial in scientific and technological education [12] . Encouraging students to think innovatively about existing knowledge or classroom projects is essential. By diverging their thinking based on acquired knowledge, students can identify innovative aspects and reduce last-minute cramming. In practical courses, we should emphasize the following aspects: fostering innovative thinking and guiding students to identify and analyze problems based on real situations and relevant knowledge. Meanwhile, we also focus on the following areas: starting from autonomous thinking and exploration in the classroom, cultivating innovative thinking and promoting deep reflection establishes an innovative atmosphere, fostering innovation consciousness.
Secondly, we should emphasize the post-project development of practical projects from the perspective of actual company operations by expanding knowledge in various domains such as finance, taxation, human resources, and investments [13] . While the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program yields excellent results in terms of research papers, patents, and technological achievements, it often lacks focus on the later stages of industrial implementation and business operations. Existing training programs mainly focus on technical research and improvement, considering the technical outcome as the final result of the practical project. However, they overlook the potential for further commercialization of some projects. Post-project development should provide students who have completed their practical projects with diverse business guidance and support from the perspective of actual needs. Through post-project development, the maximization of outcomes can be achieved, promoting the overall development of innovation and entrepreneurship throughout the university.
The program emphasizes the values of “interest-driven, autonomous practice, and emphasis on the process” [14] . However, cultivating interest, abilities, and the process it-self is not an instantaneous achievement. The cultivation system is presented in a hierarchical pyramid structure, where the university utilizes curriculum development as the fundamental framework. It aims to construct a progressive system consisting of three layers: general education, practical education, and elite education. This system spans from the first to the third year, encompassing compulsory and elective courses, and progresses from good to excellent. Beginning with cultivating innovative thinking and culminating in collaborative endeavors with innovation and entrepreneurship mentors, the university provides tailored instruction to meet the innovative and entrepreneurial requirements of students with diverse abilities.
6. Conclusion
The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program serves as an essential pathway to cultivate the innovative and entrepreneurial capabilities of college students. It holds significant importance not only in fostering students’ innovative thinking and enhancing their practical innovation skills but also in developing their team spirit and organizational abilities. In recent years, Shandong University of Science and Technology has steadily implemented its innovation and entrepreneurship program, playing a vital role in students’ innovation and entrepreneurship endeavors. By adopting a “four-in-one” project sourcing mechanism and a comprehensive innovation cultivation model throughout the process, we can effectively enhance students’ entrepreneurial spirit and improve their research and practical capabilities. Based on the innovation and entrepreneurship program, this article primarily presents two innovative outcomes. Firstly, it extracts the theoretical content involved in the project approval process in the innovation and entrepreneurship program and incorporates it into undergraduate and graduate courses. Secondly, it summarizes the distinctive features of the project planning and practical stages and constructs them modularly, leading students through specialized training in training camps. These achievements provide essential theoretical and practical support for the future development of the university’s innovation and entrepreneurship training program for students.
Acknowledgements
The work is funded by the “Qunxing Plan” of Shandong University of Science and Technology (QX2021M66).