Scholarship broadens the scope for entrepreneurial college students

There is plenty of entrepreneurial spirit at universities of applied sciences, but the impact on the regions could be raised extensively if more students would find a smooth route to the market. In part, this has to do with unfamiliarity with the system of scholarships, Ben Kokkeler of Avans University of Applied Sciences believes.

‘Subsidy programmes could streamline programmatic cooperation with branches, to enhance the innovative learning capacity of smaller companies, whereas now sme’s are primarily a learning environment for students. That way, one could also avoid the pitfall of investors who don’t invest in entrepreneurial students who have been subsidized with public money because, in their eyes, they haven’t learned the trade.’

Until he retired this spring, Kokkeler spent nine years as a professor of applied sciences in Digitalization and Security. He is also a principal consultant with the European Technopolis Group, an international research and consultancy organization for the public sector. Previously, he was active in development cooperation and held various positions at the University of Twente and the European Consortium of Innovative Universities (ECIU). The relationship between new technology and society runs like a thread through his career. And it is precisely in that area that he sees many opportunities are not being seized, and level of learning is surprisingly low. In his own field, increasing digital resilience, he sees enormous fragmentation. ‘A lot needs to be done to attract enough new students and ensure that they continue to work in ict and cybersecurity after they have finished their studies. At the Dutch national level alone, I can name seven different lines of intervention aimed at this, which, as usual in the Netherlands, do not go together very well. The same experts sometimes sit at the Ministry of Economic Affairs on Monday and at the Ministry of Justice on Tuesday to talk about roughly the same topics in slightly different compositions. We have been thinking with all our might for years about what interventions work or don’t work, but coordinated and well-funded actions at a national level are still in early stages. There is a lack of political will and perseverance.’

And even worse, he has had to witness how much knowledge has evaporated over the years. ‘At Technopolis, we have done quite some evaluations on innovation policy. These show how much organized expertise we have seen disappear because well-run programs have been discontinued. I’m thinking in particular of entrepreneurship programs in higher education, and how to make the connection with the innovative mechanisms in a region. That expertise has completely disappeared at a lot of universities of applied sciences and regional authorities, and I consider that a huge drain.’

‘It is important that also within the universities of applied sciences we create a kind of rolling, growing community of people who receive scholarships and are included in such a program’

What does that mean for the position of entrepreneurship within higher education?

‘On the positive side, colleges are now widely regarded as the drivers of regional innovation, as catalysts of change. Where we are less successful is in gaining a clear position and bringing in grants. The innovations and ideas are certainly there, so are the ambitions. It’s important that we invest in all those important mechanisms around it: screening potential entrepreneurs, making sure they get the right support, but also that they get the right critical feedback. How do you prevent startups from getting stuck in the subsidy domain? And we have to look carefully at which phases we need which people. Scaling up often requires different qualities than establishing a startup. A program like the Faculty of Impact can help with that, but there are also other routes. I know good examples of successful spin-offs that have chosen not to work with government funds, but to focus radically on international industry.’

Do you find a lot of entrepreneurial spirit among your students?

‘If we draw entrepreneurship a little wider than purely starting your own business, my answer is yes. Especially in the last four or five years, I see a lot of wonderful young people who are becoming quite innovative in all kinds of fields. This doesn’t necessarily mean that they are starting up for themselves, but rather that they are taking a very entrepreneurial approach within the organizations where they end up. In public organisations, in local governments, public safety and social services, that spirit of taking socially driven new steps, making new connections, creating new knowledge combinations: I am very positive about that.’

Yet until now we have seen little to no enrollment of college graduates at the Faculty of Impact. Why is that, do you think?

‘Several reasons. First, universities of applied science in general are not yet that familiar with the scholarship system. Among academics, it is much more of an acquired tradition: if you want to achieve things or research them further, that often includes a scholarship application. In this respect, we from the universities of applied sciences must also be critical of ourselves and ask ourselves why it is that lectorates get relatively little NWO funding. In addition, there is of course a lot of interaction and cooperation between universities of applied sciences and companies in the region. As a result, it also often happens that good ideas, innovations and startup plans are funded from entrepreneurial circles. So then grants simply don’t come into the picture as quickly. The same applies for our students: it is often easier for them to continue after a successful internship at a company, than to acquire a scholarship.’

‘The innovations and ideas are certainly there, so are the ambitions. It’s important that we invest in all those important mechanisms around it’

So is there a need for it?

‘Yes, I definitely think so. And not even so much for the money, but more so for the recognition. It is important that also within the universities of applied sciences we create a kind of rolling, growing community of people who receive scholarships and are included in such a program. And have the opportunity to look around a little bit more, to widen their scope at companies and also at other universities and universities of applied sciences, before they really dive into a sector or an application. I see that as the most important added value. And with that, in turn, they stimulate their fellow students of the future.’