| dc.description.abstract | The present thesis aims to investigate how an entrepreneurship education program that incorporates internships in start-up companies can enhance the learning experience for students. The author examines internship and entrepreneurship theories, as well as learning literature including Kolb s experiential learning theory (1984), Heron s scheme of multi-model learning (1991), Banduras self-efficacy theory (1977), and Baron et al. s (2010) theory of how vicarious learning can result in some of the same benefits as deliberate practice. The theoretical framework is further explored through a phenomenological study of the Norwegian entrepreneurship program Gründerskolen . Gründerskolen is a Norwegian post-graduate program organised by several educational institutions in Norway, where students travel abroad to work as interns in start-up companies and attend lectures at a host university. The focus of the present thesis is on the program held at the Houston destination in Texas, USA, where all participants are enrolled in a master of innovation and entrepreneurship at a university in Norway. Using a phenomenological method, sixteen semi-structured interviews were performed to get depth and richness of data. The author simultaneously considers the innovation and entrepreneurship master students, start-up companies and the internship program facilitator to identify disconnects between the groups, and thus recognise how to facilitate greater satisfaction for all parties. Eight students, seven companies and one facilitator were interviewed. The thesis suggests that there were significant differences to how students perceived the quality of their respective internships, consequently resulting in a notable span between those who gained a higher increased proficiency level in entrepreneurship, and those with a minimal increased proficiency level. It further reveals that a number of internships were of poor quality, due to several start-up companies having bad management skills, lack of structure, in addition to little experience in hosting interns. Students who had prepared clear learning goals prior to commencing the internships, were more likely to communicate better with the hosting company, raise issues when necessary, and take more initiative, consequently resulting in improved quality of the internships. Furthermore, the thesis suggests that the internships that were perceived of being of higher quality could potentially provide students with deep and robust learning outcomes, as students apply theory to practice and thereby contribute to performance accomplishment and improved technical skills, letting the students learn vicariously. Observation was in most cases, more important for students learning than the actual work performed in the internships. The informal learning students were exposed to outside of work in particular through conversation with fellow students, allowed them to get benefits through vicarious experiences, vocational persuasion and emotional arousal in a setting unrelated to both school or work. Furthermore, the inspirational atmosphere that the students absorbed when working alongside entrepreneurs and by living, studying and socialising with other entrepreneurship students triggered affective emotional modes of learning. Recommendations based on the findings are that the facilitator provides guidance and training for the start-up companies prior to hosting interns. Students and companies should also be educated on the importance of vicarious learning. Other entrepreneurship educations may consider implementing a similar educational model to Gründerskolen to facilitate for students to study in an inspirational and entrepreneurial atmosphere, as it is likely to increase the overall learning experience for the students. | eng |