Received 30 January 2015; accepted 3 March 2015; published 6 March 2015

ABSTRACT

Difficult employment of graduates has been an outstanding issue in the current development of China’s higher education, and the international financial crisis also makes difficult employment in a worse situation, therefore it is imminent to encourage students to make their own business start- ups. The paper makes analysis on the basic model of startups education in current colleges and universities in our country and combines with the way of current startups education, to suggest better innovation and improvement of teaching mode of startups education.

Keywords:

Startups Education, Teaching Mode, The Innovation Ability

1. Introduction

With the rapid development of social economy, the world today has entered into the times of knowledge-based economy, information technology and globalization. The intensity and speed of competition have increased greatly. The new era requires a large group of innovative talents springing up at the first line of entrepreneurship. Therefore, enterprise education emerges at the right moment. Concerning enterprise education, there are two views among international and domestic scholars. One is the narrow enterprise education, which teaches students to go into business or establish a business. The other is a high-level vocational education. It aims to cultivate international talents who could meet the social needs, adapt to market changes and innovation posts. We need to integrate the upgrade of knowledge, capacity and diathesis into teaching method (Liu, 2012) . Broadly speaking, entrepreneurship education is to cultivate entrepreneurial awareness, entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial quality, entrepreneurship education, to cultivate students’ spirit of dedication to work, enterprising spirit, pioneering and innovative spirit, and to engage in a business, enterprise, business planning activities, education. Entrepreneurship education could impart enterprising knowledge education, rule and critical questions. You may encounter risk and setbacks. It is a kind of education that helps the development of rationality and turns technical skills into social values.

At present, the startups education of the colleges and universities in China is still at its primary stage, a period of finding employment way for students. We haven’t had rational understanding and effective organization for startups education, and haven’t better integrated it into the overall system of talents training of colleges and universities, and haven’t formed the effective mode of startup talents training in colleges and universities. Therefore, it is an indispensable and important part and task of college education to train the application-oriented talents who should meet the need of socialist economic construction and have startups consciousness, startup ability and innovative spirit, and it is also an important issue to be studied and solved urgently in the talents training of colleges and universities.

2. The Basic Mode of Startups Education in Chinese Colleges and Universities

According to the level and type of school education, the startups education in Chinese colleges and universities can be divided into three basic modes.

2.1. Comprehensive Curriculum Mode

For this mode, startups education consists of various curriculums, including special startups education course, curricular and extracurricular compressive technology activities, group activities and social practices, as well as public-opinion-orientated and propaganda-media-functioned environment course, earning & doing combined practical courses. Form of generalized form combining a variety of courses, curriculum model.

2.2. Single Curriculum Mode

For this mode, a single startups education course is established, and its teaching task includes startup ideas, startup proposal, startup implementation and other teaching stages.

2.3. Curriculum and Research Combined Mode

Refers to on the one hand, the discipline curriculum, the practice curriculum, activity curriculum and combined environmental education comprehensive entrepreneurship education; On the other hand, combine teaching and research, teaching to stimulate scientific research, in order to research the school to promote entrepreneurship education in.

Practically, the mode of startups education in colleges and universities has not been concluded finally in strict degree. On the one hand, startups education in colleges and universities is a new thing and still in its exploration and experiment stage, so it is difficult to be concluded finally; on the other hand, different colleges and universities have different levels and different types of education and different objectives of education and talents training. Therefore, the modes and standards of startups education should not be implemented uniformly for all colleges and universities. According to the “Opinions and Suggestions on Further Development of Practices Activities of Startup Education” by the Department of Higher Education of the Ministry of Education, all colleges and universities are required to establish specific programs in combination with Chinese social and economic development, regional economic development and school level and type and other specific conditions, trying distinctive forms (Zhu, 2010) . Thus, the modes of startups education in colleges and universities will developed in various features in accordance with different school types, levels and program majors. At the same time, startup itself is fresh and the startups education can not be too formalistic. In the exploration of startups education rules and the encouragement for effective study of students, necessary conflicts are between academic theory and real practice. Such conflicts between teaching and learning can be solved only by the innovation of teaching modes of startup education, so that the desired goal of education and teaching is achieved. For these, it is urgent to choose a flexible and enlightening teaching mode of startup education.

3. The Innovation of Teaching Model of Startups Education in Chinese Colleges and Universities

3.1. Investigative Study

It refers to that the students select and determine a special topic for study under the guidance of teachers, and initiatively acquire and apply knowledge in the study to solve the problem. However, in conception, the investigative study is relative to the adoptive study. In the viewpoint of personal character development, both the investigative study and the adoptive study are necessary, and in the specific activities, both they are often complement each other. Our stress on investigative study is not for the adoptive study is improper but for we have too much reliance on the adoptive study and take it in the center of study while we completely ignore the investigative study and relegate it to the margin. We stress on the importance of investigative study in order to find the proper position of investigative study in quality education, but not to belittle the value of adoptive study. The mode of investigative study in startups education is a study activity intended mainly to understand and solve certain problems of startups and to set up startup awareness and find startup problems by means of investigative study, experimental study and literature study. The application of investigative study in startups education is conducive to the development of students’ interests in startup exploration, the enrichment of startup study and experience, the enhancement of independent thinking ability, the establishment of reasonable knowledge structure, the cultivation of scientific attitude of factualism, the formation of personality traits of cooperation and sharing, so as to finally lead to the improvement and development of student quality in startups.

3.2. Project Guide

Project guide refers to the procedures that the students determine a feasible and proper project among the many business startup classifications according to their own conditions and set up their objectives, establish plan, and put them into implementation. Teachers should try to inspire students to make startup thinking and help them make options. For example, some students like to play computer and they are more familiar with computer operation, so teachers can help them choose the projects related to computer maintenance, system development, web production and so on, to make their hobbies and startup interests combined. Through the guide of project, the students can fast enter the atmosphere of business startups, and in combination with their interests, the students can have more interest and initiative in business startups.

3.3. Task Driven

After determining the project, it is more important to change the idea into reality, for which the most effective method is task-driven. For this part, the best implementation type is social investigation, while the Situational Teaching Method is used to make the students are able to imagine and think as personally on the scene, so as to develop a feasible business startup plan (Han, 2011) . This step is the most difficult for students, and in consideration of students’ social understanding to a limited extent, no good effect is got if the teachers make a dry lecture only in the class, so in our teaching, we need to divide the students of the same project group into different subgroups, and then assign them respectively to the related enterprises and administrative departments for social investigation according to their projects, to make them have a clear understanding of the project situations that will happen. After finishing their investigation, they should make investigation report, and after returning to school, they should make a discussion for the Situational Teaching according to the conclusion of investigation, to analyze which plans are feasible and which plans need to be adjusted. This social investigation can pertinently exercise students’ ability to integrate theory with practice, and enhance students’ ability to analyze and solve problems.

3.4. Analysis of Business Startup Case

Making analysis of business startup case in startups education has benefits to the improvement of students’ study interest, sense of participation and degree of inspiration, and it is a indispensable teaching mode in startup education (Li, 2010) . In the conduction of business startup case analysis, both successful cases and abortive cases are analyzed, which is purposed to make students learn from experiences and to make them rational in experiences and lessons. In the analysis of business startup case, it should be noted that the business startup case should be close to reality, consistent with national conditions, typical. To meet the requirements we depends on two aspects of effort: First, the teachers engaging in startup education, must invest more time and energy to collect a large number of case material, and make great concentration on careful selection of fine case materials, and carry out systematic arrangement and rational evaluation and analysis, to obtain the good typical teaching cases; Second, case study should be supported from and adapted to enterprises as much as possible. In reality, most startups worry about their own trade secrets and commercial interests are involved, so they have little enthusiasm in assistance of business startup case study, by whom the case materials are provided that are often not complete or detailed to make the case in lack of typicality. In this case, it requires teachers take initiative and creativity to find ways to enhance the relation and communication with the enterprises, and to obtain as good typical business startup case as possible. In the conduction of case analysis, it can also be considered to let professionals (real entrepreneurs) participate in teaching. For example, we can arrange the seminars between professionals and students, to make the professionals make lectures to students, by which we can organize their report on startups and form a lifesome case analysis. Because the direct contact between students and the professionals is more conducive to the improvement of students’ interest and the enhancement of analysis abilities for startups.

3.5. Drilling of Business Startups

Drilling of business startups is a process of study, experience and participation to imitate and exercise business startups. In the startup drilling process, the students who has ideal of business startups can early try the joys and sorrows of startups. After the drilling, they can find their business startup direction and objective that are most suitable for their aptness, so that steady foundation of knowledge and ability is made for their business startup practice in the future (Wang, 2007) .

Generally, the drilling mode is implemented mainly by the following ways. 1) Carry out the “Business Startup Plan Competition”, which requires competition participants form advantages complementation by way of the actual operation mode of risk investment. The Panel will propose a technological product or service with promising market, around which they need to complete a full, detailed and profound business plan, with the intention to obtain the investment of venture capitalists. The business plan includes company profile, product and service survey, market analysis, competitive marketing strategy, company’s organizational structure, human resource management and financial analysis etc. This is a preferred drilling mode of business startups in startups education of domestic and oversea colleges and universities. 2) Try to run a small student-centered company and conduct business activities. This way is certainly difficult and risky for common students, but it is also a successful way for the students who have entrepreneurial vision, courage, ability and conditions. Some schools takes specialty department as unit and closely combines with the student startup park of specialty, to provide a platform for students to make business startup drilling, which is popular among students, but also widely concerned by the society. 3) Develop the activities of invention and creation, to apply for the patent of scientific and technological achievements obtained, and then make results achievement transfer through technological market or other places, to make students experience and feel the startup during the transfer of technological achievements.

4. To Strengthen the Construction of Related Security System

Establish and improve innovation entrepreneurship education organization leading institutions. To actively promote innovation entrepreneurship education, make its be accepted in the broader field, can be carried out in a more profound level, schools must establish and improve the party leaders by your school as soon as possible, the experts, the relevant functional departments and various teaching unit head of the school innovation entrepreneurship education leading group, and in all the teaching units and student entrepreneurship practice unit set up the corresponding branch, so as to guide and lead the school and the field of entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial activity.

Of the United Nations educational, scientific and cultural organization as soon as possible to specifically innovation entrepreneurship into various professional talent training scheme, the innovation of entrepreneurship education into the teaching of school education goals, the innovation entrepreneurship education course and public foundation courses, professional foundation courses, professional disciplines and school-wide general education course, on the basis of the organic combination of the teaching content of courses, subject courses and specialized courses in public teaching permeate the concept and contents of entrepreneurship education (Li, 2004) .

Establish innovative startup hubs and achievements incubators. Schools should actively the construction of teaching base, innovative undertaking innovation experimental base, the social practice base and registered training base, and on the basis of teaching and research park create students’ science and technology development of startup hubs (Mu, 2006) . Actively encourage students to set up a variety of student entrepreneurship institute, efforts to create a full, whole process, the omni-directional innovation entrepreneurship education system.

To strengthen the construction of MTCSOL entrepreneurial faculty. Appropriate to introduce innovative entrepreneurship education talent, strengthen teachers creative ability training, hired well-known outside innovation entrepreneurship education specialist courses in business, build a MTCSOL combining creative faculty.

5. Colleges and Universities to Carry out the Significance of Entrepreneurship Education Teaching mode

Through the connotation analysis of the startup education, the introduction of basic mode and the discussion of innovation of startups education mode, it can be seen that the training mode of business startups education that takes investigative study as the foundation, project as guide, task as drive, case analysis as profoundity, startup drilling as supplementation, can effectively solve the drawbacks that the students in school can’t link their startups education theory with the practice, can increase students’ interest in business startup, deepen students’ think, make students further understand the specific problems and difficulties that startups will face, and finally help students find their defects and problems in their business startups (Li, 2011) . Therefore, the construction of innovative teaching modes in startups education has significant direction and reference for the colleges and universities to develop teaching reform.

References