The Entrepreneurship SeAMK in the curricula

Trends of change in society, technology, companies’ operational environments, and business models are intertwined. This manifests itself, for instance, in changes in careers and in the forms and content of work in both the public and private sectors.  The changes are similar in both sectors, which blurs the boundary between the public and private sectors and even makes their functions partially overlapping.

In future working life, it will be increasingly common, irrespective of the line of business and professional field, to work consecutively and partly simultaneously in both the public and private sectors. Moreover, full-time and part-time entrepreneurship may alternate during the life span. In practice, this means a significant increase in the need for multi-professionalism and multi-professional competencies, which can most flexibly be achieved in the form of entrepreneurial competencies.

The primary aim of the Entrepreneurial Seam is not to increase the number of companies; for this purpose, the actual field-related courses may be more suited. The aim of the Seam is to help the student understand the essential and growing role of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial activities in society. It is most important that the University of Applied Sciences equip students to realize and recognize the above-mentioned factors of change in their own fields, school them to see connections with other professional fields, and prepare them for the building of their personal competencies, which will allow them to face the changes of working life with success. The student is given attitudinal capabilities, and, at will, helped to establish an enterprise while still studying.

Studies in entrepreneurial competencies start at the beginning of the student’s studies as SeAMK’s common basic studies in entrepreneurship, and they will go on throughout the student’s studies. All the first-year students also participate in the SeAMK Innovation Week, during which, following the design thinking approach, the students work on real working-life commissions. Later on, the Entrepreneurship Seam is present in the Basic and Professional Studies of the different Degree Programmes in such a way that the student will understand the presence of entrepreneurship in all the everyday and field-specific functions. Furthermore, it is important that they understand the effects of their own actions. Moreover, it is important that the student know what organizations participate in the production of the practical services, products, and tools in Finland and globally, a topic dealt with on the courses. It is also useful to understand the trends of change and future challenges of the business and professional field in question. Matters related to entrepreneurship can also be applied to the analysis of the mechanisms by which public-sector services and products arise and develop. Applying for the SeAMKPro multiprofessional project learning environment gives the student a remarkable chance to continue their familiarization with a multiprofessional and entrepreneurial course of action. The student can further develop their business idea at SeAMK Yritystalli.

Irrespective of the field, traineeship takes place at different companies and in multiprofessional contexts. In most cases, the commissioner of the thesis, too, is a company, regardless of their branch of activity.