Study Guide

Description

The Entrepreneurship and Team Leadership degree program at TAMK is implemented through Proakatemia. Proakatemia is an learning environment formed by cooperative enterprises founded by team entrepreneurs, where entrepreneurship, teamwork, and leadership skills are developed through real business projects. Students act as team entrepreneurs in a company established with Proakatemia members throughout their studies, graduating as Bachelors of Business Administration with the ability and courage to start and run a business, along with experience in self and team management.

Entrepreneurship and Employability of Graduates

The Entrepreneurship and Team Leadership degree program produces innovative and responsible expertise in entrepreneurship and team leadership. At Proakatemia, students have the opportunity to acquire the knowledge, skills, and networks to pursue entrepreneurship immediately upon graduation. In 2023, nearly half of the graduates (46%, based on AVOP feedback) continued or started their own businesses. The learning framework is based on a team-based company (cooperative) founded and owned by the students. Collaboration with businesses, as well as domestic and international contacts within the alumni network, facilitates transitioning into the workforce during studies.

Structure of Education and Skills Attained

The first year focuses on "From Projects to Business." Students undertake three authentic customer projects, learning project and business skills, teamwork, leadership, and self-awareness. Alongside project work, business expertise is strengthened through seven courses (35 credits) providing theoretical knowledge to support practical application. The fourth project involves establishing their own team company.

The second year emphasizes strengthening team company operations and expanding the customer network. Internships initiated in the second year are conducted within the student's own team company as business client projects. In the third year, learners are encouraged to engage in innovative, daring experiments and projects mapping future opportunities.

Implementation of Coaching

Proakatemia's pedagogy is based on coaching and team learning. Learning at Proakatemia requires presence and active participation. Key learning methods include dialogue, reading professional literature, writing essays and other reflective outputs, seminars, innovation tasks, and customer projects. Learning demands activity and initiative. Students regularly align their studies with a continually updated learning agreement. Each team has an appointed coach who supports both team and individual development and learning.

Objectives

The Entrepreneurship and Team Leadership degree programme produces innovative and responsible expertise in entrepreneurship and team leadership. At Proakatemia, students can acquire the knowledge, skills, and networks to pursue entrepreneurship immediately upon graduation. In 2023, nearly half of the graduates (46 %, based on AVOP feedback) continued or started their own businesses. Collaboration with businesses and domestic and international Proakatemia contacts as well as with the alumni network during studies facilitates a smooth transition into the workforce after graduation.

Curriculum development and working life cooperation

At Proakatemia, the learning framework is based on a team-based company (cooperative) founded and owned by the students. Thus, the students are in continuing contact with business life through the projects they execute in their team company. They actively develop both their own business and the activities of the Proakatemia community. The theses of Proakademia students are conducted for companies and they produce new information for business life and contribute to the development of the industry.