Entrepreneurship in the Dual Engineering Training Curricula

Abstract

The study presents the new experiences of the dual training model in engineering education as a best practice example. This new model has been introduced recently in the Hungarian higher education and has become a focus of interest. The dual education students study in the institutional academic period together with the normal full-time students at their higher education institute, and parallel to their academic education they participate in the practical training. It gives the students an opportunity to join a specific training program at an enterprise. Being involved in specific “operational” practical tasks and project-oriented work enhances independent work, learning soft skills and experiencing the culture of work. Among all these knowledge areas entrepreneurship studies have been added to both the academic and the practical curriculum. Our aim is to present this new type of engineering education compared to the traditional curriculum, focusing on entrepreneurship studies. We highlight the contents of the academic curriculum and its practical contents at different enterprises. The present paper examines the difference in terms of the entrepreneurial knowledge and learning process between the dual and traditional students after participating for a year in these different educational models.