The international ENDURANCE project has mapped the links between sport and entrepreneurship and has developed new innovative educational solutions. Online training material was developed in the project to improve and promote entrepreneurship education and vocational training in the vocational education and training ecosystem.
The ENDURANCE project had eight partners from seven countries. It consisted of four different outputs, the main ones being the comprehensive mapping of key results reports and an online training material package containing eight different modules. These training modules were designed using mapping results and the European Entrepreneurship Skills Framework (Entrecomp) for background guidelines.
Introduction
For centuries, sport has been the most popular recreational activity and an important part of society. Entrepreneurship has also been part of societies for a long time, helping people to develop socially and economically. The role of entrepreneurship in the EU is greater than ever due to today’s socio-economic challenges. New forms of entrepreneurship are emerging, while sport is playing an increasing role in society. The links between sport and entrepreneurship are numerous but often overlooked and rarely exploited. This is the case in many sectors, particularly in vocational education and training.
Karelia UAS has been one of eight partners from seven countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Finland, Italy, Slovakia and Spain) in the international ENDURANCE project – Entrepreneurial Capacity Building for Sport. The project “rethought” the teaching/training and learning of entrepreneurship based on the complementary features and commonalities between sport and entrepreneurship, such as determination, perseverance, self-confidence, stamina, respect for rules, team play, self-reliance, competition, success/failure, and so on.
The leading partner was Comenius University in Slovakia, and the project had the following
four intellectual outputs (with the responsible partner referenced):
- Establishing an online interactive OER platform for ENDURANCE training. (IWS Spain)
- Mapping the dynamics of sport and entrepreneurship, with the common traits and
links for sustainable careers for learners in VET and sport systems. (Comenius University,
Slovakia) - Developing custom-made ENDURANCE entrepreneurship training and tools. (KUAS Finland)
- Advancing entrepreneurship and sport discourse at the policy level with the ENDURANCE
Green Paper. (Bulsport Bulgaria)
The project was funded by Erasmus+. It officially started in November 2020 and ended in November 2022.
Mapping results
During 2021 the partners carried out a comprehensive mapping of the integration of sport and entrepreneurship and produced three different reports.
- ENDURANCE Report on Commonalities between Sport and Entrepreneurship
- ENDURANCE List of Recommendations and Success/Failure Factors (SFFs) in Linking Sports and Entrepreneurship
- ENDURANCE Academic Literature Review Executive Summary
The mapping reports summarise the above aspects into a set of findings on the common features and links between sport and entrepreneurship. Recommendations for learners and teachers in VET and sport systems were also produced during the mapping period. In making these recommendations, a combination of success and failure factors has been used to link sport and entrepreneurship to achieve sustainable careers. Every partner also produced case studies and good practice examples from every country.
During the ENDURANCE project, partners examined a number of academic sources and practical documents related to sport entrepreneurship, describing the links between these two fields. In addition, athletes were interviewed and several doctoral theses were studied. On this basis, partners developed a framework that highlighted the following five themes of commonality and connection between sport and entrepreneurship.
- Individual personality traits common in sport and entrepreneurship
Personality traits and cognitive characteristics that make athletes more likely to be inclined to consider entrepreneurship and that improve their chances of success in business. There are many similarities between sport and entrepreneurship in terms of the personality traits that both fields both promote and require. Athletes face many challenges during their careers that unknowingly prepare them for the world of entrepreneurship.
- Other individual-level fostering factors
These factors are mainly related to the individual’s personal and family background, networks, skills acquired during a sporting career, sport and discipline expertise, educational background and access to resources. In addition to personal characteristics, there are a number of individual-level variables that are strengthened through or result from sport and can be exploited in entrepreneurship.
- External supporting and triggering factors
Factors such as sport infrastructure and sport communities, policies and programmes, entrepreneurial climate and a favourable business environment, cultural and social norms, barriers to entrepreneurship and/or the transition from sport to entrepreneurship, or systems and initiatives that support entrepreneurship. The external environment and the factors that support and promote it are of course different in each country and may also vary at regional or local levels.
- Pedagogical approaches and education
The educational offerings in terms of content and pedagogy, such as examples of good practice in entrepreneurship education and training; availability of generic and tailored training provision; types of training; appropriate teaching methods and pedagogical approaches. From a pedagogical and educational point of view, the link between sport and entrepreneurship is the best, but is not yet very close, especially in higher education.
- Connecting sport and entrepreneurship for social impact
How sport entrepreneurship contributes to social inclusion, maintaining social stability and peace, healthy leisure and social interaction, job creation and a positive local economy; how social business models can be transformed into commercial models; how traditional beneficiaries can be turned into customers.
Results and findings stemming from this evaluation are available for free and in various languages via the project’s official OER Platform under the Mapping section.
Endurance training modules
The main goal of the ENDURANCE project was to develop eight online training modules for the VET ecosystem. The following training modules were developed together with eight project partners. Karelia UAS coordinated the process.
Innovation skills – how to harness sport innovation in business
Athletes often have to be innovative, both in training and in competition. Innovation skills are an important part of sport. The same skills are a vital part of business, when planning your strategy and thinking about competitive advantage.
The essentials of project management for aspiring sport entrepreneurs
In the context of this training module, learners have the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the very essentials of project management (PM). PM is one of the most liquid and transversal business functions; it embraces a wide range of activities, capabilities and strategic priorities for business competitiveness and excellence.
Management and self-leadership
Nowadays, entrepreneurship and being an entrepreneur is something that may be considered a global phenomenon. The way that entrepreneurs engage with passion in the creation of a particular business venture is something worthy of all types of study and research.
A comprehensive introduction to marketing for aspiring sport entrepreneurs
The content of this module is designed to facilitate an introduction to topics and terminology that are common in established marketing theory and practice.
Digital skills
This module offers a training path for how to use digital skills to enhance your entrepreneurial spirit as a business athlete.
Finance and economics
This module includes basic concepts and calculations that need to be mastered to understand the field of finance and economics. When thinking about starting their own business and making a decision, athletes need to know certain financial fundamentals.
Branding
In this module, the learner goes through and learns the entire branding process, from how companies choose their brands and measure their effectiveness, to what strategies they use to keep a brand successful in today’s marketplace.
Setting up a business
This module covers some of the most important aspects related to setting up a business from a sport background.
Testing and validation process
Modules and training content were tested and validated in pilot version by partners with a total cohort of nearly 750 people (university students, new graduates, entrepreneurs-to-be, professionals and trainers, representatives of the entrepreneurship support network, etc.)
Feedback and impressions from participants were collected by all partners after each piloting session for fine-tuning actions and other recommended integrations. Final satisfaction feedback surveys gathered by the training staff of the organisations confirm the pedagogical reliability and great satisfaction among the target audience with the accuracy and ease of use of training material.
Discussion and conclusions
The ENDURANCE project was quite an effort at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Partners from seven countries were able to jointly build training content by working exclusively remotely. The partners met regularly in remote meetings and the development work was taken forward using a variety of collaborative tools on the internet. These tools became very familiar and their usefulness in a difficult time of crisis was enormous. One interesting fact that captures this peculiar period well is that partners were only able to meet for first time in person at the project’s closing meeting.
All in all, partners were very satisfied with the outcome of the project and the materials produced. Cultural and working differences between countries brought several challenges to the work, but all’s well that ends well. The process was well planned from the beginning and the roles of all partners were crystal clear. Good planning made it possible to put the ENDURANCE puzzle together and a functional entity was achieved.
At the end of the project, it could be said that one thing is certain; top sport and entrepreneurship have a lot in common and the natural extension of a sporting career is entrepreneurship. In practice, however, to fit studies into a serious sporting career is often very difficult, if not impossible. Top-level sport is a full-time job and existing study paths are difficult for athletes to complete.
The results of the ENDURANCE project do not offer a philosopher’s stone to this problem, but hopefully the materials produced by the project will inspire and help athletes to realise that the strengths they have in their sporting careers can be an advantage in an entrepreneurial career. From an educational perspective, it is clear that a completely new approach needs to be found to smooth the transition from sport to entrepreneurship for top athletes. Educational institutions around the globe will have to meet this challenge in the near future and ENDURANCE reports and online training materials can be helpful in this process.
Author:
Harri Mielonen, Project Manager, Lecturer/Team Coach, Karelia University of Applied Sciences / Business Academy
References:
ENDURANCE 2021. Report on Commonalities between Sport and Entrepreneurship. https://www.enduranceproject.eu/pdf/ENDURANCE_IO2T1_aggregated_report_FINAL.pdf 1.10.2022.
ENDURANCE 2021. List of Recommendations and Success/Failure Factors (SFFs) in Linking Sports and Entrepreneurship. https://www.enduranceproject.eu/pdf/ENDURANCE_IO2T2_Recommendations_&_SFFs_FINAL.pdf 26.9.2022.
The European Entrepreneurship Competence Framework. https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1317&langId=en