ICT Entrepreneurship Model: A New Approach for Information Technology Bachelor Education

This article describes experiences from developing and utilizing team learning and entrepreneurship environment (TLE) in information technology bachelor education in a Finnish University of Applied Sciences. In this study eleven ICT students (called teampreneurs) and their studying during the first year was observed. Our aim was to identify the main challenges of this first team. We used a mixed method approach in our study together with theme-based interviews and direct and participative observation as data collection methods. According to our findings the main challenge was difficulties to understand new team learning and teampreneurship principles. Teampreneurs were used to normal school learning where learning contents and goals are predefined. There were also misunderstandings and ambiguous expectations concerning both the coach's and the teampreneur's roles and responsibilities. We suggest that all these challenges are somehow related to overcoming fear. Teampreneurs were afraid of the nnew way of learning and its features. The rest of the article discusses the reasons for the fear and how to overcome it. We also outline the topics for further research.