Border-less Classroom, an Experiential Approach to Entrepreneurial Education: A Pilot Study in Enhancing Chinese Students Entrepreneurial Skills

Abstract

The global economy is embracing more international collaboration as technology and communication have linked countries and made the world smaller. Business and government collaborations are not alone, institutions of higher education around the world have also moving closer to each other through varied cooperative programs. Some institutions of higher education are experimenting with new approaches to learning and teaching through a technology enhanced delivery method.

This paper offers an outcome assessment of a new method of an experimental/experiential pilot study where students from a university in Guangdong, China have created a small learning community and learned via WebEx technology varied topics in entrepreneurship including finance, management, and marketing. Facilitated by two faculty members from a private university in Southern California and a faculty member in Guangdong province, students were able to create a business plan, get a starting capital, started a small business, sold varied cosmetics’ products, and made some money. The paper concluded that border-less cooperation coordinated through a web technology based delivery method helped make education relevant to students' understanding of the subject of entrepreneurship as well as helped motivated them to succeed as the U.S. faculty shared their entrepreneurial knowledge. Based on quantitative analysis of the results coupled with students’ testimonials, the paper suggests that this border-less experiential learning collaboration has positive outcomes to students.