2023 EDHE Entrepreneurship Learning and Teaching Excellence Awards

Round one entries open Friday, 26 May 2023 – closing Monday 31 July 2023

Innovation and entrepreneurship skills are important issues that need to be mastered today to produce an effective 21st-century society. Some universities offer degrees or other courses in these subjects, whilst others incorporate these topics in a variety of different degrees. But whatever approach the university takes these topics are quite challenging to teach, and also difficult to research. Courses and modules on these subjects are often quite theoretical and often they neither deliver the practical knowhow required nor do they inspire our students to become innovators or entrepreneurs.  Fortunately, some good work is being done in this field in various parts of the world and this annual competition highlights such initiatives.

If you are involved in the teaching of innovation and/or entrepreneurship, we invite you to participate in the 2nd EDHE Learning and Teaching Excellence Awards to showcase new ideas and new approaches for teaching innovation and entrepreneurship in higher education.

Applicants wishing to participate in the awards must be affiliated to a South African Higher Education Institution, and must first submit a 250-word abstract of an innovative credit-bearing programme, module or initiative at their institution. These abstracts will be adjudicated and shortlisted, following which the successful applicants selected into Round 2 will be required to draft a 6000-word case study describing their programme and its outcomes. During the final round in November the top finalists will be invited to deliver a 10-minute presentation to a panel of judges, followed by the announcement of the top 3 and overall winner at the annual EDHE Awards event in Johannesburg on the 1st of December 2023.

Important Note: This abstract is not intended for students; it is specifically directed towards academics and support professionals who have personally developed an entrepreneurship module, programme, or course.

General Enquiries

The Application Process

Round 1: Abstract Submission and Initial Reviewer Screening

Deadline: 11:59 pm on Friday 14 July 2023

Review period: 17 July – 21 July 2023

Shortlisted applicants will be notified between 24 – 28  July 2023, and proceed to Round 2.

All Round 1 submissions must include a structured abstract describing their entrepreneurship initiative/programme, following the format outlined below. The abstract should not exceed 250 words, including keywords.

These six sub-headings and their accompanying explanations must always be included:

  1. The title of the programme/module or initiative, including the targeted entrepreneurs
  2. Purpose of the programme/module or initiative for the targeted audience
  3. What problem(s) is this initiative trying to address?
  4. The criteria used to screen applicants/youth entrepreneurs (if any)
  5. Strategies to encourage the inclusion of diverse candidates (if any)
  6. The infrastructure/support provided by the institution.

Round 2: Case Study Submission And Peer Review

Following the initial review of submissions, an abstract may be selected for consideration as an expanded case study to be published in a book provisionally entitled “An Anthology of South African Entrepreneurship Learning and Teaching”. All case studies will be double-blind reviewed.

Opening Tuesday 1 August 2023 – closing Friday 15 September 2023

Review period: 18 September – 2 October 2023

Short-listed submissions will be asked to submit a 6 000-word structured case study.

Submissions must be professionally language-edited, and structured under the following headings:

  1. The title and mandate of the Programme/Module or Initiative, including the targeted young entrepreneurs
  2. What sustainability problem(s) is this initiative trying to address?
  3. The criteria used to screen applicants/youth entrepreneurs for participation in the programme
  4. Strategies to encourage the inclusion of diverse candidates
  5. The infrastructure/support provided by the institution
  6. Links to other entrepreneurship activities within the institution
  7. A description of the ecosystem of the initiative
  8. The performance of the Programme/Module/Initiative so far, including any ratings by participants
  9. The challenges that were encountered
  10. Plans to further develop/improve the initiative
  11. ANNEXURE A: Learning objectives.

Round 3

Authors will be notified of the peer-review results by 13 October 2023.

Top 10 Presentations, 23 – 27 October 2023.

The Top Ten finalists will be required to make a ten-minute presentation, supported by a three-minute video, between 23 – 27 October 2023. Following these presentations, the top three cases will be invited to attend and announced at the annual EDHE Awards event on 1 December 2023.