Mapping the engagement of alumni organisations in entrepreneurship education and support at UK universities

• Published in: The international journal of management education 2022-07, Vol.20 (2), p.100648, Article 100648
• Main Authors: Baroncelli, Alessandro, Bolzani, Daniela, Landoni, Matteo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic entrepreneurship; Alumni; Alumni organisations; Entrepreneurial universities; Entrepreneurship clubs; Entrepreneurship education
• ISSN: 1472-8117
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijme.2022.100648

Alumni have a growing role in supporting entrepreneurship education in universities, but there is scant evidence about their actual engagement with these initiatives. We explored the alumni organisations affiliated to the 162 higher education institutions in the UK to provide insights into their activities in academic entrepreneurship and to understand whether the prevalence of their engagement with these activities is linked to parental higher education institution (HEI) characteristics and regional characteristics. Alumni organisations help their members to access networks of their peers to generate career, mentoring and role-modelling opportunities. Only around 18% of alumni organisations engage in activities to foster entrepreneurship by providing awards and funding and organising networked communities and events. In addition, alumni can also be involved individually in entrepreneurship clubs. Entrepreneurship support activities are more prevalent in alumni organisations affiliated to larger, more resource-rich HEIs that have developed a culture of entrepreneurship and technology transfer. Regional contexts are not relevant for alumni organisations engaging or not in providing entrepreneurship support activities. We discuss future research opportunities to investigate the antecedents, processes and outcomes of engaging alumni organisations in academic entrepreneurship and the policy implications for universities investing in peer support to build their entrepreneurial ecosystems. •We explore the activities carried out by alumni organisations to support entrepreneurship at their parent universities.•We study the prevalence of alumni engagement into entrepreneurship support as linked to university or regional characteristics.•We study 169 alumni organisations affiliated to the 162 higher education institutions in the UK in 2017.•Around 18% of alumni organisations sustain entrepreneurship through awards and funding, networked communities and events.•Entrepreneurship support by alumni organisations is stronger in larger, resource-richer HEIs and commercially-focused HEIs.