The sustainability of enterprise education: A case study in Hong Kong

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce a case of an increasingly popular enterprise education programme in Hong Kong called the Teen Entrepreneurs Competition (TEC) and to examine its sustainability in different dimensions. Design/methodology/approach – Post-activity evaluation feedback was obtained from the participants and the stakeholders of the activity. Three systematic research studies were also conducted for investigating the impact of entrepreneurial characteristics and social interaction on the participants throughout TEC. Findings – Participants and stakeholders generally provided positive feedback towards TEC. The research findings also showed that TEC was able to draw a positive impact on developing the participants' entrepreneurial characters and in turn made TEC sustainable on the provision of an enterprise education programme in the local community. Research limitations/implications – It is suggested that the sustainability of TEC is attributed to three dimensions, namely, opportunities for individual comprehensive understanding, context for collaborative learning, and network for institutional support. Practical implications – Suggestions on how to further strengthen the sustainability of enterprise education programmes through these three dimensions are provided, for example, maximising individuals' practical experience, improving the quality of collaboration and developing a closer working relationship with various stakeholders. Originality/value – Enterprise education is recognised to have a significant influence on the development of entrepreneurial knowledge, skills and attitudes for youths. In order to widen the impact of enterprise education in society, it is necessary to sustain such enterprise education programmes over an extended period of time. Copyright © 2007 Emerald Group Publishing Limited.