PhD in Entrepreneurship and Innovativeness University of Osijek

Starting the international inter-university interdisciplinary postgraduate (doctoral) study Entrepreneurship and Innovativeness was stimulated by the need for the creation of competitive knowledge necessary for strengthening the proactive and innovative capacity of individuals and society in facing and managing changes. The study is the result of the TEMPUS Joint European Project International Centre for Entrepreneurial Studies (CD_JEP-41014-2006), which was realized by Josip Juraj Strossmayer University in Osijek, Croatia; University of Turku, Finland; University of Maribor, Slovenia; University of Klagenfurt, Austria and Durham University, the United Kingdom in the 2007-2009 period.

The primary goal of the doctoral program Entrepreneurship and Innovativeness is building the capacity for researching the phenomenon of entrepreneurship. Besides it, building educational capacity at all levels of education for entrepreneurship competencies requires creating a critical mass of educators capable to work across campus, across curricula at different educational levels, from primary to tertiary, and the doctoral program is promoting such an approach.

Our values

• Questioning everything, everyone
• Be tolerant to different opinions, but challenge them
• Learning from each other’s experience
• Sharing (knowledge, contacts)
• Developing a learning community (honest, open)

Openness of the study and mobility of students

Considering the interdisciplinary character of entrepreneurship, which can be defined in the narrow (within social sciences) or the broader sense (as cognitive science within the interdisciplinary area of science), doctoral study Entrepreneurship and Innovativeness is open to everyone interested to contribute to the hybridization of knowledge, and thus develop competence for an innovative approach to diagnosing and solving problems.

Since five universities (Osijek, Turku, Durham, Maribor, and Klagenfurt) participated in the development of the concept of the program, students are given the opportunity to, without payment of tuition, on the principle of reciprocity, use teaching and research resources of partner universities, on the basis of the signed Agreement of Co-operation between universities.

The study program is expressed through ECTS credits, which will enable the mobility of the students of the program, transfer of points, or accumulation of points within the system of lifelong learning.

Regardless of the organization of the study (full-time or part-time), doctoral candidates are obligated to acquire the same number and structure of ECTS points and achieve the same learning outcomes.

Individual courses/seminars/workshops can be enrolled into by doctoral candidates from other studies or by non-doctoral students, if they fulfill conditions for enrolment in this level of study, and can obtain a certificate on fulfillment of the required conditions for the course/seminar/workshop in question.

Upon completing the doctoral study Entrepreneurship and Innovativeness students will possess the knowledge and skills required for independent and team research work in the interdisciplinary scientific field within social sciences and be able to participate in the global scientific discussion on entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial competences, entrepreneurship education, and innovativeness, by

• Demonstrating possession of systematic knowledge about the fundamental determinants of entrepreneurial behaviour and relevant areas on which that behaviour depends
• Qualification to use theories and conceptual frameworks for dissemination of research results
• Application of ethical principles in designing and implementing research and presentation of research results
• Ability to the critical synthesis of scientific literature
• To be qualified for the selection, application, and interpretation of adequate research methods and techniques
• The ability to contextualize scientific knowledge with the aim of identification of the research problem
• The ability to conduct open, objective, and critical analysis and valuation of new and other people’s scientific ideas and results
• The ability to prepare proposals for the financing of the research work; managing projects and research teams
• The ability to disseminate research results to the scientific and general public

General competencies that are acquired include:

• Greater flexibility in dealing with change and the ability to continuous improvement (potential for learning)
• The ability to assume responsibility and solve problems (leadership potential)

The study program includes on-site and/or virtual classes, individual scientific-research work on the doctoral dissertation, and elective scientific and teaching activities. The study lasts three years (six semesters). Each student gains at least 180 ECTS credits.

Out of a total of 180 ECTS credits

• 60 ECTS credits are gained through classes, out of which 39 ECTS credits through obligatory courses and 21 ECTS credits through elective courses
• 90 ECTS credits are gained through individual scientific-research work focused on the doctoral dissertation
• 30 ECTS credits are gained through scientific activities and teaching

Class activities (60 ECTS)

Classes are divided into 3 semesters during which theoretical and methodological bases for understanding entrepreneurship and innovativeness are acquired.

In the first semester, students attend two obligatory courses focused on theoretical foundations of entrepreneurship and innovativeness and one obligatory workshop with which they gain a minimum of 23 ECTS credits.

During the second semester, students gain basic knowledge about the methodology of research work, through two obligatory courses (a minimum of 16 ECTS).

During the third semester of study, students have the possibility to choose between many elective courses and/or workshops/seminars, with which they deepen their interdisciplinary approach to entrepreneurship and innovativeness (21 ECTS) and profile their own research interests.

Research activities focused on the doctoral dissertation (90 ECTS)

Students are working on their research topics from the very beginning and, in collaboration with the potential mentor/supervisor of doctoral work, submit their proposal for a doctoral dissertation. Work on the doctoral dissertation includes a selection of the research topic, writing the research proposal (20 ECTS), public defense of the topic (20 ECTS), research activity conducted at own and/or other universities (especially the partners in the organization of this study) and writing the dissertation (40 ECTS), and public defense of the dissertation (10 ECTS). The dissertation is written in Croatian (with a summary in English) or English language.

The presentation of the research proposal of doctoral work is the pre-condition for enrolling in the fifth semester of the doctoral program.

Teaching and scientific activities (30 ECTS)

Students have to gain 30 ECTS credits through various teaching and scientific activities, with which they strengthen their teaching and/or research competencies (publishing papers in secondary cited publications, presenting papers at conferences, participating in educational activities of undergraduate, graduate, and/or specialist classes).

Structure of the program

The program is structured around:

• Theoretical foundations of entrepreneurship and innovativeness
• Methodology of entrepreneurial research
• Three concentrations:
  • Technopreneurship
  • Effectuation, learning organization, and human resources
  • Entrepreneurial finance and venture funds

The first semester is focused on the theoretical foundations of entrepreneurship (psychological, economic, technological, sociological), and understanding the connection between innovativeness and entrepreneurship. It is expected that students will receive a wide conceptual framework within which they will recognize the theoretical evolution of entrepreneurship, and have a critical approach to different schools of thought in that area.

The second semester is focused on the methodology of scientific research, i.e., qualitative (with a special emphasis on a case study, ethnographic research, oral history, grounded theory, etc.) and quantitative methods of research, relevant to the area of entrepreneurship, and on an understanding of personal development during the work on the doctoral dissertation, also encompassing the ethics of scientific research.

The third semester provides the opportunity for choosing the direction of deepening the understanding between technology, human resources, the financial dimension of entrepreneurial activity, and many other aspects of entrepreneurship (Triple Helix, Family Business, Sustainable Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Universities, etc.).