The entrepreneurial university: an exploration of “value-creation” in a non-management department

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to highlight the strategies undertaken by “entrepreneurial” universities to leverage their bottom-line especially in response to withdrawals of public funding. Internationalisation has been the most prominent from setting-up overseas branch campuses to aggressive recruitment drives for international students, and more recently, the launch of new programmes to attract a wider market. Design/methodology/approach Based on a documentary analysis, this study explores the future of curriculum development in entrepreneurial universities, using narratives around an “unconventional course” launch as a case illustration. Findings The findings reveal an interesting interaction of innovation, opportunity recognition, risk taking and pro-activeness at play within a university environment. The study also highlights how instructors have, in the past, based their syllabi on celebrities – from the Georgetown University to the University of South Carolina, University of Missouri and Rutgers University cutting across departments from English through sociology to Women’s and Gender Studies. Practical implications Overall this study captures the relationship between hip-hop artistry and poetry, as well as meeting the demands of society – societal impacts – not the least, bringing “street cred” into the classroom. Social implications The case illustration of a course launch at the University of Missouri linking hip-hop artists to curriculum development and pedagogy, opens up the discourse on the future trajectory of teaching and learning in higher education, with its attendant social implications – not the least for life after graduation. Originality/value This study provides fresh insights into the entrepreneurial potential of universities in co-branded/marketing activities with the hip-hop industry.