Tools for creating an entrepreneurial mindset

"We talk a whole lot about entrepreneurship at AVP. But what does being an entrepreneur mean, exactly? Maybe you think it means pouring your soul into a dream you have been working on for countless nights. Perhaps it is a bunch of bright young things planning on making a trillion dollars with a swift exit. Or maybe it is just an ordinary job, with a touch of added freedom. Whatever you might think entrepreneurship sounds and looks like, it may be true in some form. However, the odds are that it is much more than that. We certainly believe entrepreneurship — and an entrepreneur — can be a lot of things. 

To us, being an entrepreneur means more than just becoming a founder. Being an entrepreneur is finding solutions where others see only problems, going boldly where no one has gone before, and taking responsibility and ownership of your actions. In other words, we consider entrepreneurship to be a way of thinking and doing, not just an occupation.  

And those ways of thinking and doing can be learned and taught. Regardless of their current or future occupation, anyone can benefit from possessing entrepreneurial capabilities. In a rapidly changing world, it is exceedingly important to be self-directed, to understand what problems are essential to solve and to have the capacity to find innovative solutions for them. 

This is one of our biggest goals at AVP. We want to provide all university students with the tools to build and learn like an entrepreneur. This is why, together with Kiuas, Maki.vc, and Reaktor we created Starting Up, a free online course covering the basics of startup entrepreneurship through concrete tips and real examples. 

Additionally, we’ve recently been shifting some of our resources to integrating entrepreneurship into courses outside AVP. When entrepreneurship is brought to the context of environmental engineering or architecture, or any other subject, it can feel more approachable to the students of these fields, as problems related to one’s field often feel more relevant. However, the tools and ideas used in both fields are often more or less the same. Those tools and ideas — and how they are used — are what make an entrepreneurial person, not what they do for a living. 

When we look at entrepreneurship from this perspective, it’s no longer something only a select few are capable of. Anyone can be a builder of something innovative and new. We’re here to help you find your tools." 

– Tommi Byman, Coordinator, Aalto Ventures Program