There is a well recognised desire to encourage enterprise and entrepreneurial thinking in university students, however core or mandatory provision has the potential to dilute the enthusiasm or engagement in enterprise. This paper reflects on the choice to offer optional (elective) enterprise modules to STEM students at Undergraduate (level 6) and Masters level (level 7). In STEM programmes, enterprise or entrepreneurship subjects are often elective options alongside their core academic studies, with much variability in delivery methods and source materials used throughout undergraduate and postgraduate education. This means appealing to a self-selecting cohort with either interest in an alternative direction to ‘pure-science’, or individuals with an aim of creating an impact. With high levels of interaction between educators, industry case studies and learners, a dynamic learning environment is created, with positive outcomes for satisfaction and employability. A qualitative longitudinal study and ethnographic consideration of the individuals who have chosen to engage in enterprise-based elements indicates that initial exposure to curriculum-based enterprise can deepen their understanding of ideation, commercial bioscience, and innovation, leading to discipline-based recognition of value. Although a limited proportion of students go on to be entrepreneurs in the form of company founders, they often cite their enterprise education experience as impactful and frequently allude to skills or experience as intrinsic to their intrapreneurial activities and roles with the organisations they end up working with.

人们普遍希望鼓励大学生具有企业和创业思维，但核心或强制性规定有可能稀释对企业的热情或参与度。本文反映了选择为本科（6 级）和硕士（7 级）的 STEM 学生提供可选（选修）企业模块。在 STEM 课程中，企业或创业科目通常是核心学术研究之外的选修课，在整个本科和研究生教育中使用的授课方法和原始材料存在很大差异。这意味着吸引对 “纯科学 ”的替代方向感兴趣的自我选择的群体，或者以产生影响为目标的个人。通过教育工作者、行业案例研究和学习者之间的高度互动，创造了一个充满活力的学习环境，在满意度和就业能力方面取得了积极成果。对选择参与基于企业元素的个人的定性纵向研究和人种学考虑表明，最初接触基于课程的企业可以加深他们对构思、商业生物科学和创新的理解，从而获得基于学科的价值认可。尽管有限比例的学生以公司创始人的形式继续成为企业家，但他们经常认为他们的企业教育经历是有影响力的，并经常暗示他们的内部创业活动和在他们最终合作的组织中的角色所固有的技能或经验。