Award winner 2021 - Slavica Singer, Croatia

The tenth European Entrepreneurship Education Award of SEK 100.000 is awarded to Professor Slavica Singer, J.J. Strossmayer University in Osijek, Croatia

The award committee´s citation

Professor Slavica Singer, J.J. Strossmayer University in Osijek, Croatia, has played a central role in the development of local and national entrepreneurship education and ecosystems in resource-scarce contexts. Throughout her career she has relentlessly sought to mobilise resources and worked to develop collaborative networks across Europe to advance entrepreneurship education as well as frameworks for entrepreneurial skills. She has been a strong promoter of young entrepreneurship scholars, and an important contributor to the community of entrepreneurship scholars in Europe. Given the invaluable impact on the development of entrepreneurship education both nationally and internationally, Slavica Singer is undoubtedly a worthy recipient of the 2021 European Entrepreneurship Educator Award.

Award winner 2020 - David Rae, U.K.

The ninth European Entrepreneurship Education Award of SEK 100.000 is awarded to Professor David Rae, De Montfort University, United Kingdom.

The award committee´s citation

Professor David Rae, De Montfort University, United Kingdom, has “connected the dots” through his expertise in entrepreneurial learning, as well as in entrepreneurial education, and in turn, has greatly advanced our understanding of how to teach entrepreneurship. He has done extensive and well-cited research drawing on entrepreneurs’ life stories, where he links the individual knowledge and social behaviour of the entrepreneur in relation to business opportunities. This work creates a novel basis for entrepreneurial learning. He has also published extensively on entrepreneurship education in different contexts.  Professor Rae is the boundary spanner between entrepreneurial learning and entrepreneurship education and in this important role, Professor David Rae is a worthy recipient of the 2020 European Entrepreneurship Education Award.

Award winner 2019 - Ulla Hytti, Finland

The eighth European Entrepreneurship Education Award of SEK 100.000 is awarded to Professor Ulla Hytti at Turku University, Finland.

The award committee´s citation:

Professor Ulla Hytti, Turku University, Finland, is today one of the most central pillars in the community of entrepreneurship education and an important driving force in the “machinery” to develop education and research in the field. She has a strong record of her own research and teaching related to the field. Additionally, she contributes to the field by supervising young PhD students and involving them in her research projects. She also contributes to increasing the quality of entrepreneurship education research as an editor, reviewer, developer of research networks, and initiator of international projects. Finally, she also contributes with a critical perspective on existing research within the field. Based on her different contributions to entrepreneurship education, Ulla Hytti is a worthy recipient of the 2019 European Entrepreneurship Educator Award

Award winner 2018 - Helle Neergaard and Per Blenker, Denmark

The seventh European Entrepreneurship Education Award of SEK 100.000 is awarded to Professor Helle Neergaard and Associate Professor Per Blenker at Aarhus University, Denmark.

The award committee´s citation:

Professor Helle Neergaard and Associate Professor Per Blenker at Aarhus University in Denmark are known for delivering constructive criticism on traditional forms of teaching entrepreneurship and for suggesting novel approaches to identify current and future needs. This genuine interest has manifested itself in the creation of the 3E Conference (ECSB’s Entrepreneurship Education Conference). Together, they have successfully made the 3E Conference into a leading arena for critical and stimulating discussions on entrepreneurship education, and have established a community of scholars involved in entrepreneurship education in Europe. In addition, Neergaard and Blenker’s joint cooperation in organising the 3E Conference clearly illustrates the collective dimension of entrepreneurial work which lately has been presented as an area that needs to be further explored.

Award winner 2017 - Colette Henry, Ireland

The sixth European Entrepreneurship Education Award of SEK 100.000 is awarded to Professor Colette Henry. 

The award committee´s citation:

Professor Colette Henry, Dundalk Institute of Technology, Ireland, has been an active international scholar of entrepreneurship for more than 25 years. Particularly, she has meant a great deal for the development of entrepreneurship education within the academic context but also to real entrepreneurs in rural areas and in low-tech sectors. In her teaching and research, she has demonstrated a particular interest in gender issues and been a pioneer in her work as editor of the International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship. In addition to her extensive qualifications, she has been involved in policy development in Ireland as well as for the EU Commission,  for the purpose of disseminating good practice in entrepreneurship education to different countries around Europe, among other things. Colette Henry has significantly contributed to entrepreneurship education both within and outside academia and is therefore a very worthy recipient of the European Entrepreneurship Education Award 2017.

Award winner 2016 - Paul Hannon, U.K.

The fifth European Entrepreneurship Education Award of SEK 100.000 is awarded to Professor Paul Hannon. 

The Award Committee’s citation:

Professor Paul Hannon of Swansea University in the U.K. has been working to promote entrepreneurship, and especially entrepreneurship education, in the university and policy systems for 35 years. He has done this through excellent teaching skills, innovative course design and insightful research, and has been a driving force for policy development. Over the past 10 years he has had a crucial role in the development of the entrepreneurial university concept in Europe. Everyone who has met Paul has been touched by his passion for entrepreneurship and how it can change lives and revitalise regions. His innovative ideas have influenced entrepreneurship education positively all over Europe and elsewhere, and he is a very worthy recipient of the European Entrepreneurship Education Award.

Award winner 2015 - Bengt Johannisson, Sweden

The fourth European Entrepreneurship Education Award of SEK 100.000 is awarded to Professor Bengt Johannisson. 

The Award Committee’s citation:

"For some time, Professor Bengt Johannisson, Linnaeus University in Sweden, has played a key role in the development of Entrepreneurship education in Europe. He was one of the first to introduce academic programmes and courses in Entrepreneurship. These  programmes and courses integrated his strong interest in entrepreneurial practices and his deep theoretical understandings. Through his knowledge, curiosity, and commitment, Professor Johannisson  has stimulated and provoked entrepreneurship students and scholars for decades. In his writings,  Professor Johannisson has contributed to our knowledge of the contents in Entrepreneurship courses and the pedagogical approaches in Entrepreneurship education. It should also be highlighted that Professor Johannisson is the only scholar that has received the Global Award for Entrepreneurship Research for his research contributions on Entrepreneurship and the European Entrepreneurship Education Award for his education achievements."

Award winner 2014 - Paula Kyrö, Finland

The third European Entrepreneurship Education Award of SEK 100.000 is awarded to Professor Paula Kyrö.

The Award Committee’s citation:

“Professor Paula Kyrö, Aalto University in Finland, is one of the pioneers in entrepreneurship education research. Having a double doctorate in Economics and Education, she has been fundamental as a “boundary spanner” in bridging pedagogy and entrepreneurship not only taking pedagogy to entrepreneurship but also emphasizing that entrepreneurship can be regarded as a pedagogic form. Kyrö has also been expanding our theoretical frameworks on entrepreneurship education by introducing new theories and concepts into the field, such as “conation”, “axiology”, and “praxeology”. In addition to her scientific contributions, Kyrö has for a long time been active in creating an academic community in the field of entrepreneurship education and inspired a lot of PhD students becoming interested in entrepreneurship education research and as entrepreneurship teachers.”

Award winner 2013 - Alain Fayolle, France

The second European Entrepreneurship Education Award of SEK 100.000 is awarded to Professor Alain Fayolle.

The Award Committee’s citation:

“Professor Alain Fayolle, EM Lyon Business School in France, has been fundamental in building a community of scholars in Europe with an interest in entrepreneurship education and training. In this respect, he has personally shown entrepreneurial leadership as the creator of the Entrepreneurship Centre at EM Lyon. He has also been active in organizing seminars and academic networks in the field of entrepreneurship education for doctoral students in Europe, and is the founder of scientific journals on entrepreneurship in the French speaking countries. Professor Fayolle plays an important role in synthesizing our knowledge on entrepreneurship education; for example, he is the editor of the Handbook of Research in Entrepreneurial Education Series. It is without a doubt, that Professor Alain Fayolle is one of the leading scholars in Europe for entrepreneurship education and teaching.”

Award winner 2012 - Allan Gibb, England

Allan Gibb, Professor Emeritus at the University of Durham, England, was awarded the first European Entrepreneurship Education Award. The prize of SEK 100.000, founded by Sten K. Johnson Centre for Entrepreneurship, was awarded Gibb for his pioneering work within entrepreneurship education at European universities.

The prize was awarded the winner at the European Entrepreneurship Education Workshop of 2012.