Work

Science, Fiction, and Entrepreneurship: Teaching Bold Futures Thinking for Entrepreneurial Action Today

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This paper introduces a learning innovation that merges science fiction with entrepreneurship education to encourage bold, futures-oriented thinking and entrepreneurial action today. Developed for master’s level students at a public research-oriented university, this learning innovation promotes the exploration of distant futures, leveraging established tools from futures studies within an entrepreneurial context. Through a structured five-step process, students shift their focus from cognitively proximate futures to those that radically diverge from the present, enabling them to conceive of innovative ventures. The learning innovation thus fosters performative futures thinking, engaging in speculative science fiction authoring, and utilizing backcasting to translate visionary futures into immediate entrepreneurial actions. Over three yearly iterations, the learning innovation has demonstrated its effectiveness in broadening students’ imaginative capabilities and improving their capacity to act upon fictional expectations. This paper reflects on the outcomes, student feedback, and potential applications of the learning innovation in various educational and corporate settings.

Source: Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy

DOI: 10.1177/25151274251374657

Authors: Leif Brändle, Andreas Kuckertz

Institution: University of Hohenheim

Language: English

Topic: Entrepreneurship Studies and Influences

Subfield: Management of Technology and Innovation

Field: Business, Management and Accounting

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Quality education

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,400