MEGE--An Educational Partnership Supporting Migrant Entrepreneurship

Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach, University of Georgia and the Institute of Higher Education. Treanor House, 1234 South Lumpkin Street, Athens, GA 30602. Tel: 706-542-6167; Fax: 706-542-6124; e-mail: jheoe@uga.edu; Web site: http://openjournals.libs.uga.edu/index.php/jheoe

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Entrepreneurship; Partnerships in Education; Expertise; Immigrants; Professional Personnel; Foreign Nationals; Program Descriptions; Program Effectiveness; Business; Foreign Countries; Profiles; Individual Development; Networks; Social Integration; Resilience (Psychology); Sustainability; Public Policy; Adults; Adult Education

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This article describes the implementation and lessons learned from MEGE--Multicultural Encounters, Growth and Entrepreneurship, an educational project aimed at better utilizing the expertise of migrant communities and international professionals in Finland, to foster entrepreneurship among those who migrate or return to the country from abroad. The 3-year project helped build bridges between communities by connecting different educational institutions and bringing together migrant communities and actors in the local entrepreneurship ecosystem. The resulting entrepreneurship training package was developed in cooperation with migrant participants and was offered free of cost to all international professionals, regardless of employment/residence status or cultural background. Key lessons learned suggest that the impact of such programs should be understood broadly, and that best results can be achieved by considering entrepreneurship education as both a service and a community. Such programs should contribute to participants' business acumen and bring together migrants and members of local entrepreneurship ecosystems.

As Provided

2022

EJ1342696