Crowdfunding in Higher Education: A Classroom Exercise for Knowledge Application and Transfer

Amanda da Cunha Panis, Universidade de Brasília
Carlos Denner dos Santos, University of Brasilia
Júnio Borges Silva Silva, Universidade de Brasília

Abstract

This classroom exercise outlines a project created for an undergraduate course that deals with the economic and social aspects of entrepreneurship through a ‘strategic lens’. The activity asks the students to prepare a crowdfunding campaign for their university, having previously identified a relevant problem on campus. The problem identification is based on a field research within the university, where students gain a better understanding of the challenges of problems that disrupt this type of organization. To finance and implement their proposed solutions, a crowdfunding campaign is launched, giving the students the opportunity to expose their ideas to the market, work on publicity and communication with customers and suppliers. The crowdfunding exercise was considered a success from the instructors and students’ perspectives, based on the results of a survey that are presented. These results create opportunities for future research to understand the actual impacts these campaigns can have on students’ performance.

 

Crowdfunding in Higher Education: A Classroom Exercise for Knowledge Application and Transfer

This classroom exercise outlines a project created for an undergraduate course that deals with the economic and social aspects of entrepreneurship through a ‘strategic lens’. The activity asks the students to prepare a crowdfunding campaign for their university, having previously identified a relevant problem on campus. The problem identification is based on a field research within the university, where students gain a better understanding of the challenges of problems that disrupt this type of organization. To finance and implement their proposed solutions, a crowdfunding campaign is launched, giving the students the opportunity to expose their ideas to the market, work on publicity and communication with customers and suppliers. The crowdfunding exercise was considered a success from the instructors and students’ perspectives, based on the results of a survey that are presented. These results create opportunities for future research to understand the actual impacts these campaigns can have on students’ performance.