1. Creating Team Entrepreneurs
Team Academy
Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences
Finland
Wednesday, January 19, 2011

2. Part One
Introduction to
Team Academy
Wednesday, January 19, 2011

3. Team Academy Briefly
• Special unit of entrepreneurship / Jyväskylä University of
Applied Sciences
• Founder: Johannes Partanen in 1993.
• Annual budget (for education): 0,5 million €, 100%
government funded (as are all other schools in Finland).
• Main learning methods are team learning and learning by
doing. They are supported with theory studies and
coaching.
• Students: approx. 190 learners in 20 teams who will
graduate as bachelors of business administration during
3-3,5 year learning path.
• Team academy’s teams operate as independent co-
operative companies.
• Adult learning programs include over 200 students. These
programs consist of further education for adults in the areas
of entrepreneurship and management.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011

4. Team Academy’s Track Record
• Over 300 graduates (Bachelor of Business Administration) with
diploma and qualifications in team entrepreneurship.
• Approx. 15% of graduates are active entrepreneurs in their
own companies (EU average is roughly 3-5%).
• Employment rate within one year after studies is approx. 95%.
• Team Academy has given birth to 17 companies in addition to
the co-operatives that operate within Team Academy during
study time.
• 1750 real-life projects from 1993.
• Numerous national awards for innovative learning methods
and development of entrepreneurship.
• Team Academy’s methods have been transferred to all kinds of
organizations ranging from schools to private sector
companies.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011

5. Integration of Two Domains
Domain Domain
of of
Business Education
Intersection of two domains
as entrepreneurship incubation area
Adapted from: Johansson, Frans. 2004. The
Medici Effect - Breakthrough Insights at the
Intersection of Ideas, Concepts & Cultures.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011

6. Team Companies
• Team companies operate as co-operative firms. All of
them are independent organizations and thus Team
Academy has no formal authority on their business. Team
Academy only provides them coaching as part of
education.
• Team companies typically consist of 10 to 20 student-
entrepreuners.
• All educational costs are paid by the goverment. All
students in Finland recive approximately 350 € per month
for living from goverment plus 220 € per month as a
goverment student loan.
• All business costs are paid by team companies. They pay
10-30 € per person per month to Team Acady for office
rent.
• All team companies must themselves find and
manage their projects. Team Academy does only
coaching and supports the companies by providing them
the rights to use Team Academy’s brand.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011

7. Team Companies’ Annual Turnover ‘93-’06
Vision as “The Top Unit of Marketing” achieved
1,000,000€
750,000€
500,000€
250,000€
0€
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
00
01
02
03
04
05
06
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
Towards our first vision... New Towards our
beginning second vision...
Wednesday, January 19, 2011

8. Projects as learning environments and
ways of making business
• Projects function both as learning environments (for studies
and developing individual’s competency) as well as ways of
making business (for team companies).
• Project sizes vary: A small project team consists of 2-3
persons and it’s budget is 1000€-5000€. Major project may
include up to 10 persons (the whole team) and it’s budget
may reach over 100 000€.
• Typical projects: promotion tours, arranging conferences,
creating advertisments, doing marketing research, telephone/
personal selling or carrying out training programs.
• Customers are from all sectors: micro-companies, major
companies or their units, schools, 3rd sector organizations,
individual consumers in certain market segments, etc.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011

9. Leading thoughts
Wednesday, January 19, 2011

10. Vision & Goals
Vision
• The Top Unit of2008
January 19th,
Entrepreneurship
- Best place to study entrepreneurship
in theory and practice
Goals
• To learn team entrepreneurship in your
own team company
• Travel around the world!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011

11. Values
1. Human Relationships
2.Learning by doing
3.Team Entrepreneurship and practise
4.Continuous innovation and creating
new knowledge
5.Travelling
Wednesday, January 19, 2011

12. Part Two
The Rocket Model
Wednesday, January 19, 2011

13. Wednesday, January 19, 2011

14. The Rocket Model Briefly
• The Rocket Model describes how entrepreneurial development progresses. It is a framework for
all activity in Team Academy.
• The Rocket Model consists of twelve domains. These domains include Nonaka’s and
Takeuchi’s knowledge theory application according to the theme.
• The learning path starts from the bottom of the model. During the first study year learner
learns how to learn (metalearning) and the basics of entrepreneurial activity. On the next step
he/she practices leadership and building customer-relationships. During the third year he/she
learns how to conceptualize services and build offerings.
• The domains on the left are coach’s main activity areas. On the right are the learners domains. In
practice these areas are (of course) overlapping.
• On the centre are the customers. They are essential in entrepreneurial development - there
cannot be entrepreneurs (or any kind of business) without customers.
• Team Academy’s professional studies are based on The Rocket Model. Each domain has
been divided into two courses according to the domain’s theme.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011

15. Part Three
Coaching Ideas and
Tools
Wednesday, January 19, 2011

16. Entrepreneur’s Identity’s Development
Steps
Individual’s Entrepreneurship
competency’s
level and
identity’s
strength as an Direction
entrepreneur
Specialization
Experimenting
Basics
3,5 years
Wednesday, January 19, 2011

17. Roles and focus areas during learning path
Year Theme Learner’s Role Coach’s Role Focus areas on
learning
Basics of
0-1 Basics Observer Instructor teamwork and
learning
1-2 Experimenting Doer Question maker Leadership and
teamwork
2-3 Specialization Specializator Resource builder Customer
relationships
3-3,5 Direction Result maker Advisor Innovation
3,5-... Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurer (Advisor if (Depending on
needed) business)
Wednesday, January 19, 2011

18. Individual Learning Tools
• Learning contract (qualitative, personal learning
plan that is ”negotiated” with other learners)
• Training notebook (learning diary)
• Portfolio
• Literature (a guidebook with over 1000 articles,
learners chooses books to be read) and essays
(self-reflection and analyzing ideas taken from
books)
• Reflection paper (extensive essay on chosen
theme, self-reflection on issues learnt)
Wednesday, January 19, 2011

19. Team learning Tools
• Team training session (dialogue with a team, 4
hours)
• 24-hour birth giving (oral and written
presentation to a real-life customer, solving
customer’s problem within 24 hours)
• Birth giving (oral and written presentation on
current competency)
• Pre- and postmotorola (reports before and after
a project)
Wednesday, January 19, 2011

20. References & Literature
• Downey, Myles. 2003. Effective Coaching.
Texere.
• Johansson, Frans. 2004. The Medici Effect -
Breakthrough Insights at the Intersection of
Ideas, Concepts & Cultures. Harvard Business
School Press.
• Nonaka, Ikujiro & Takeuchi, Hirotaka. 1995.
The Knowledge-Creating Company. Oxford.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011

21. Thank You!
• www.tiimiakatemia.net
• satu.vainio@taitovire.fi
Wednesday, January 19, 2011