USING SIMULATIONS TO ENHANCE THE QUALITY OF ENTREPRENEURIAL HIGHER EDUCATION

Modernizacija poduzetničkog visokoškolskog obrazovanja jedan je od važnih elemenata sveukupnog gospodarskog i društvenog razvoja u Europskoj uniji i Hrvatskoj. Svrha ovog rada bila je istražiti zadovoljstvo i preferencije studenata u pogledu uvedenih aktivnih metoda poučavanja na diplomskoj razini studija poduzetništva na Veleučilištu u Rijeci. Istraživanje je provedeno pomoću upitnika oblikovanog s ciljem prikupljanja primarnih podataka putem online anketiranja. Računalna marketinška simulacija predstavlja ključnu aktivnu metodu učenja, koja je predmet analize u ovom radu, pored analize poslovnog slučaja i klasičnih predavanja, također primijenjenih u sklopu nastave kolegija Upravljanje marketingom. Statistička analiza rezultata istraživanja pokazala je da studenti visoko ocjenjuju primjenjivost aktivnih metoda učenja u savladavanju gradiva, no malu prednost ipak daju tradicionalnim metodama. Nadalje, utvrđeno je visoko zadovoljstvo ispitanika jasnoćom i korisnošću nastavnih materijala, ali istovremeno i nešto manje nezadovoljstvo prevelikim opsegom i kompleksnosti nastavnih materijala, koji nisu ocijenjeni kao optimalni. U pogledu primjenjivosti spoznaja stečenih tijekom simulacije u gospodarskoj praksi većina ispitanika ocijenila je primjenu spoznaja mogućom, no pritom gotovo polovica ispitanika nije znala/mogla ocijeniti primjenjivost spoznaja u praksi. Rezultati ovog istraživanja mogu pridonijeti unaprjeđenju postojećih spoznaja o prednostima simulacija te široj primjeni aktivnog i suradničkog učenja u visokom obrazovanju.Modernisation of entrepreneurial higher education is one of the important elements of the overall economic and social development in the European Union and Croatia. The main purpose of this paper was to examine students’ satisfaction and preference of introduced active teaching methods at the graduate level of the entrepreneurship study program at the Polytechnic of Rijeka. Research was conducted using a questionnaire developed with the aim of collecting primary data online. A computer-based marketing simulation represents the key active method of teaching, which was an object of analysis in this paper, besides a business case analysis and classic lectures, which were also implemented in the Marketing Management course. A statistical data analysis revealed several findings. First of all, it showed that the respondents still prefer a traditional teaching method, which received higher grades of satisfaction in comparison to active methods in a teaching process. Regarding the satisfaction with marketing simulation course material, students expressed high satisfaction with their clarity and usefulness, but the scope and complexity of those materials were not considered optimal. In terms of findings about the applicability of insights acquired during the simulation, they were ambiguous, as over half of the respondents found applicability possible, but the rest could not provide their evaluation of this issue. The overall findings of this research could contribute to the improvement of the existing insights in the advantages of marketing and business simulations, as well as to a wider use of methods of active and cooperative learning in higher education