Elevating entrepreneurial education: The four transitions to start-up success at CSE
In this episode, we are joined by Amy Wilson, Head of Student Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Copenhagen School of Entrepreneurship (CSE) at Copenhagen Business School, to explore how a business-focused university is reshaping entrepreneurial education for a new generation of learners. Amy shares how CSE positions entrepreneurship not just as venture creation, but as a mindset, building curiosity, collaboration, and multidisciplinary confidence across Denmark’s university ecosystem.
From designing pre-idea programmes that welcome students without an initial concept, to fostering a culture where diverse pathways are all valued, this conversation offers practical insights for institutions aiming to broaden participation, deepen capability development, and build entrepreneurial ecosystems that grow people as much as ventures.
You can read a summary below, and listen to the full interview in our podcast:
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Summary
A non-linear path into entrepreneurship education
Amy Wilson’s journey to leading student entrepreneurship at Copenhagen Business School (CBS) is anything but traditional. Starting with a PhD in health marketing, she moved through roles in startups, health innovation, and university–industry collaboration before arriving at a position that brings all her interests together.
Her career reflects the very mindset she now helps students develop: curiosity, adaptability, and the confidence to step into new spaces.
CSE as an entrepreneurial playground
The Copenhagen School of Entrepreneurship sits within CBS as an open-access incubator and innovation centre. Students from all Danish universities can join, regardless of whether they have an idea, an early prototype, or an existing business. With more than 400 startups connected, CSE offers workshops, mentoring, business development support, and a strong community.
We are the entrepreneurial playground — a safe space to explore, learn, and develop capabilities.
Rather than a rigid incubator–accelerator pipeline, CSE operates as a flexible, community-driven environment where learning happens through experimentation.
The four transitions that shape student entrepreneurs
Amy identifies four key transitions that students experience as they engage with CSE’s programs and community. They mark the evolution of entrepreneurial identity more than the creation of any single venture.
They realise entrepreneurship can take many forms: founding, leading, innovating, or driving change from within.
These transitions include:
- Shifting from student life into early-stage venture work
- Moving from founder to team leader as ventures grow
- Stepping into leadership roles inside existing startups
- Discovering intrapreneurship as a meaningful career path
The focus is always on the individual’s development, not solely their startup’s trajectory.
Programs that build curiosity and collaboration
CSE’s pre-idea and early-stage programs help students explore entrepreneurship before they are ready to launch a business. Explore, developed with DTU and KU, brings together multidisciplinary teams to work on early concepts. Change Challenge, delivered with Deloitte and local startups, gives students hands-on experience solving real-world innovation problems.
These programs allow students to test different roles, understand how teams work, and see how entrepreneurial tools apply in both startups and corporate environments.
Redefining success and expanding entrepreneurship
CSE still tracks venture outcomes, but Amy emphasises that long-term capability development is just as important — and harder to measure. Many students will found companies years after graduation, join established startups, or lead innovation initiatives in large organisations.
We need to understand impact beyond the traditional metrics, even though that’s difficult to measure.
What matters most, she argues, is giving students the mindset and confidence to pursue entrepreneurial work in whatever form it takes.
Expanding what entrepreneurship can be
In conclusion, she emphasises that the true value of CSE lies in making entrepreneurship accessible in all its forms. Students may found startups, join innovative teams, drive change inside organisations, or return to entrepreneurship later in their careers — and each pathway is valid.
Entrepreneurship can look many different ways, and we should foster all of it.
By championing curiosity, collaboration, and diverse routes to impact, CSE shows that entrepreneurial education is ultimately about developing people, not just ventures.
Ready for more?
Interested in how entrepreneurial education can build change-makers rather than just startups? The podcast Building a generation of changemakers: The UC Entrepreneurship Model explores how the University of Canterbury’s Centre for Entrepreneurship uses values, community and experiential learning to empower students from all disciplines.
For insight into how a European university is embedding entrepreneurship through regional partnerships and ecosystem-building, the podcast Inside Utrecht University’s approach to entrepreneurship and regional partnerships offers a detailed look at institutional strategy, applied collaborations and sustainable innovation.
Stay tuned for the next episode on this series and don’t forget to follow us on your preferred podcast platform!
