12:00 pm - 1:00 pm 28/10/2026
Online | 28th October | 10-11AM
This session won Best in Track 3: Beyond Extraction: Enterprise Education for Policy, Prosperity & Regenerative Economic Futures at the International Enterprise Educators Conference 2026, and is now being opened up as an online event for the wider EEUK community. If you were not able to join us at IEEC in person but want a taste of what the conference has to offer, this session is a must-attend.
Migrant communities are among the most entrepreneurially active groups in society, yet they are often the least likely to access formal enterprise and entrepreneurship education. So where, and how, are they learning the skills that power their entrepreneurial pathways?
In this session, Sean Clearkin from Queensland University of Technology shares findings from a qualitative study of 19 Australian-born, second-generation migrant entrepreneurs. Unlike their parents, this group often has greater access to education and fewer integration barriers, but still navigates the tensions and opportunities that come with their heritage. Despite this, they show a strong propensity for entrepreneurship.
The research reveals that much of their entrepreneurial learning happens outside the classroom, through informal, naturalistic networks of family, friends, peers and fellow entrepreneurs. Sean will introduce four distinct learning pathways shaped by the nature of these relationships and the degree of intentionality behind them, and explore how learning shifts from tacit to intentional as individuals move from childhood into their own entrepreneurial journeys. Strikingly, the study suggests that structural disadvantage within these networks can be generative rather than constraining.
You will leave with:
- A deeper understanding of how entrepreneurial capability develops in underserved communities
- Insight into the barriers that steer migrant learners away from formal enterprise education
- Ideas for bridging formal programmes with family and community learning networks
- A fresh perspective on designing more inclusive and equitable enterprise education
Who should attend: Enterprise educators, researchers, programme designers and policymakers interested in widening participation and building more inclusive routes into entrepreneurship.