Building Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy in Engineering Students: Towards a New Methodological Framework

Engineering education often prioritises technical skills over the development of creativity and entrepreneurial thinking. Measuring the efficacy of entrepreneurship education (EE) remains challenging, as traditional metrics — such as startups launched, or funding raised — are impractical during a course of study in higher education. This study adopts the European Commission’s EntreComp framework to assess entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) through competency-based outcomes. We conducted an 8-wave quasi-experimental study with 95 postgraduate students (10% engineering, 90% non-engineering) during the 2023–24 academic year. Students completed an EntreComp-aligned Entrepreneurial Aptitude Test (EAT) at induction and after each of seven experiential EE “touchpoints.” We tested five hypotheses focused on self-efficacy gains, cumulative effects, disciplinary and gender differences, and competency-level variation. Results showed a significant overall increase in ESE (ΔM = + 2.27, p < .001). Gains were cumulative, with distinct patterns by academic background and marginal gender effects. The strongest improvements were in “Valuing Ideas,” “Taking the Initiative,” and “Working with Others.” These findings demonstrate that scaffolded, experiential EE can effectively build entrepreneurial competencies, particularly cognitive and behavioural ones. The study offers engineering educators a robust method to evidence and enhance entrepreneurial impact in diverse student cohorts.