Entrepreneurship education at Waseda University, Japan: Challenges in integrating entrepreneurship education programs across universities and beyond

This chapter assesses a comprehensive and ongoing dynamic entrepreneurship education program at Waseda University to provide new insights on ways to promote entrepreneurship in countries such as Japan with low-level entrepreneurial activity but high-level industrialization. The Waseda program is at the leading edge of entrepreneurship education, as its unique design generates diverse student team dynamism and creates cross-disciplinary collaboration involving the entire university and external institutions. The success factors include: (a) synergistic effects of the university across science, humanities, and social science departments; (b) provision of a curriculum that grants credits to students from all disciplines; and (c) intermediate organizations that coordinate and promote collaboration among departments. Moreover, the Waseda University-led consortium nurtures strong social capital, which is an essential element in creating an innovation ecosystem comprising people, infrastructure, economic assets, and an enabling environment.