Abstract
Collaborations with entrepreneurs with disabilities offer a meaningful learning environment that exposes students to diverse working routines, digital limitations, and social contexts that are rarely encountered in traditional classroom settings. Despite the growing emphasis on experiential learning, limited empirical work examines how students can develop entrepreneurial competencies when the learning process involves collaboration with People with Disabilities (PWD). The existing studies often focus on outcomes of community-based projects but rarely analyze students’ reflections to understand how competencies emerge in inclusive and socially complex learning environments. Therefore, current study aims to explore how undergraduate students developed entrepreneurial competencies through a collaborative effort with PWD entrepreneurs as part of an inclusive experiential learning program. The current study employed a qualitative design and consisted of 30 written reflections collected at the end of a semester- long experiential learning assignment. Students worked in groups to support PWD entrepreneurs with digital marketing tasks, utilizing platforms such as TikTok, WhatsApp, and Canva. The deductive coding framework, consisting of 28 entrepreneurial learning competencies, was analyzed using Braun and Clark’s thematic approach in ATLAS.ti software. The current study noted that students develop adaptability, empathy, a diverse communication style, and relationship management skills, and learn about the limitations of PWD entrepreneurs. The finding revealed that inclusive experiential learning increases social awareness and entrepreneurial skills in university students. This study also emphasizes the importance of designing learning activities to balance autonomy and encourage researchers to apply current models to other contexts.
Keywords: Collaborative Competency, Entrepreneurs, Entrepreneurship Education, Experiential Learning People with Disabilities.