Creating a culture of innovation in contemporary Ukraine is one of the key objectives of the national economic development and Euro integration. Furthermore, the existence of effective environment for innovation in the globalized economy is actually one of the conditions for existence and development of any company in general. According to a number of research, the majority of business representatives in Ukraine are considering innovation as buying foreign technologies and equipment or purchasing off-the-shelf technologies for a song in a research institute. As a result, entrepreneurs have a very negative attitude towards most academic research and research institutes as sources of innovation projects without any practical purposes. And they are often right because most innovation projects are not integral, have nothing to do with industrial technologies and they are carried out without detailed market research. Manufacturers have to solve a number of problems related to the implementation of this technology: from legal issues to the marketing promotion strategy. They can perform none of these tasks in a good and workmanlike manner. So today in Ukraine there is hardly any comprehensive approach to the formation of innovation environment, despite the great scientific and technological potential of the country. In general innovation in Ukraine can be regarded as a set of scientific, technological, organizational, financial and commercial measures aimed at the commercialization of knowledge, technologies and equipment. Being officially a priority activity, the government support is often declarative. And the government cannot be blamed for this because the concept of innovation culture is just emerging in Ukraine. According to the legal basis of Ukraine, innovation is the activity focused on use and commercialization of scientific findings and promotion of new competitive goods and services at the market. The primary objective of national innovation policy is to create the socio-economic, organizational and legal conditions for effective reproduction, development and use of scientific and technical potential, implementation of cutting-edge, environmentally friendly, safe, energy and resource saving technologies, production and promotion of new competitive products [1 ].
- In Ukraine there are several types of innovations:
- Technical innovations appear in the production of new products or products with improved properties;
- Technological innovations appear when improved methods of production are applied;
- Organizational and management innovations are related to the processes of optimal organization of production, transport, distribution and supply;
- Information innovations are implemented to organize rationally information flow in science, technology and innovation, to improve reliability and timeliness of information;
- Social innovations are aimed at improving working conditions, solving problems related to health, education and culture.
Among innovation levels in Ukraine the level of research at universities and different educational institutions should be mentioned. This includes developments, inventions and research which are conducted in study groups at schools and in laboratories, clubs of technical creativity. Students and schoolchildren take an active part in creating and inventing new products. Ukrainian schoolchildren and students make inventions in different spheres of science and technology, and then many of these inventions are developed commercially. Unfortunately, Ukraine is experiencing economic crisis nowadays, so the government had to cut off funding to study groups and centers of technical creativity for young people. In western universities professors are often employed in research institutes which cooperate with private firms. Consequently, research institutes, whose goal is technology transfer, maintain a close relationship with both universities and industry. Professors are allowed by the university authorities to create private research centers, which are independent legal entities on the university campus. In Ukraine, despite the high scientific and technical potential of research organizations and universities, the most crucial issue is to create a culture of innovation exactly at this level. We need a clear policy on how to work with students and involve them in all stages of the innovation project, to form the basic knowledge about preparation and implementation of innovation projects etc. A comprehensive program for research organizations’ staff is also required because the level of their activity in the field of innovation can be characterized as "extremely poor". The autonomy of universities needs diversifying sources of research funding, replacing government financing. The long-term goal of the autonomy is to fully reimburse the money spent on research. To fulfill this goal, universities should be converted into a vehicle to transfer scientific ideas to industry and society as implemented innovations.
The important role of education in promoting more entrepreneurial attitudes and behaviors is now widely recognized. However, the benefits of entrepreneurship education are not limited to start-ups, innovative ventures and new jobs. Entrepreneurship refers to an individual’s ability to turn ideas into action and is therefore a key competence for all, helping young people to be more creative and self-confident in whatever they undertake. The Bologna process can have a positive effect on the way entrepreneurial knowledge is spread. The 46 Bologna signatory countries met in London in May 2007, and recommended such measures as the recognition of non-formal learning, the development of flexible curricula to accommodate student and staff mobility, and enhanced university-employer collaboration in innovation and knowledge transfer [3]. At higher education level, the primary purpose of entrepreneurship education should be to develop entrepreneurial capacities and mindsets. In this context, entrepreneurship education programs can have different objectives, such as: a) developing entrepreneurial drive among students (raising awareness and motivation); b) training students in the skills they need to set up a business and manage its growth; c) developing the entrepreneurial ability to identify and exploit opportunities. Graduates’ start-up is one of a range of possible outcomes. Currently the teaching of entrepreneurship is not yet sufficiently integrated in higher education institutions' curricula. So the real challenge is to build inter-disciplinary approaches, making entrepreneurship education accessible to all students, creating teams for the development and exploitation of business ideas, mixing students from economic and business studies with students from other faculties and with different backgrounds [3]. The demand for learning about entrepreneurship is increasing. However, there is a short age of human resources and funding for this type of education; therefore it is not possible to meet this demand fully. Action-oriented teaching is labor - Intensive and costly, and require specific training. There is a need to graduate enough PhD students in entrepreneurship who can become teachers. Moreover, there is very little in terms of incentives to motivate and reward teachers for getting involved in entrepreneurial teaching and interaction with students. It is currently difficult to build a career in entrepreneurship, as research remains the main promotion criterion [3]. Developing and delivering entrepreneurship is significantly affected by the internal organizational structure of an institution. Faculties and departments tend to work quite separately, with many obstacles for students who want to move and for teachers interested in establishing cross-disciplinary courses. A rigid curriculum structure is often an impediment to inter-disciplinary approaches. In terms of specific contents, programs and courses should be adapted to different target groups (by level: undergraduate, graduate, post-graduate, PhD; by field of study: economics/business, scientific/technical studies, humanities, arts & design, etc.). The best way to encourage entrepreneurship among students is by giving examples from the relevant technical area. As regards current teaching methods, there are a wide range of techniques to supplement lectures as the most basic teaching tool. However, there seems to be a gap between the methods actually used and those that are viewed as the most effective and appropriate. Using experience-based teaching methods is crucial to developing entrepreneurial skills and abilities. Traditional educational methods (like lectures) do not correlate well with the development of entrepreneurial thinking [3]. There is a need for more interactive learning approaches, where the teacher becomes more of a moderator than a lecturer. Crossing boundaries between disciplines, and multidisciplinary collaboration, are essential elements in building enterprising abilities. Getting real entrepreneurs involved in the teaching can make up for the current lack of practical experience among professors. Although entrepreneurs and business practitioners are in general involved in the teaching, there are few examples of entrepreneurial practitioners engaged in the full curricula experience. Most frequently, they come to give short presentations to students (e.g. as personal testimonials or guest lecturer) or as judges in competitions. European higher education institutions are not sufficiently involved and effective in working with alumni who have been successful in their entrepreneurial end devours, and who could bring back knowledge and funds [3]. Also, mobility of teachers and researchers between higher education institutions and business is in general very low, and this practice is not actively encouraged. There are in many cases few or no incentives, and in some cases outright disincentives. The strength that gives higher education institutions an innovative capacity, and hence entrepreneurial potential, is their autonomy. While diversity is richness, institutions and educators will gain from exchanges and mutual learning, open sources of information, examples of good practice across Europe. Coordination is needed at a policy level to ensure that all higher education institutions are given the necessary incentives and opportunities to take on this challenge. It is very important to determine how entrepreneurship can be integrated into primary, secondary, and higher education; adopt legislation supporting relations between private business and universities; establish awards for entrepreneurial universities, teachers and students, and promote positive examples of academic spin-offs. At their level of responsibility, higher education institutions could: set up a strategy and an action plan for teaching and research in entrepreneurship, embedding practice-based activities, and for new venture start-ups and spin-offs; create an entrepreneurship education department, which would serve as an entrepreneurial hub within the institution and spread the teaching of entrepreneurship across all other departments; offer an introduction to entrepreneurship and self-employment to all undergraduate students during their first year. In addition, give all students the opportunity to attend seminars and lectures in this subject; set up incentive systems to motivate and reward faculty staff in supporting students interested in entrepreneurship, and acknowledge the academic value of research and activities in the entrepreneurial field; develop clear institutional rules about intellectual property; award academic credits for practical work on enterprise projects outside the established courses [3]. The important role of education in promoting more entrepreneurial attitudes and behaviors, starting even at primary school. Entrepreneurial programs and modules offer students the tools to think creatively, be an effective problem solver, analyse a business idea objectively, and communicate, network, lead, and evaluate any given project. Students feel more confident about setting up their own business as they can now test their own business ideas in an educational, supportive environment. However, the benefits of entrepreneurship education are not limited to boosting start-ups, innovative ventures and new jobs. Entrepreneurship is a competence for all, helping young people to be more creative and self-confident in whatever they undertake.
Universities and technical institutions (e.g. polytechnics) should integrate entrepreneurship as an important part of the curriculum, spread across different subjects, and require or encourage students to take entrepreneurship courses. Special attention should be paid to systematically integrating entrepreneurship training into scientific and technical studies and within technical institutions, to facilitate spin-offs and innovative start-ups, and to help researchers acquire entrepreneurial skills. There needs to be more focus on developing the skills necessary for fully exploiting innovation and knowledge transfer activities in combination with the commercialization of new technologies [2].