Development and Retention of Entrepreneurial Competencies: A case study from a management course

This work-in-progress paper explores how the challenge-based learning (CBL) approach impacts university students’ entrepreneurial skills development and retention. We adopted a longitudinal case-study approach focusing on acurricular management course on sustainability and social entrepreneurship at the University of Trento. Using the Entrepreneurial Competences Framework (EntreComp), we collected data at three intervals (pre-course, post-course, and 12-month follow-up) to answer two main research questions: RQ1: What entrepreneurial skills do students acquirethrough a CBL and hands-on course? RQ2: Which skills persist in the long term, and which tend to diminish over time?Findings illustrate significant short-term improvements across all entrepreneurial competencies immediately after theintervention. However, while some skills remained stable at the one-year follow-up, others reverted to the baseline. Thispaper outlines managerial implications for educators, program designers, and managers. This contribution also highlights methodological limitations and directions for future research.