Abstract. Entrepreneurship is viewed by many as an engine of economic growth; therefore, the encouragement of entrepreneurial behavior by means of entrepreneurial education is discussed in academic, as well as, in popular literature. Israel is a country that, since the 1990s, has been characterized by a high degree of entrepreneurship, especially in the high tech sector. In this exploratory paper we examine whether the entrepreneurial trends in Israel’s high tech sector resulted from academic entrepreneurial education or if development of this education followed the entrepreneurial trend. We examine this question at the macro – country level – and at the micro – the individual student – level. Results show that in Israel, both at the macro and at the micro level, academic entrepreneurial studies follow entrepreneurial behavior. Based on the results of this study, we advise Israeli academia to start investing more resources in entrepreneurship courses and studies to develop the entrepreneurial mindset and behavior both at the academic and at the practical level. pp. 16–36

Keywords: Entrepreneurship Education; Entrepreneurship Courses; Israel; Innovation-driven Entrepreneurship
JEL Codes: L26, I23, O31