Redefining the learning space: Developing peer mentoring in the enterprise curriculum

© The Author(s) 2020. This account of practice seeks to demystify the entrepreneurship classroom and to provide practical insights into the successful introduction and embedding of a multi-level peer mentoring scheme. Over a 5-year period, peer mentoring has been embedded in an undergraduate enterprise curriculum. This has posed challenges to a number of taken-for-granted assumptions about the enterprise classroom. The role of the tutor in the classroom was redefined; the roles of both colleagues and students were questioned. The accepted rules and norms of the learning environment were placed under considerable strain. It was found that both colleagues and students had very clearly defined expectations of one another and their respective roles: these proved difficult to change. The article recounts the journey, and how the organisers learned to accept and embrace the difficulties faced. Hygiene factors such as timetabling and communication were highly important in allowing the interactions to take place, as were socialisation and facilitation. The mistakes made are also recounted so that they can be avoided by other practitioners.